Friday 19 October 2012

The Como

Food Choices 

There was a few sides, a vegetarian pizza ($19.90), a vegetarian pasta ($19.50) and a vegetarian risotto ($22.90). I thought these all sound like pretty good options. I dismissed the risotto as out of budget, and decided to go for the pizza as I wanted to share.



Food Quality

Three of us tried this pizza and we all agreed there was something a bit off about it. The pizza had: char-grilled fennel, roasted capsicum, pumpkin,mushrooms, asparagus, leek, fetta, thyme,parsley, spinach and basil on a tomato base sauce. It may have been the fennel that gave it the odd flavour. It wasn't unpleasant, but I didn't feel the desire to finish it. The base of the pizza was really nice though, and the dough was cooked perfectly.


Overall Rating

1 point per vegetarian choice (max 3): 2 - 1 each for the in budget mains
Quality of meal (1-3): 1 - Just a bit weird
Value for money (1-3): 2 - Prices were about standard
X-factor (0-1): 0 - No strong feelings about this place
Total: 50%

Spot on, this place was average.

Guess I'll have to drink my calories tonight...

  Como Hotel on Urbanspoon

Friday 21 September 2012

Grill'd (Mt Lawley)

First I would just like to say I've actually now tasted an amazing vegetarian burger. However, it comes from a small restaurant in Whittier, California, which I realise isn't the most useful place. I tried to put the epicness of this burger out of my mind when I tried the burger at Grill'd.

They had three burgers on the menu:
GARDEN GOODNESS / $12.50
Premium quality veggie pattie with beetroot, tasty cheese, avocado, salad, relish & herbed mayo.
FIELD OF DREAMS / $12.50
Grilled field mushroom, basil pesto, roasted peppers, tasty cheese, salad & herbed mayo.
BOMBAY BLISS / $12.50
Premium quality chickpea pattie with roasted peppers, tzatziki, salad & relish.

and I tried the Field of dreams, and had a taste of the Garden Goodness.

Field of dreams
So this burger really wasn't special. The mushroom was supposed to be the patty, which would have been okay, but the way it was cooked gave it a really odd flavour which seemed to ruin the rest of the burger for me. Unfortunately, my favourite bit of the burger was the bun.

Garden Goodness

I think the Garden Goodness was probably better, but I still didn't really like it. The beetroot was a nice addition.

All in all, I didn't really like them, I prefer the Jus Burger Pumpkin burger out of any Perth burgers I've had so far, but it will be hard to beat that one in California...
Grill'd Mount Lawley on Urbanspoon

Friday 18 May 2012

Empire Bar

So this place has replaced the Rivervale, and as my friend so polietely put it "Stab proof vests now optional". I'd never been to the Rivervale, but I heard it had a bad reputation, but this place was really nice. It was big, with wide open spaces, high back chairs and interesting decorations.The lights that looked like cassette tapes, seem worth mentioning.






Food Choices

I didn't have much time to look at the menu, as I had been running late, so I've looked over it now. There are 3 pizzas* ($18-$20) and one main Red quinoa risotto, fontina and haloumi croquettes, Swiss mushroom and truffled celeriac*($25). I went for one of the pizzas containing roasted pumpkin, Spanish onion, corn, piquillo peppers, goat’s cheese and pine nuts.



Food Quality

I actually really enjoyed my pizza. It tastied good and was healthy. The friend I was sharing it with was surprised by the quality that a vegetarian pizza could have. I really enjoyed the mixture of flavours. The saltiness of the cheese mixed with the sweetness of the peppers and the crunchy pine nuts were completely satisfying. I was quite impressed.

Not as impressed though, as I was with my friend's dinner.
Red quinoa risotto, fontina and haloumi croquettes, Swiss mushroom and truffled celeriac
It was really delicious. The mushrooms were cooked just how I like them, and the whole dish just worked. I wish that I had ordered it, and I am planning on going back just in order to eat one for myself. I didn't get to try the cheese croquettes, but I hear they were really nice too.

Overall Rating


1 point per vegetarian choice (max 3): 3 - Three options for pizza, one main (over budget, but worth it)
Quality of meal (1-3): 3 - Delicious!
Value for money (1-3): 2 - Prices were pretty good.
X-factor (0-1): 0 - It was a nice enough place, but I just didn't think it was special
Total: 80%

Guess I won't have to drink my calories tonight...

*cheese warning

Empire Bar on Urbanspoon

Sunday 22 April 2012

Run Amuk Hotdogs Unleashed

I was really impressed by this place. They did (almost) all of their hotdogs with a vegan sausage. It was delicious. It's hard to get good veggie sausages, and I really did like this one. The prices were good too at around $11 for a lot of things. The hotdogs were huge and packed with all sorts of things. I had the Mischief, which was like a nachos hot dog. It included "Premium bratwurst, tasty tomato relish, avocado with garlic & lime, aged cheddar, baby spinach, tortilla chips, jalapenos & sour cream". I thought it was great. Their sides of chips were only $3.50 as well, and they had delicious milkshakes for $5, so it's a relatively cheap night out.



The place is also really nicely decorated. It has a really fun feel. The tables are covered in Where's Wally books, and they have a Wally hidden on their wall. The seats are either bus seats or drum kit seats.

I would definitely recommend this place if you're looking for a cosy, relaxed night out with friends.
Run Amuk Hotdogs Unleashed on Urbanspoon

Monday 16 April 2012

The Boheme

I saw on their website that this place had been there a year. I guess this shows just how much attention I've been paying, I thought it was still Bobby Dazzlers. That said, this place is much more fancy. The place feels really big, which is surprising considering its location right in the heart of the malls. 


Food Choices


Everything was really expensive here. For its location, I wasn't surprised. As far as mains go there was a vegetarian kebab ($26) and a Greek pizza ($17.00 for small and $25.50 for large). There was also a cheese platter (Brie, cheddar: $14, sapphire creamy blue: $16 or 3 cheese plate: $24). They had some interesting sides as well ranging between $7 - $10. I went for the Greek pizza, it had Baby spinach, ricotta cheese, spice mix and mint. I went for a small one, as I tend not to eat too much.

Food Quality


My friend also ordered this pizza, in the large size. The large size pizza was about the same size as you'd expect a small pizza to be, and the small one was tiny. My friend really enjoyed his, but I didn't really like mine. If you like mint, then definitely try it, but otherwise I thought it was a bit boring. It mostly just tasted like doughy pizza with cheese on top. I got a second opinion on this, and two out of three didn't really like it. Another friend who had eaten it before claimed "It was nice enough, but I wouldn't order it again".



Another friend ordered the kebab. He thoroughly recommended it.



Apparently the sides are good too. Garlic bread was described as "perfectly toasted on both sides"




Overall Rating

1 point per vegetarian choice (max 3): 1.5 - 1for the pizza, 0.5 for the over budget and the sides
Quality of meal (1-3): 1.5 - A bit bland, but not horrible
Value for money (1-3): 0 - Tiny pizza, over-budget everything
X-factor (0-1): 0.5 - I didn't like the place, but I didn't dislike the place
Total: 35%

Guess I will have to drink my calories tonight...


The Bohème Bar & Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Saturday 31 March 2012

Raah

Once again, I realise this isn't a pub, but stay with me. I guess our group is looking for a bit of variety so I've just decided to review everywhere we go.

Raah is a Middle eastern style restaurant with a stylist look and prices you would expect. This meant, of course, that nothing was within my budget. It was a sharing style place, and that would have been great if I wasn't a vegetarian. Out of the "More substantial" menu there was only one vegetarian option. We ordered a few Meeze dishes are well, where there were a few more options.

I started the night with a Turkish Delight martini. It was amazing. It tasted like liquid turkish delight with vodka. It wasn't cheap, but I'd definitely recommend it.



Out of the Mezze dishes I got to try the corn dish (Chunky cut corn on the cob with sumac-dried lime butter) and the boreks (Mixed cheese and dill boreks). They were at bit pricey at $10 each, as you only got 4 pieces. The corn was really amazing. The subtle lime flavour really worked. The boreks were nice, but not really my thing.  

The one vegetarian main was "Sweet potato, lentil and golden raisin tagine with lemon pickled turnip,  parsley and preserved lemon salad" and was $26. This would be out of my budget, but I guess things are different when you are sharing everything equally. It was the cheapest of the mains, which mets my philosophy of "Vegetarian food should be cheaper".


The sweet potato crisps on top were really nice. Probably the best part of the dish for me, which was overall slightly too spicy for my liking. I'm not very good with spice, so perhaps it would appeal to almost everyone else.

This is what my plate looked like on the first round of food
Overall everyone seemed to enjoy their meals, and at the end of the night we ended up paying around $40 each. This is probably more of an expensive night out than I am used to, but the food was good quality, the place had a nice atmosphere and the staff were friendly.

Somewhat unusually for me I had a dessert. All of the desserts were between $8-$12.

Saffron and cardamom crème carmel with almond shortbread ($10)

Cherry Parfait with pistachios and mulberry syrup ($10)

Turkish Delight sorbet and fresh strawberries ($8)
I had the sorbet, and I must say it was amazing. It was really delicious and tasted very fresh. I would definitely recommend it.

If you are looking for a nicer place than I normally review, then go to Raah. It's probably not the best choice for a vegetarian on a budget, however.

Raah on Urbanspoon

Sunday 25 March 2012

Side Quest: Rosie O'Gradys (Fremantle)

Night at in Fremantle, and wanted to quickly grab some food before heading out. I really like Rosie O'Gradys in Northbridge, so I thought I'd give the one in Freo a try.

I ordered the veggie burger. It was $15.90, which wasn't the most expensive in the world, but also not the cheapest. 



The burger, which sounded great on paper (Tofu, pumpkin, potato and feta cheese burger on a toasted bun with aoili, lettuce, tomato and beetroot relish) was pretty much inedible. I couldn't finish it. In fact, I took about 2 bites, gave up and ate the chips. Suddenly $15.90 makes for expensive chips.

Would not recommend. At all.

Rosie O'Gradys Irish Pub on Urbanspoon

Sunday 18 March 2012

Belmont Tavern

The Belmont Tavern (aka Silks) is a really nice looking place on the inside. Outside, it looks a little dodgy, but once you are inside there is a very nice restaurant section, which included table service, and a waiter that did everything with one hand behind his back. Our group felt a little out of place, though, as we seemed to be about half the age of the rest of the patrons.


Food Choices
Minimal. Actually, there was only one vegetarian main. A vegetable tart, and it was $21.50. Which was over budget. All of their meals were over budget, which really surprised me. There was the usual sides, as well as a Soup of the day, which was a reasonable price. It was potato and leak, which was vegetarian. However, I went for a creamy fettuccine and mushroom meal, without the chicken. It was, like everything else, over budget at $21.50.

Food Quality


It was nice enough. I was quite hungry, and I enjoyed it. That said, it wasn't $21.50 worth of food. It wasn't amazing at all. Overall, it was a bit bland. I feel like I could have made something better myself and saved myself a lot of money. 






I wish I could comment on the soup, but I didn't try it. The garlic bread was cheesy and tasty, though. I guess, I wouldn't recommend this place for dinner as it's a bit more expensive for most mains. The options are also very limited, unless you want to eat only side dishes.

Overall Rating

1 point per vegetarian choice (max 3): 1 - 0.5 for the over budget food, and 0.5 for the soup of the day, which may or may not be vegetarian
Quality of meal (1-3): 1.5 - A bit bland, but not horrible
Value for money (1-3): 1 - Everything was over budget
X-factor (0-1): 0.5 - Whilst we seemed to be the over young people around, I'm giving them points as it was nice enough inside, and the waiter was very professional. However, I don't want to give them full points, as two of my friends ordered a dessert, and they were told they didn't have any left. This would have been fine if it has been at the time they ordered, but the waitress had to come back twice, one for each dessert, to inform us they were out.
Total: 40%

Guess I will have to drink my calories tonight...
Belmont Tavern (Silks Bar and Bistro) on Urbanspoon

Sunday 4 March 2012

The Rosemount Revisited

Went back to the Rosemount this week. Just wanted to say I ordered their burger and I really didn't enjoy it. It just tasted like generic burger. Like you could get from Hungry Jacks, or a cheap frozen patty from the supermarket. Definitely would not recommend!

Friday 20 January 2012

Banzai Sushi and Noodle Bar

OK, I realise this isn't exactly a pub. We were planning to go to the Garden, but there wasn't enough tables for everyone, so we ended up going across the road for delicious Japanese food. As this place isn't exactly my standard for these reviews I'm not going to stick to my proper format. It's hard to compare a restaurant to a pub.

Unlike most pubs there was plenty of vegetarian options. Almost every type of dish: sushi, udon, ramen, rice, etc had a vegetables only choice. The prices were pretty good too, mostly within the $10-$15 range. 

I ordered vegetable ramen which was $12 and could have easily fed two of me. Even of a day I was really hungry I don't think I could have finished it. It was really nice though, I especially enjoyed the bits of sweetcorn as they were a little unexpected. 
As it's not a pub, I wasn't planning on reviewing this place, so I  didn't take  a photo before I started eating. This was when I was done, which just goes to show the portion sizes.


I've eaten here before and always enjoyed it. The low prices and the large portion sizes make it great value for money, and the food is really tasty. So, if you're heading to The Garden on a Thursday night and you find it's completely packed head across the road to Banzai. 


Extra points for the chairs that look like they have faces on them!


Banzai Sushi and Noodle Bar on Urbanspoon

Monday 16 January 2012

Side Quest: Jus Burgers (Leederville)

So got home after work and I was starving, so I went to Leederville looking for dinner and ended up at Jus Burgers.

They had 3 vegetarian burgers on the menu, one of them being a "make your own" kind of thing. I went to for the Pumpkin burger ($13) as I had enjoyed the pumpkin burger at V Burgers (at least the first time I tried it).



The burger had crumbed pumpkin, goats cheese, pesto, lettuce and tomato. It wasn't the holy grail of burgers, and I'm not sure it was as good as the one from V burgers, but it was still nice. The cheese and tomato were the best bit for me. The bun was a little over-toasted, which was a little disappointing. Also, it was really big. I think I made the mistake of ordering a side of very average chips. They arrived first, which at the time I thought was good as I was really hungry, but then I ended up eating most of them before my burger arrived, and then I wasn't as hungry for it.



If you find yourself with a group of people craving burgers, yeah, order the pumpkin burger from here. It's good, but it's not amazing.

Jus Burgers (Leederville) on Urbanspoon

Friday 13 January 2012

The Generous Squire

The last time I went to this place they had amusing coasters. They didn't have them this time. It may have been because we were in the restaurant section; I didn't check.

Food Choices
Usual sides, plus 2 x pizzas (Margherita, Mediterranean: $18, $20), 2 x salads (Greek, rocket: $15, $12.50) and a roasted vegetable tart ($20). The soup of the day was mushroom ($11). Having arrived late, my friends had already ordered, so I didn't have a chance to ask about the soup of the day, or I probably would have picked that. I didn't want to eat pizza, salad or sides, so that left me the with vegetarian tart. I wasn't looking forward to it, but I thought I'd give it a go.

Food Quality

I wasn't really a fan of the tart. It tasted a lot like a quiche. The vegetables were fresh enough, and really there wasn't anything wrong with it, but it just wasn't what I fancied that night. To be fair, it was nice, but just not to my tastes.


My friend ordered the soup. She said it was really nice, thick and tasty. She definitely recommended it. 




Two other friends ordered each of the pizzas. They both described them as average.


Mediterranean
Margherita


Finally, I wanted to comment on the chips. They were really good chips. The beer batter gave them a really nice flavour and they were cooked really well. If you just want a bar snack, not dinner, I would definitely recommend this place to get beer and chips.




Overall Rating

1 point per vegetarian choice (max 3): 3 - One for the pizzas, one for tart, one for the salads
Quality of meal (1-3): 2 - I've giving it an exactly average mark, whilst the soup and chips were good, the other meals were still average.
Value for money (1-3): 1 - Everything was on the upper end of my budget.
X-factor (0-1): 0.5 - I'm just not sure about this place. I like the location, but at the same time it's hard to find parking. I liked the amusing coasters, but I didn't see them last time. I liked the restaurant section, but there wasn't enough room for my group.
Total: 65%

Guess I will have to drink my calories tonight...

The Generous Squire on Urbanspoon

Friday 6 January 2012

Brass Monkey Hotel

In the heart of Northbridge I'd always seen the Brass Monkey as a place you go to get really drunk on a Friday night, or as a starting point for clubbing so I wasn't expecting much. I suppose I didn't really have much to base this assumption on, so perhaps I was being a bit unfair.

Food Choices

Actually the choices wasn't bad. Besides the usual sides there was a $14.90 Brushetta, 3 different vegetarian salads (excluding the side salad); Garden ($10.90), Greek ($13.90) and Goats cheese ($20.90). There was a vegetarian pizza ($19.50) and two mains Three mushroom risotto ($22.90) and Spinach and ricotta cannelloni ($18.90).

I felt vaguely obligated to get the cannelloni considering the price was in budget, but I just really fancied the risotto, so I splurged $2.90 over budget.

Food Quality

Average. The rice was a bit undercooked, and it was a bit bland. It wasn't terrible, not by a long shot. I've definitely had worse, but there was just nothing special about it. To be honest, the risotto I cooked a few nights ago was better. As a small eater, I couldn't finish it and I don't like leaving things I've paid good money for; I would have preferred to have half for half the price. 




I wish there was more I could say about the risotto, but it just wasn't very memorable. Considering I had gone over budget, I was hoping for something nice.

Overall Rating

1 point per vegetarian choice (max 3): 3 - two mains in budget, and a bunch of salads
Quality of meal (1-3): 1.5
Value for money (1-3): 1
X-factor (0-1): 0 - The atmosphere wasn't bad, but they were really understaffed so we had to wait a long time at the bar to order food.
Total: 55%

Guess I will have to drink my calories tonight...

The Brass Monkey on Urbanspoon