Restaurant Review: Angels, Ribchester

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Angels Restaurant – Still Heavenly

Angels Restaurant Ribchester has held or flirted with, Trip Advisor’s top Preston spot for considerable time – building up significant local support. With an empty stomach, I booked myself in for Angels special Autumn Food Month menu…

After I greedily ate too much posh bread, Angels Restaurant Ribchester started with ‘smoked sweet corn & lime soup confit chicken’ – an unusual ensemble, which worked surprisingly well. I didn’t associate limes with autumn, but it added freshness, balancing the moist, flavoursome meat and provided a zingy talking point if nothing else.

Angels Restaurant Ribchester’s Fish Course produced wonderfully presented ‘seared mackerel, beetroot, horseradish, celeriac’. Gloriously in season with pleasingly blistered skin, the oily fish against the sharp beetroot is a classic combination I’ll never tire of. I finished the plate noting that I must remember to buy more beetroot.

Angels Restaurant Ribchester’s Main Course proudly consisted of ‘Guineafowl, spiced squash & mushroom Bolognese’. Who puts Bolognese with guineafowl? I don’t care if your Italian family’s Bolognese recipe’s passed down mother-to-daughter for generations – it couldn’t compete. A delicately piped thimble of creamy mash and ethereal micro leaves framed the rich guineafowl. It was so succulent I wondered why anyone bothers with turkey?

Angels Restaurant Ribchester’s Dessert produced a ‘Blueberry chocolate blondie, caramelised apple, & caramel cream’. This was how puddings should be – indulgent – not comma-inducing. As if that wasn’t enough, the ‘Northumberland Baltic ale-washed cheese, fruit & peanut loaf’ concluded the consumption, although I wasn’t blown away: I viewed the vaguely geriatric quality of the dried fruit and nut loaves with suspicion.

I haven’t mentioned wine because I’ve gone on long enough; however, the pinot noir was a general crowd-pleaser for this time of year when we eat little else but dead birds. For a tricky dessert pairing the ‘Concha y Toro Late Harvest Sauvignon’ with its light honey and peach flavours was just lovely with their creamy dessert.

A lot of thought and effort had gone into the interior of Angels Restaurant Ribchester. Perhaps the glitz won’t be to the taste of conservative persuasions. For my money, Angels Restaurant Ribchester got it just right, with a tastefully muted colour scheme with a touch of kitsch humour. Restaurants need an element of fun – how they achieve that while retaining their professionalism is a big challenge – but one Angels Restaurant Ribchester answered.

Finally, just as much effort was exerted by their hard-working shiny young staff, who will almost certainly make your meal an enjoyable one should you be lucky to visit.

Angels Restaurant
Review Summary

Atmosphere 9   Cost 10    Quality 9    Service 9

Angels Restaurant Ribchester Review
Guineafowl, Spiced Squash, Raisins, Mushroom Bolognese
Angels Restaurant Ribchester Review
Mackerel, Beetroot, Horseradish, Celeriac
Angels Restaurant Ribchester Review
Smoked Sweetcorn & Lime Soup, Chicken Confit
Angels Restaurant Ribchester Review
Blueberry Chocolate Brownie & Caramel Cream

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Ribchester

Restaurant Review: Tang KTV, Preston

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Tang Restaurant- Never Left Wanton More

I want to like Chinese food, I really do. However, I can’t be cheaply seduced by salt, sugar and bright colours forever. Mercifully, Tang Preston fought against stereotypically luminous Chinese cuisine, with authentic dishes that thankfully did without fortune cookies.

Tang Preston’s vivacious manager Rob brought the restaurant to life: his omnipresence ensured diners were kept happy and his polite team organised. Rob happily elaborated on what was a potentially intimidating menu, covering Dim Sum, Cantonese and Sichuan cuisines. Perhaps the Chicken Feet or Fish Heads won’t tempt, but take his advice and break free from self-imposed Sweet N Sour Chicken prison. Tang Preston had a broader ingredient list than any local Chinese restaurant – don’t waste the opportunity for exploration

Regarding atmosphere, Tang Preston had a sparse philosophy to interior design. The PowerPoint menu presentation seemed unnecessary. Call me old fashioned, but I can do without rotating images of stomach and intestines – a humble Specials Board would suffice. More importantly, Tang Preston was spotlessly clean and populated by the local Chinese contingent, suggesting an authentic kitchen.

The Hot & Sour Soup was rich and thick, a little gloopy, but I found that strangely comforting. Is dipping prawn crackers into soup poor etiquette? Regardless, I was a Pavlovian dog to the sound of them sensually sizzling. It was packed with vinegary, peppery flavours that did me good. However, the vegetables were flaccid, not crunchy; thus, the dish lacked texture.

The Deep Fried Aubergines with their fluffy centres and crispy skins were so moreish they should be criminalised. The salty, chilli crumby bits were fiercely fought over and the best thing in the restaurant. They made a great alternative to chips, although weren’t any healthier.

The oddly named Char Siu Honey Roast were porky clouds, without an equivalent in British cuisine. They had a spongecake-like texture, punctuated by bits of bacon. The aubergines I could’ve eaten until my heart stopped or the restaurant closed. However, the Char Siu were deceptively filling, and prohibitively sweet to stop me from wanting more than a couple.

As with everything at Tang Preston, the Duck Chow Mein was very generously proportioned. I would have liked to have traded a bit more duck for loads fewer noodles, as there was a daunting amount. The duck itself was well cooked, while the Chow Mein had a good selection of lightly cooked vegetables Peking peeking out. Like a Thai Massage, I found the dish oily, but certainly enjoyable. It provided 3,000% of my RDA of MSG, but hey, it was the weekend. A Chicken Curry dish didn’t fare quite so well, offering more salt than chicken.

If anyone eats: Soup, Dim Sum, the main course and then asks for the dessert menu, lock them up as a menace to society. Tang Preston can’t sell more than two hundred desserts a year – there just aren’t enough morbidly obese people in waddling distance. Tang Preston is a small, industrious restaurant, providing warm welcomes, generous portions, an interesting menu in a casual atmosphere – try it out.

Tang Restaurant
Review Summary

Atmosphere 5    Cost 9    Quality 7    Service 8

Tang Preston Restaurant Review
Hot & Sour Soup – tastes better than it looks
Tang Preston Restaurant Review
Char Siu Honey Roast
Tang Preston Restaurant Review
Deep Fried Chilli Aubergines
Tang Preston Restaurant Review
An XXL Chow Mein

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Bar Review: The Dorchester, Mayfair

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The Dorchester Bar – Bourgeois Boozing

Strolling down Mayfair’s Park Lane, my lack of gaudy supercar and harem retinue ironically made me more conspicuous. Thankfully, The Dorchester doormen were completely unpretentious and perfectly polite, warmly welcoming my drinking buddy and me through polished opened doors. First impressions were stunning: the scent of fresh flowers washed over me like a luxurious feminine tidal wave.

The Dorchester Bar was opulent but felt dated – not F. Scott Fitzgerald retro hedonism dated – I just mean dated-dated. The lack of windows, oppressive purples and glossy surfaces were reminiscent of a low-stakes casino. The shiny pink stalagmites which surrounded the place were just bizarre. I was expecting The Dorchester Bar to offer timeless British glamour, not The Crystal Maze Mayfair Zone. I’m not sure if this was the interior designer’s way of forcing a contemporary edge, but I had never seen anything quite like it.

Regarding The Dorchester Bars value, there is nothing worse than someone complaining about drink prices; however, £20 for a gin and tonic is ridiculous. Although not as silly as the tin foil paint jobs on the supercars littering the entrance. People have rated The Dorchester ‘Excellent’ for value on TripAdvisor. Who the hell spends £80 on four G&Ts and thinks: “I just can’t believe the outstanding value!” I imagine Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum has better things to do with his time. The Dorchester Drinks Menu itself was comprehensive and elegant as one would expect. While the glassware was the prettiest I’d ever handled. The Dorchester Bar was a place for proper cocktail drinkers: strawberry daiquiri lovers need not apply. The Brooklyn was properly excellent, and I became obsessed with the sticky, salty, delicious nibbles.

Regarding service, the gentleman working the bar was permanently elegantly poised, and no doubt skilled in the art of libations, but wasn’t particularly engaging. Perhaps staff were instructed to behave in this corporate manner, or maybe that’s just what The Dorchester’s clientele prefers. I would have liked to have seen his fun side; after all, if you can’t have a good time in a bar, where can you? I wasn’t demanding a game of beer pong!

The Bar at The Dorchester is a unique place, worth a visit for any cocktail enthusiast, but only ones with very deep pockets. I wouldn’t bother with the Champagne Simmer – I can live without the ‘gold dust and The Dorchester Lip Gloss’ – especially for £40. Although that’s nothing compared to Louis XIII: an eye-watering £1,600 a measure, plus £200 service charge for pouring. Across the sparsely populated Dorchester Bar was the most miserable woman I had ever seen drinking champagne; I didn’t know it was possible to drink Bollinger and simultaneously retain such a scowl. She was a spiritual meme for money not equating to happiness, as I visualised my bank balance dwindling to zero with a smile.

The Dorchester Bar
Review Summary

Atmosphere 4/10    Cost 2/10    Quality 10/10    Service 9/10

I'm only jealous
The Dorchester: I’m only jealous

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The Dorchester Bar