ALEXANDRA PUB - Sat on a Hot Roof Terrace

On another hot day in Wimbledon, there was only one more outdoor place that could help us enjoy the sun and the 32 degrees heat in the least painful way possible. Strange as it may sounds, the option was indeed a pub. Generally, they are built for colder weather but the Alexandra Pub is probably the most versatile we have ever seen. Dominating a whole corner of its retail block, the Alexandra is split into 4 different areas managed by the same staff and kitchen to please the different pub environments you may fancy or not: (1) a dark, all-wood pub from pre-modern times, (2) a traditional carpeted early 20th century pub, (3) a trendy modern pub names the 'Smart Alex', and last but not least (4) the Roof Terrace. This last one does not require further description and it is of course the destination for our 5th Wimbledon Eatery session.

Reached via a steep and narrow staircase, the Roof Terrace is built on top of the dark, all-wood pub downstairs but only covers a smaller area than the whole one covered by all 3 pubs on the ground floor. It therefore means a more contained space than you could hope for on a Friday or at the weekend when the weather is nice. Under these weather conditions, we were therefore happy to go for a Monday lunch when you can easily choose where to sit a large crowd of nine people.

The layout appears rather cluttered with a mix of different styles of furniture from large tables and cushioned benches to high chairs and tables. The front of the terrace looks onto the main road and at the back you have a small bar where you can order food and drinks without having to go downstairs. The combination of pub service and outdoor joint make it a good place to relax if the place is not too crowded. One half of the terrace, towards the bar, is covered, whereas the rest if fully exposed to whatever the weather conditions are. The cushioned benches were the most puzzling item: nice and comfy although covered with dead flying ants and really hot to the touch under a hot sun. On the contrary, probably soaked wet if it rained. Maybe different types of chairs or benches would work best.

Self-ordering is of course the pub norm and it was pretty quick. Same for the waiting time to be served. The food was typical pub food with the odd variation or clever twist on a classic. Under the heat, some of us were trying to avoid the usual suspects and maybe go for the fresher and cooler meals. Nice choice of sandwiches were at hand together with some less pub-like specials. Under all aspects most of the food tasted great, fresh and not artificial. Burgers and sandwiches were served on a wooden board to reinforce that sense of authenticity and simplicity. Couple of disappointments were the lack of spice on the Piri Piri chicken burger, the lack of oil and vinegar to dress the salads, and also the lack of lemon water or lemon wipes to tackle the greasy finger food on offer, especially the BBQ platter. Nevertheless, we were happy with the friendly, attentative staff, who were always available to meet our demands and provided a "buddy" feeling to the service. One good gesture we all appreciated was the empty tupperware we were offered as doggy bag for most of the BBQ platter left over.

Great placeto chill out and isolate from urban traffic - but avoid Fridays or get there early!

Our verdict is as follows:

Quality of Food        4.33
Hygiene                     4.33
Value for Money      3.83
Speed of Service       5.00
Quality of Service    5.00
Ambience & décor   4.67

Alexandra Pub gets an overall rating of 89.2%

CONFUCIUS - In Duck We Trust

On yet another sunny day in July, this time round we avoided the lunch rush hour and opted for a relaxing dinner out in the evening, when the town leaves their workplace to rest their head and limbs in the shade of the setting sun and in the refreshing cloak of a summer drink. After a few drinks in a recently reviewed location, we finally headed southbound of the Broadway, at the edge of our culinary world and probably one of the furthest joint we'll ever review.

Confucius is a Chinese restaurant almost opposite the Polka Theatre. Its plain white facade with black, stylised font and slightly smoked windows makes it hard to spot in one of the less trafficked parts of the Broadway. Our group approached the restaurant after a long straight walk in the sun from Wimbledon station, and we still could not see the name or the entrance until we were a couple of feet away.

As we set foot inside, we all knew each one of us had previous personal experiences with Chinese food. It was obvious in our minds we would set expectations against what the stereotypes would usually hold to. The entrance was very peaceful and quiet, accompanied by a medium-sized aquarium with huge fish and a small wood-and-stone mill along the wide glass facade looking onto the main street. The restaurant space was one large room whose pattern was only broken by structural pillars and low dividers splitting it into sections. Using only the natural light from the large glass facade, the restaurant gradually fell in a dim light feebly sustained by electric candles.

The staff was very polite and calm, readily available to seat us, although the place was not as busy for a Thursday evening. All tables were large round tables with the occasion 2-seat tables. Inside decor was pleasant although not original or outstanding. We all concurred the restaurant was ideal for group dinners rather than close-up romantic dates, especially if Chinese food is your favourite dinner date.

Menu had a wide choice based around the key combinations of Chinese food: beef, pork, duck, chicken, prawns and also various fish fillets in the Chef's Specials. Our orders tried to be as assorted as possible, allowing to share and pick different dishes and flavours as they were served on a small rotating table in front of us. Delivery of both starters and mains was quick although not delivered exactly at the same time. The downsize for such speedy service was that all the dishes were tepid or slightly warm when served rather than hot. We felt some of the flavours were either lost or affected by this.

All in all our taste buds did not suffer and, although we had mixed reviews on some of the dishes, we did identify some good ones. Saltiness of the food was not in excess as you would expect in other Chinese restaurants in the capital except for the sizzling beef or the ribs. Where salt content was not overdone, sweet or acid sometimes took over making the flavour unbalanced. Such was the case of the lemon duck fillet and the sweet and sours. The food overall felt slighly greasy, including the rice where it felt buttery and not as light and fluffy as you'd expect rice to be. In the end, the winning dish of the evening was the roast duck. It tasted good in your mouth, well seasoned at the right point, and all of us had nothing to object.

As we sipped some strong rice wine liqueur with 52% alcohol , which the Chinese waitress was not able to explain how it was made, we reflected on our fourth Wimbledon Eatery event. If you are out on the town with a group of friends, it is a good place to pop in and enjoy a meal together on a nice round table. It may be just above average but you can make it worthwhile.

Our verdict is as follows:

Quality of Food        3.17
Hygiene                     3.83
Value for Money      3.17
Speed of Service       4.50
Quality of Service    4.00
Ambience & décor   3.50

Confucius gets an overall rating of 72.4%

THE TERRACE - WE & the Sunshine Bland

The glorious sun blessed us on this second weekend in the Wimbledon Championships. A warm mini heatwave started blowing over the hill and blue skies were suddenly a common view from our windows and balconies. The next eating occasion had to take advantage of the sunshine and summer breeze. And if you think about it, Wimbledon struggles when it comes to outdoor eating and drinking that does not entail sitting on tables by the side of a busy road. Since the options were few to pick, we ultimatly decided for The Terrace.

Situated just above the secondary exit of Wimbledon station and the main entrance to the Centre Court shopping centre, The Terrace has been a key building and reference point for more than a decade thanks to its central position. You cannot miss the bright green entrance that takes you to up to one flight of stairs and then into the main round space completely surrounded by glass panels. The atmosphere is entirely dictated by the flood of naturalight, which is partly filtered by green leafy plants and partly sucked in by a heavy black and white furniture.The blazing sun outside helped the colours shine but the lack of air con meant an ever rising indoor temperature.

We could not book in advance for an outdoor table so get there early. The outdoor, however, is not as spacious as the inside. It is simply a balcony running the edge of the perimeter, which is split into outside bar and outside restaurant. Due to the space limitations, a group larger than six is going to struggle to sit down at the same table and enjoy the company. This is what happened to our group as we were forced to have two tables, and still we were not as comfy as we wished. The larger table holds six but the oversized chairs made it difficuly to sit without elbows in people's face. The good weather helped push aside the discomfort and enjoy the company.

Menu choice is pretty varied at The Terrace, with a good continental selection on offer, from pizza and pasta dishes, to salad and meat dishes. Waiting for someone to take our order and waiting for the orders both took quite some time, and it made us feel slightly grumpy under the scorching sun without a refreshing beverage at hand. What made it worse was the mistake on one or two drinks, where we got what we actually did order. The food finally came, at the same time as drinks, and we started flavouring the dishes as the early afternoon sun placidly wrapped his warm hands on our tender skins.

Opposite to what we experience on our last Wimbledon Eatery session, this time we felt the lack of seasoning. We missed the salt, the spices, the pepper, the punch on your tongue. Althought it could be down to personal taste, we were surprised that around six dishes out of eight felt bland in our mouths. Even the basic house salad with either chicken, or calamari, or goat's cheese, felt tasteless and did not seem outstanding. Moving onto the Pad Thai Noodles, where thai food needs the kick to be what is famous for, it just did not meet the basic expectations of taste. Food was really bland, including a pizza that did not differentiate it much from a Domino's one. Fortunately, we had exceptions to the rule in regards to the sizzling faijtas and the fresh mussels. Flavours here did not abandon us, although we recommend to go for chicken rather than steak faijtas as we felt the meat was a bit too tough and fatty.

Service overall let us down as well, not just from a waiting perspective, but also for two other reasons: (1) food came before cutlery and serviettes; and (2) waiters did not seem able ti give us their attention on a half-full stretched balcony. To their loss and also our deep regret, we did not have the chance to order and try a refreshing icecream or sorbet under the glorious. We just settled for the bill and left. Thank God, the good weather helped.

Our verdict is as follows:

Quality of Food        2.67
Hygiene                    3.83
Value for Money     3.00
Speed of Service      1.83
Quality of Service    2.67
Ambience & décor   4.00

The Terrace gets an overall rating of 59.4%