COAL's - the Attack of the Vampires! (NOW CLOSED!)

Second episode of our saga! This time we stayed in the centre of Wimbledon, the focal point of all Wimbledonians' lives, the good ol' round Wimbledon Piazza. You pass through it day and night, on the way to work, on the way to the Morrisons supermarket, or the Odeon cinema, or the Nuffield gym, or when European outdoor markets are on display.

Hold on! Something tells me I missed something. What is that black box dominating most of the Piazza with dark tables and chairs outside? For most of us, Coal's has always been a blind spot. Always there but always missed. It must be the slightly cheesy sign with characters in red and yellow flames, which we all thought needs revamping as we approached this small bar and grill chain. The inside reminds you of a Swedish sauna for the amount of vivid wood that prevails all around the place, from the bar to the tables. To our surprise, the reserved table waited for us with a nice trio of balloons red and yellow although it was nobody's birthday party. It did help though break colours.

On this occasion the Wimbledon Eatery reached a welcomed and outstanding attendance of 10 people and we were ready to place a large order to the 2-waiter staff on duty. The restaurant was not as busy as expected for Friday lunchtime and we all had the impression the place is favoured as a dinner time joint. In any case, we proceeded. This time, however, we had an ace up the sleeve that would test the restaurant's capabilities: our vegan member had proudly decided to join us at a meaty grill bar. The staff was prepared for the specifics: they knew the pasta contained eggs! Unfortunately, there was no offer from the restaurant for a special dish and it had to be just a nice vegetarian salad with chicken...oops, sorry...let us remove the chicken for you and add more vegetables! The rest of us carnivores ordered a wide range of meals and waited for the food to come.

The wait was about 20 minutes and we considered it within the average expectation for a large order like ours. It is strongly recommended not to come here if you are looking for a quick lunch as this is more a sit-down-and-take-your-time restaurant. Food came all in one go and it was now time for the next step.

Food came in decent portions, and slightly large for some of the meat dishes. There was still some sense of disproportion on the plate, as if you had too much of something (e;g; a whole chicken) and almost nothing of the other (e.g. chips). Our teeth sank into juicy burgers, crunchy leaves, fried fish, and thought it over. First word that sprang to mind: garlic. Quite a lot of it. Good for the savoury palate, yet overpowering over your meat, or your potatoes. As I am writing this, I still taste garlic in my mouth...and it is no coincidence I feel invincible against vampires! Second buzz word was sauce, any of the different ones that had been splashed over our plates. Each of us had a feeling there was too much of it, and also something dodgy in their after taste. The peri peri sauce was spicy but tasted of ketchup after a while. The ranch dressing tasted of salad cream. But the tartare sauce was actually nice. All in all, it was a shame to miss out the full taste of the freshly grilled meat these sauces were meant to augment.

The whole restaurant selling point is on grilled meat (as the fish options are quite scarce ) and you can witness it yourself through the open kitchen or also on the large menu sheet with its wide range of options on all kinds of meat, from beef, to pork and chicken. Pizzas and usual finger food are also available. All looks good and appetising until you compare prices and quality. Coal's may appeal to some but it rates average on many aspects, or should I say, it is not really outstanding on the Wimbledon scene. Perhaps you readers may be luckier with a dinner event. Whatever you do, remember you have to sit down and take your time so don't go there starving. And as a little gift note, we recommend the Lallapalooza as a dessert to share with friends. Just like balloons, it brightened our day on the way out!

Our verdict is as follows:
Quality of Food        3.10
Hygiene                    3.80
Value for Money     2.20
Speed of Service      3.50
Quality of Service    3.50
Ambience & décor   2.60

Coal's gets an overall rating of 63.0%

CHIPOTLE - if Argos sold food...

Our blog would have probably preferred to start off with some chic restaurant or independent café. Yet, work constraints had us pointing for a lunch service closer to the office with an eye on good food but also quick turnaround. Nevertheless, we were still going to start this off in style and by the rules of engagement.

Six of us from the Wimbledon Eatery visited Chipotle Mexican Grill, an American food chain offering gourmet burritos and tacos which only opened around 6 months ago. Concept is similar to other recent tex-mex food joints that opened in London: you start your order at the counter, follow your dish as it is "built" in front of you, add sides, pay straight away and off to your seat.

Service is quick and fast as the friendly staff dynamically takes your order step by step with great synchronicity. It is a well-thought production chain: you order, you go! Queue was not very long on the day but at busy times you can imagine very little space available as we were bordering the main entrance (and fortunately we were not sticking out in the drizzling rain). Ordering process is still quick so be ready before you queue up, and have payment at hand or the end of the queue will turn into a traffic jam, with dishes, cards and hands overlapping. Apparently there were many cooking and waiting staff but only 1 cashier!

The menu is very brief and lacks a few details that may catch you unprepared, and it did for a few of us. Drinks are listed by categories, not by brand. Yet, you pick up the drinks from the chilling cabinet situated a few feet beyond the till which you only notice after you have paid. If they do not have the flavour of juice you want, or the brand of soda you like, you should have checked before queuing up. There is a silver lining: we think you could order water or the cheapest drink, and perhaps grab the most expensive drink unnoticed...cheeky!

The internal décor is not really Mexican, but it is also far from having any form of décor at all. Very minimalist, with great emphasis on metal and wood, it can be easily labelled as the cold version of McDonald's. Seating is self-contained, with six-seaters similar to a diner. There is also an outdoor area which looks nicer than the inside and it is a shame the weather was not in favour. Anyway, we sat to enjoy the first taste of our 50-restaurant long journey and finally tasted the food.

Flavour was nice, rich, and not artificial. Their big claim is on organic food and free range, which we appreciated and it seems to reflect on the taste buds. Meat and beans tasted fresh, and the same for guacamole and sour cream. The bulging meat-beans-rice filled burrito was rather filling, but the vegetarian salad was no less. You can of course help yourself to paper napkins and plastic cutlery, but remember tacos and burritos are messy finger food so be careful as it will spill here and there. You also eat from plastic baskets as you would with street food, so your expectations should be resized - this is not a typical restaurant but rather a fast food chain selling on the basis of good quality foods that you can be satisfied of!

Our verdict is as follows:
Quality of Food        4.50
Hygiene                     3.67
Value for Money       3.50
Speed of Service       4.33
Quality of Service    3.50
Ambience & décor   2.00

Chipotle gets an overall rating of 75.6%