Qype: Mexi Fresh in London

London - Eating & Drinking - Restaurants - Mexican


Mexifresh is a Mexican takeaway that I've been ordering takeaways from for many years. I keep coming back due to their use of high quality ingredients and reliable service.

I personally stick to the burritos, which are available in a number of flavours - then you chose between vegaterian, beef chilli or chicken.

My usual order is the large chicken Americana burrito-and I normally have enough left over for lunch the next day. They used to serve steak as a filling but sadly this has been dropped from the menu-I will have to lobby them to try and get it back!

Several excellent salsas are available, served with home made authentic nachos-nothing like the Dorito style chips you buy in the supermarkets. In my opinion the best salsa is the Calexico (which is not as hot as its three chili rating suggests).

Other dishes include tacos, quesadillas, taquitos, and my wife's favourite the chicken tostida salad (served in a massive crisp tortilla).

They can also deliver Ben and Jerry’s ice cream, Oreos, and Mexican or Spanish beers.

They used to have a branch in East-Sheen/Mortlake, but sadly this has closed down, and apparently the business was sold. However, the new owners still seem to be doing an excellent job so I still highly recommend Mexifresh. I have not visited the Wimbledon premises in person - but the Sheen branch was more cafe style rather than a full blown restaurant.

All in all I’d say this is the best Mexican takeaway in South West London - recommended if you like Mexican food.

Check out my review of Mexi Fresh - I am johnsibly - on Qype

Qype: The Ridge Hotel in Newquay

Newquay - Hotels & Holidays - Hotels

We stayed here recently on a stag do. The hotel came as part of a package, so I have no idea how much it actually costs to stay.

In terms of the building, this is probably one of the worst hotels I’ve ever stayed in.
Our 4 person room had a bunk bed and two additional beds, crammed in so tightly that you had to side step between them. We were lucky (!) enough to have an en-suite, which had a slide door which did not shut probably.

The shower started off freezing cold for the first few minutes before, in a mater of seconds, changing to being painfully hot. Dangerously so in fact; I would not want to let a child use this shower.

The other rooms in the hotel share bathrooms, each broken in their own way (toilet impossible to flush, shower hose broken off wall etc.). The place seemed generally dirty.

When we arrived we each had to pay a £30 cash deposit, which was only returned after inspection and waiting around for 45 minutes on departure.

They made a big fuss about how good their English breakfasts were: sadly these fell well below expectations, featuring only the bear minimum of beans, eggs, bacon, sausage, tomato and toast (no mushrooms, black pudding, hash browns here!). The ingredients all seemed to be from an economy/value supermarket range, and no-one in our group could stomach the sausages.

They have a pool table in the front longe, and also an outside picnic table. The front of the hotel offers nice sea views. They also have a “licensed” bar (drinks poured from cans but at pub prices).

On a positive note, the staff were genuinely friendly people, and seemed interested in where we were planning to go out, and what activities we had planned during the day (surfing). As such, I think this saved The Ridge from being 1 star - however, if it costs more than about £20 pppn to stay there I would definitely give this place a miss.

Check out my review of The Ridge Hotel - I am johnsibly - on Qype

Qype: Maharajah Restaurant in Newquay

Newquay - Eating & Drinking - Fastfood & Takeaway - Indian

Went here in a largish (10) group last month, party because they advertise beautiful views of the coast, which unfortunately we didn’t get because they put us in a back room for larger parties. We did have a tv screen with live footage of the bay though!

Service was reasonable, although we did have to ask 3 times for pitchers of water to be brought to the table (other drinks we ordered were brought immediately).

Food wise I was not terribly impressed. The curries seemed bland, and probably produced from one main sauce with just a few extra spices added at the end.

Each curry was reasonably expensive at an average of £10 - a fair bit more expensive than London. Adding on side dishes, rice, nann, drinks etc I think the bill was about £30 each.

I have the feeling that this is the sort of place that caters for tourists rather than replying on repeat business from locals.

Check out my review of Maharajah Restaurant - I am johnsibly - on Qype

London - Eating & Drinking - Cafes & Coffee Shops

I've generally only been here for the pub lunches, but the consistent quality makes this is popular Friday lunchtime haunt for myself and colleagues.

Standard pub fare food wise: sausages and mash, burgers, pies (recommended) and the like, quickly served and priced very reasonably (approx 6 pounds per main course). They serve reasonable beers (althogh not a massive selection of draft), including Staroprahmen. They do promote cocktails at reasonable value at 4.50 or 15 for a jug, but I've not tried these yet.

I recommened this pub as a safe bet for taking a group of people to for lunch. I don't know how it is in the evening however.
Check out my review of Ruse - I am johnsibly - on Qype

Canterbury - Eating & Drinking - Restaurants - British - English - Eating & Drinking - Restaurants

We visited here for dinner after the first day of riding on our London to Paris bike ride, so we had an excellent appetite!

Deeson's emphasis is on local produce. Their menu is carfully designed as a showcase of the best that Kent ("the allotment of England") has to offer.

We really enjoyed the selection of British dishes, which were prepared with care, and tasted fantastic.

I won't detail all the dishes we tried, although I recommenced the excellent pork belly or rib eye steak for a main. Take a look at their menu for further examples:
http://www.deesonsrestaurant.co.uk/main_menu.php

For drinks we tried their carefully selected local bottled ales, and a delicious white wine from a local vineyard. They suggested appropriate drinks to match the various courses.

I though the restaurant offered excellent value for money. Not a cheap dinner but very good considering the quality.

I would have given this restaurant 5 stars, but our waitress was a little confused with her answers when asked questions about some of the dishes, which meant what we ordered was slightly different to what we expected. However, service was good apart from this, and I expect this was probably not the normal experience.

Looking forward to visiting again next time I'm in Cantebury!
Check out my review of Deeson's British Restaurant - I am johnsibly - on Qype

London - Services - Other Services - Property

Foxtons are the worst in the industry. My experience has been of them failing to turn up for meetings, being rushed looking round properties while being taking to see others I didn't want to see. The agents never seem to know anything about the properties they are showing or the local area.

One of the agents even sent an abusive email to a friend of mine because his flat sale was delayed and the agent didn't get his bonus in time to go on holiday!

Those ridiculous fees Urbanite mentioned subsidise the large glass fridges full of bottled water, plasma screen TVs in every window, and Mini Coopers that the all drive. They look flashy, but fail to deliver. In comparison they make all the other estate agents look good!
Check out my review of foxtons.co.uk - I am johnsibly - on Qype

Qype: Tortilla in London

London

Wow - I think I've found a new favorite place for lunch!

Tortilla is a fast food style Mexican. You queue up and order your burrito how you like it, in a very similar fashion to subway sandwiches (except you're choosing between meets, cheese, types of rice and beans, choice of three salsas etc.). As a bonus offer at lunchtimes a bottomless soft drink is only 50p. Beers are also available. This style is something I've experienced in Mexican places in California, but not in London.

You can opt for takeaway, but they offer a lot of seating on two floors as well. The restaurant itself is very clean and modern and is a pleasant place to eat. Quiet music plays in the background.

They make a big thing about how all the ingredients are fresh, and their meets are home marinated - and I think this is really reflected in the quality of the food because the burrito I had was delicious.

We arrived at 12:15 and there was not much of a queue. However we noticed that the queue built up quite a lot over the next 20 minutes so would recommend arriving a bit early.

I'll definitely be going here frequently (I'll add more photos on my next visit)
Check out my review of Tortilla - I am johnsibly - on Qype