Hot Pink Grill, as the name says, is sold as an open grill restaurant with fine and well-resourced cuts of beef, chicken and so on. Opposite the Wimbledon Theatre, it quickly flashes you a neon-style logo on seemingly plain Norwegian wood, and its windows peer into a diner-like approach to layout and design with red leather seating booths and the sauce dispensers. However, the wooden panels and hanging lamps hint to a cottage or perhaps the good old gas station joint on those forsaken American country roads.
From the visual effects, we quickly move to olfactory ones which overwhelm from the moment you enter the door. The vent do not seem to be working so expect a smell of grease permeating around the kicthen area, not far off from those old fish 'n' chips or grease spoon joints of the 60s when smell of fried stuck on your clothes.
Menu is interestingly minimalistic and narrows it down to a simple grid of value (£3 to £10) by type of meat (beef, chicken and veggie), some sort of tac-toe scheme which probably makes it easier to handle and at the same time is the exact opposite of a complex but variegated menu. All drinks are own brand, a reminder to all products are made with unique recipes and the place cares for the environment.
No orders at the table. You order at the till, pour your "refillable" soft drink at the machine and then wait for the grub. We felt the place was understaffed for a Friday lunch when we saw one man only taking our orders and payment, and also making coffees and other special drinks in between.
Food looked very nice on arrival and was rather filling. Sauces that came with the meat dish were not that great but the veggie one received praise for the actual food and the sauces - quite a surprise when it is not the restaurant's speciality. Drinks were a big disappointment, with both Hot Pink Cola and Hot Pink Lemonade tasting plastic and fake (or should we say a Coke stripped of its artificial sugars!); milkshake was good but not special.
There was a constant reminder of "eco-friendly" philosophy, talking about well-resourced food, more recycled waste, no bottled water. However, the buzz was not as strong as expected with some of us not realising it and also the whole experience hardly reinforcing the message, especially when the whole thing seemed a rough copy of a 50s plastic diner with a hint of Norwegian wood and "grease" smog invading our nostrils.
Our verdict is as follows:
Quality of Food 3.33
Hygiene 4.00
Value for Money 2.67
Speed of Service 3.00
Quality of Service 3.00
Ambience & décor 3.67
Hot Pink Girll gets an overall rating of 66.1%
Sunday 16 February 2014
Saturday 1 February 2014
WAGAMAMA - The Year of the Fork
With the chimes of Chinese New Year in the air, our first stop in 2014 was by chance some East Asian food although more Japanese inspired. Nevertheless, the chain owner is a Chinese national.
The modern vibrant look of the restaurant reminds the simplicity of East Asian housing, with long wooden tables and benches for group eating, and still holds the European minimalist touch. The large tables are ideal of large groups and you can easily turn up and find space; if you are a couple or smaller group, you will probably end up share the table. Table surfaces almost look empty with just tiny bottles of soy sauce and chilli oil, and paper-like mats with chopsticks on the side. Do not panic - you can use fork and spoon and they come with the dish but we noticed it takes a while to get them!
Menu is a good mix of Japanese-named dishes made with noodle or rice, either griddled or in a soup or with specific sauces. There is a good choice of chicken, pork, prawns but also a great combination of vegetable medleys that can inspire the vegetarian and the vegan. Half of the ingredients are common, while others are trypical of Japanese-like cuisine which you may or may not know. Expect flavours to be salty, tangy, vinegar-y, sometimes sweet, and usually these are mixed together.
Starters are well presented on nice dishes that re-use the simplicity and minimalist themes. White rectangle dishes for the pork gyoza (dumplings) with a square inset for the special soy sauce, or white oval plates with tiny bowls in which to dip your chilli squid. In some occasions it was felt the starters looked nicer and tasted better than the main dish. Mixed reviews were received for the main dish: some felt it matched what they expected, with good presentations and great sauces that overcame the seemingly bland ingredients; others thought what you paid for was nothing more than food you can easily buy from a take away. Not all dishes were amazing. Food was well cooked and well presented but intensity of flavour was not consistent. Noodles are probably your best choice, either griddles or in soup. Rice dishes are more risky as they could be dry or just matched with sauce that may not meet your expectations; perhaps the Firecracker was the only rice dish that did not receive a bad comment and that could be thanks to overdose of chillies!
Ultimately, service was quite disappointing from the rolling eyes ewhen we asked for a table for 10, the endless minutes waiting for a fork and tap water, and the rather impolite tone of voice to customers, either when asking an outright question for the bill or when repeating for the 3rd time the plate you have is no for this table.
Left with a hint of disappointment, which sounds baffling when you think a restaurant chain aims at specific food and service standards. Current rating leaves Wagamama at the borderline with the worst restaurants so far. If you pay a visit, keep your expectations low.
Our verdict is as follows:
Quality of Food 3.67
Hygiene 4.17
Value for Money 3.17
Speed of Service 4.00
Quality of Service 2.83
Ambience & décor 3.17
Wagamama gets an overall rating of 71.7%
The modern vibrant look of the restaurant reminds the simplicity of East Asian housing, with long wooden tables and benches for group eating, and still holds the European minimalist touch. The large tables are ideal of large groups and you can easily turn up and find space; if you are a couple or smaller group, you will probably end up share the table. Table surfaces almost look empty with just tiny bottles of soy sauce and chilli oil, and paper-like mats with chopsticks on the side. Do not panic - you can use fork and spoon and they come with the dish but we noticed it takes a while to get them!
Menu is a good mix of Japanese-named dishes made with noodle or rice, either griddled or in a soup or with specific sauces. There is a good choice of chicken, pork, prawns but also a great combination of vegetable medleys that can inspire the vegetarian and the vegan. Half of the ingredients are common, while others are trypical of Japanese-like cuisine which you may or may not know. Expect flavours to be salty, tangy, vinegar-y, sometimes sweet, and usually these are mixed together.
Starters are well presented on nice dishes that re-use the simplicity and minimalist themes. White rectangle dishes for the pork gyoza (dumplings) with a square inset for the special soy sauce, or white oval plates with tiny bowls in which to dip your chilli squid. In some occasions it was felt the starters looked nicer and tasted better than the main dish. Mixed reviews were received for the main dish: some felt it matched what they expected, with good presentations and great sauces that overcame the seemingly bland ingredients; others thought what you paid for was nothing more than food you can easily buy from a take away. Not all dishes were amazing. Food was well cooked and well presented but intensity of flavour was not consistent. Noodles are probably your best choice, either griddles or in soup. Rice dishes are more risky as they could be dry or just matched with sauce that may not meet your expectations; perhaps the Firecracker was the only rice dish that did not receive a bad comment and that could be thanks to overdose of chillies!
Ultimately, service was quite disappointing from the rolling eyes ewhen we asked for a table for 10, the endless minutes waiting for a fork and tap water, and the rather impolite tone of voice to customers, either when asking an outright question for the bill or when repeating for the 3rd time the plate you have is no for this table.
Left with a hint of disappointment, which sounds baffling when you think a restaurant chain aims at specific food and service standards. Current rating leaves Wagamama at the borderline with the worst restaurants so far. If you pay a visit, keep your expectations low.
Our verdict is as follows:
Quality of Food 3.67
Hygiene 4.17
Value for Money 3.17
Speed of Service 4.00
Quality of Service 2.83
Ambience & décor 3.17
Wagamama gets an overall rating of 71.7%
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