Posts Tagged ‘cafe’

19 Nov

Bio 100, Piazza di Porta Sao Paolo, Rome, Italy

Posted by Val Penny in Restaurant Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

bio-100-pyramidOn a sunny October morning, my husband and I ventured across Rome, Italy, to see the pyramid and the area around it. We expected a modern-style glass edice as in the Louvre in Paris, France but were thrilled to find a much more traditional stone built pyramid.bio-100-porta

It is in the area around Piazza di Porta Sao Paolo, a vibrant area with shops, cafe restaurants and some pretty park areas. We enjoyed exploring there.bio-100-out

After our walk we decided to stop for a coffee. There were lots of little cafes around but we chose Bio 100. The ingredients there are all 100% gm free. Although we did not stop to eat, all the sandwiches, salads and cakes looked delicious. The staff were very helpful and the cafe is spotlessly clean. They have seating inside and outside. We were lucky that the weather was mild enough to allow us to sit and relax outside and watch the world go by.bio-100-bikes

The coffee we had was delicious and we enjoyed the ambience of Bio 100. I highly recommend it.

Valerie Penny

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7 Jul

Oscar’s Cafe, Bar and Restaurant, The Esplanade, Saltcoats, Scotland

Posted by Val Penny in Restaurant Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , .

oscars outsideMy husband and I had arranged to meet friends for dinner at Oscar’s Cafe, Bar and Restaurant at The Esplanade, Saltcoats, Scotland but they were unable to make the date. However, as we had been looking forward to the evening, we decided to go anyway. What a fun evening!

Access is by a small flight of stairs or by a ramp, so those with mobility difficulties have easy access. The service at Oscar’s was friendly and polite. We were seated in a booth and enjoyed people watching through the evening. Oscar’s caters for a wide variety of diners: families with children, couples both young and not so young, larger groups and a private party was going on in the function area upstairs. This restaurant also runs a Disney movie silently on a large screen behind the bar. This is a brilliant way of keeping the younger diners amused.

The menu is varied and does cater for vegetarians. My husband had the chicken and chorizo sausage pie. He really enjoyed it. I had the vegetarian fajitas: also delicious. The atmosphere in Oscar’s was excellent. The restaurant was happy, busy and good-natured. This certainly added to our enjoyment of our evening.Oscars inside

For pudding my husband had a chocolate brownie, which he said was one of the best he had tasted. I had a chocolate nut sundae. it was delious, but enormous and I had no chance of finishing it! We rounded off our meal with coffees. We did not really need to have coffee, but we were having such a lovely time, it would have been a shame to leave earlier than we had to.

I highly recommend Oscar’s Cafe, Bar and Restaurant, The Esplanade, Saltcoats, Scotland and will dine there again.

Valerie Penny

31 May

Olly Bongo’s, 4 Teviot Place, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH1 2QZ

Posted by Val Penny in Restaurant Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

christineI met a friend for lunch recently. She works at The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland and suggested that we meet near her work so that I could catch up with her during her lunch break. As I was not familiar with the area, she chose Olly Bongo’s. We were greeted by a friendly waitress on arrival, who gave us a choice of seats. I like getting the option rather than being told where to sit, so that was a good start. The decor was nice with a Mediterranean feel and posters advertising music nights.

We ordered our drinks quickly, but took time choosing lunch from the varied menu. I chose a spinach, tomato and mezzefeta cheese bruchetta while my friend chose a mezze. When our meals arrived, I was amazed by the size of the portions. Our meals were enormous and delicious. The food was freshly prepared and served with a side salad by polite and attentive staff. I certainly could not finish my meal. The portion was so big. However, I did enjoy it very much and my friend finished every crumb. I subsequently discovered that she is such a regular customer she qualifies for a discount!

Access to Olly Bongo’s is easy for those with mobility issues and the cafe is spotlessly clean. We finished our lunch with tea and coffee. Again, it was freshly brewed and outsideserved with individual pots. I had never heard of Olly Bongo’s, but, for the price, it was a real bargain.  This inconspicuous little cafe on the corner of Teviot Place is one of Edinburgh’s fun and quirky places to sit down, have a chat and enjoy a great plate of food. You could easily walk right past it as it does not look like much from the outside. However, if you step through the doors you will get a different impression entirely. I highly recommend Olly Bongo’s.

Valerie Penny

 

8 Feb

Happiee Daze,100 Marchmont Road, Marchmont, Edinburgh EH91HR, Scotland

Posted by Val Penny in Restaurant Review. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

happiee dazeMy friend, Manigeh Hoyland, has always been an amazing cook. I have never been served a bad meal by her. So, when she decided to set up her cafe, Happiee Daze, in Marchmont Road, Edinburgh, Scotland, I was sure it would be a success. Others expressed skepticism citing the number of other eateries in the vicinity. I had no such worries.

It is now 4 years since she established her business and I was right. She serves soup, home made every morning and her range of hot and cold sandwiches, rolls and panini is as delicious as it is varied.

Happiee Daze offers the opportunity to sit in or take away your choice of meal. The range of coffee (with or without flavoured syrup) is wide. Tea is also served! I enjoyed my latte. The coffee beans are freshly ground and the flavour full and smooth. I had a cheese and vegetable panini. It was freshly made in front of me and included a generous portion of cheese as well as vegetables carefully chosen to complement each other. It was delicious. I sat in for my meal. Access is easy for the disabled and those with mobility issues.

I took out a portion of soup and a bacon roll for my mother. The roll contained far more bacon that Mum would usually expect. She was very surprised by that. She also really enjoyed the soup. As she had not been keeping very well, it was good to see her enjoying her food.

It was clear from visiting Happiee Daze that Manigeh has a very loyal clientele. She knows many of them by their happiee mapfirst names and serves many more without them actually ordering! Like wise, she values her customers: each and every one of them. She does not make the same soup every Monday, because she has ladies who come in for soup at the beginning of each week and she does not want to serve them the same soup each time they come. Such mutual value and care is unusual these days. It is nice to see.

I highly recommend Happiee Daze, not only because Manigeh is my good friend, but also because the food is delicious, competitively priced and I am sure you will enjoy a visit to this little cafe. It is a gem.

Valerie Penny

3 Jul

The Gypsy Cream, 6 Frazer Street, Largs, Scotland, KA30 9HP

Posted by Val Penny in Restaurant Review. Tagged: , , , , , .

A few of my friends were meeting in this little cafe,The Gypsy Cream, 6 Frazer Street, Largs, Scotland,  and included me in the invitation.  I was neither familiar with the name, nor even the street this cafe is in, so I was pleased when Ann offered me a lift.  That way at least I would know where we were going!  Nestling in a side street near the centre of Largs, I was pleasantly Imagesurprised when we went in to this little place. The Gypsy Cream is a hidden gem.   It has an unassuming frontage but inside it is warm, welcoming and spotlessly clean. Access for those who have mobility issues or are physically disabled is easy. Access to the restaurant is even easy for those in wheelchairs.

The cafe has won awards for its delicious home made soups. There were four of us at the table.  We all chose to go with the soup and sandwich combo.  All the sandwiches are freshly made to order.  The young staff are courteous and gypsy-creamhelpful offering choices of breads,  spread and fillings.  However, it is the soups for which the cafe has received its awards.  There were four soups on offer the day we went.  The chicken broth which, unusually, contained large lumps of chicken! The lentil soup is a thick hearty favourite here.  The cream of cauliflower soup is served with or without a sprinkling of fresh Parmesan cheese.  The last was cream of tomato.  I am vegetarian and our server kindly checked for me that either the tomato soup or the cauliflower soup was suitable for me, having been made with vegetarian stock.  It is nice to have a choice.

It is probably just as well that we did not notice all the delicious looking home made cakes at the rear of the restaurant. or we might be there yet!  So, all in all, The Gypsy Cream is an excellent little restaurant that I highly commend.

Valerie Penny