The not so Hungry Horse

The Hungry Horse - Bedford

If you like good food – then you really don’t want to eat here. Due to a mixture of fatigue and hunger I found myself at the Hungry Horse, Goldington Road. Upon entering we were greeted by a pool table, fruit machines, tv’s, children’s shrieks and the glum faced employees who have long given up on being enthusiastic about their job. So we were in for a real treat. Once seated and handed our gigantic menus which include everything from roast dinners to curries, to Mexican and Spanish food whatever excitement we had about eating here had definitely faded. There was no way the Hungry Horse could adequately cook such a vast menu without an army of highly trained chefs. This led me to believe it would be microwaved mush and although I wasn’t privy to the kitchen it certainly didn’t taste fresh. There was one part of the menu which helped me sum it up quite nicely the Quesadillas had a phonetic key to help patrons pronounce it, “key-sah-deh-yah”.

Quality 3

Service 2

Price 3

#Wicbha? I hope not

Andaluz

Andaluz - Castle Road Bedford

Andaluz is a great little café on Castle Road, one of the liveliest roads in Bedford. It’s a Spanish style café and shop where you can sit inside or out and have a meal, then buy the ingredients that made it and re-create it at home. The staff and particularly the owner are very pleasant and helpful, if you’re stuck for inspiration they will recommend dishes for you. The one drawback is that for a relatively expensive meal, you do get great food but the environment in which you eat it in is hardly encouraging. The furniture looks as though it will be better-suited to a beer garden than the interior of a café.  

The goats cheese and caramelised onion quiche is by far the best quiche I have ever tasted and that alone is enough to tempt me back.  

Quality 7

Service 8

Price 6

#Wicbha? More than likely - especially when I get that craving for good, fresh Spanish food

Rajkot

Rajkot - Indian tapas restaurant

Rajkot is a restaurant which we frequent quite often, its well situated if you are (brave enough to be) on night out in Bedford. Very much like the idea of tapas in an Indian restaurant as it is all too easy to sit down in an Indian restaurant and choose your favourite dish. This means that the thirty or forty other dishes on the menu don’t get a look into your Indian food lexicon. The tapas element to the restaurant undoubtedly offers the choice to try something new! This is a great way of experimenting and trying dishes without ruining your evening if you don’t like your dish. 

On a Friday or Saturday night the atmosphere can be quite boisterous and you may find yourself shouting to the person sitting opposite you in a struggle to be heard. The music can be very loud, the last time we were there dance music bellowed out from the speakers, hardly in keeping with the usual Indian restaurant atmosphere. 

We have also been unlucky enough to be there when someone ordered the nuclear chicken wings. This is an extremely spicy chicken wing dish that if you are able to eat you get your name on a board on the wall of the restaurant. The ‘nuclear’ spices that were in the air made everyone in the restaurant apart from the staff cough uncontrollably. The manager then had to put a high-powered fan on and open the door to get some fresh air into the room. Not very pleasant. 

On the whole the food is cooked to a good standard. The restaurant is very small, probably twenty covers which does give it an intimate feeling, but if you don’t like sharing your conversation with the people on the table next to you then it’s maybe not for you. The staff are usually very attentive but when the restaurant is busy they seem to fall apart all too quickly under the increased pressure. 

Quality 6

Service 6

Price 7

#Wicbha? Probably

Corner 5

Corner 5 - Box End

Had being to box end park on several occasions previous to eating there I was very much looking forward to sampling the much talked about food. The restaurant situated on the edge of the man-made lake in an impressive Norwegian style timber framed building is the ideal setting for that special meal. 

As we were among only ten diners one weekday evening we received impeccable service from both the restaurant manager and waitress. However, the only nit-picking I can do is that when I booked I mentioned it was a birthday meal, and they said they would be able to do something special for our dessert. So I was a little disappointed when the dessert came out just as a standard dish. However, this didn’t dampen a truly wonderful meal. The quality of the food was expectedly exceptional. Before eating here I had received numerous recommendations so I was expecting a high level of quality but all expectations were surpassed. A starter of duck cobb salad and mussels set the bar high with a great white wine complementing both dishes we were already enamoured. The guinea fowl main was exquisite complemented with a mashed potato combined with black pudding which admittedly doesn’t sound terribly appetising but was a combination that worked very well. Indeed, it worked so well I am intent on re-creating it at home. The dessert was of ice cream was good but as mentioned earlier a little under-whelming in light of my telephoned request. 

On the whole it was a great evening, the service and food was very good and was only accentuated by overlooking the lake as the sun was setting. One small complaint would be there was at times quite a bit of noise from the bar area but this was only noticeable because the restaurant was very quiet. I’m sure this wouldn’t be a problem at the weekend when the restaurant is a little busier.  I am certainly sure to return on a Saturday night when the atmosphere is likely to be better. 

Quality 10

Service 9

Price 8

#Wicbha? Certianly 

http://www.boxendpark.com/corner5-restaurant/corner5-restaurant.php

The Kings Arms (Cardington)

Front garden Kings Arms

If any of you don't know Cardington it is a beautiful little village nestled just outside Bedford in the shadow of the magnificent air ship hangers.

The Kings arms has had a mixed past. I remember it years ago when it was inevitably run by some awful chain pumping out microwaved cardboard-esque gruel.

However, more recently under new ownership and after a long overdue make over the gastro pub has really come in to its own.

It’s less a pub and more of a restaurant (still a chain) now and is beautifully decorated inside and out. I have spent countless Sunday afternoons sitting out in the garden with a cool drink and warm wholesome, freshly produced meal. The menu has a home cooked feel about it. However, it is a far cry from anything the average cook could rustle up in their kitchen. The food is more often than not brilliant. I think I would say they do simple food really well. Things like their fish and chips and Sunday roasts are always very good. That is of course when they have the ingredients! As last Sunday I went at about 4.00pm and there was only one out of the four roast dinner options to choose from. It was beef, not my first, second or third choice but I have to say it was cooked to perfection being tender and full of flavour. The vegetables and potatoes were also seasoned well and very moreish.

The restaurants does all kinds of courses (which I must say I wasn't aware of until I looked at their website) like two for £10 and three to £13 on certain days of the week; full details of which are available on their website.

www.thekingsarmscardington.co.uk

Blue ginger

Blue Ginger facade can be lost in its surroundings

Blue ginger is a popular little Indian restaurant on Bedford Road, Kempston. It is easy to drive past without giving it a second look especially now with the addition of The Elephant; the Chinese and Thai restaurant that is situated practically on top of the understated Indian.

The restaurant is rather small inside and on a busy Friday or Saturday night it feels as though you are eating from the table of your neighbour. However, I feel this adds to the charm of the place. It has always had a really nice atmosphere whenever I have been there. Indeed a lot of customers that come to pick up their take-away order come early to have a drink and a chat at the bar. The staff are friendly and indeed the owner / manager likes to come to the tables of his guests and engage in conversation, which is a bit more than the usual, “Is everything alright with your meal?” You can sit and relax without having courses thrust under your nose as soon as you have finished the starter, which is very welcomed especially when considering how busy the place gets.

The takeaway menu is also very good and is quite often found at the top of the pile in my house. Their menu can be found on their quite comprehensive website http://bluegingerbedford.co.uk/default.asp

The one thing I really like about this restaurant is the quality of the food. You can have a really nice, large meal and still feel as though you are eating healthily. The menu isn’t as lengthy as other Indian restaurants but all this means is that the chef can concentrate on the quality of the dishes they do provide.

The restaurant is great for meals with friends, partners or family and I have been with all and had a good experience each time.

There are so many Indian restaurants to choose from in Bedford and its surrounding area and I being a great lover of Indian cuisine have never really dined in one that I have truly disliked. I think it’s fair to say that the level of Indian cuisine in Bedford is generally quite good. Let me know if you think otherwise.

Blue Ginger really carves out its niche in the market by being a small, friendly, wholesome restaurant that achieves success through customer loyalty. I believe that if you visit there once, you will more than likely go again.

Quality 9
Service 9
Price 8
#Wicbha? Yes

The failings of chains

With our economy on the brink of another recession, we will inevitably see more and more local businesses and services folding. However, what I have noticed is that people are still going out to eat and socialise over food and drink and where chains tend to withstand difficulties, independent restaurants always have to up their game to survive. The service has to be top notch and the food has to be above average. And it shows. However, are the chains over-confident and taking their customers for granted? Perhaps.

In the last week I have been able to experience three big chain restaurants and to say I was disappointed is an understatement. Last night, with a pizza craving, we headed to Pizza Hut on the Aspects Leisure Park. Just driving past we could see it was busy- it is school holidays, but that didn’t worry us. However, walking in we were firstly unable to even get inside owing to the pile up of people in the tiny waiting/ take away area who were waiting for orders or to be seated. We stood at the front desk where you wait to be seated and we were not acknowledged for over 5 minutes even though we saw three members of staff standing around chatting for a couple of minutes. It was also awful to see they had a table of 2 literally in the doorway although at the back of the restaurant there were many empty tables. We noticed the floor was covered in pizza, napkins and cutlery and the salad bar looked as though a bomb had hit it. When we were eventually seen to, we were told it was a twenty minute wait and so we left as we had already gone off the idea. It’s a shame that in this day and age, huge businesses such as the Whitbread Group who are lucky enough to be able to withstand these worrying times and have such a large market captured, are unable to meet basic customer service standards.
Sticking to the chains, we headed to Frankie and Bennies. We were served as soon as we got in, although by the door where the front door is always open and so there is a draft, but the staff were very friendly and polite. We were served quickly and ordered chicken wings to share to start, a New Yorker burger each and then pancakes to share for dessert. Unfortunately, in true chain- standard the wings were quite fatty and burnt and the burgers were dripping in fat and grease. Maybe we were expecting too much?
However, with these big eatery companies and names, is good food too much to ask? The dessert was nice but we were left waiting for it and the bill for nearly 20 minutes. The polite female member of staff explained they were very short staffed and apologised for the wait- a shame as we saw three sets of people walk in, fail to be acknowledged or seated and instead left to go elsewhere.

Lastly, the worst experience was last week. I went to Pizza Express with a friend and we went earlier at half past 6. Again, we realised it was school holidays and so there were many kids with parents. However, once again we were sat in a rather awful place- a table for two right by the cutlery and so you are constantly battling over the sound of the knives and forks to be heard. Literally as soon as we were sat down and given the menus, a female member of staff (who we found out to be new) asked us what we wanted. We kindly explained that it might be nice to have a few minutes to have a look at the menu and so she stood two steps away and waited for us, whilst watching. In a bid to end the awkward moment, we quickly chose olives and dough balls to start and a pizza each. For 20 minutes we chatted and then we realised we had not had our starters- we understand it was busy but the problem was we could see them sitting on the side along with 4-5 pizzas with no-one taking them out. However, the new member of staff was standing around doing nothing and another came and stopped to talk to her. We had to ask for them to bring them over.

Whilst eating them we were constantly faced with children running passed our table- not the restaurants fault but annoying at the same time as the gap between us and he table next to us was around 1 foot and so the table was nudged every time. We also noticed a back member of staff continually take a full dirty rubbish bin from the back through the restaurant to the outside bins- which smelt and was quite unhygienic.

By the time we got our pizzas, nearly an hour had gone and mine was dry with the cheese hard where it had been sat out. I didn’t want to wait another half an hour and so I notified the waitress and said it might be worth keeping an eye on others. I then heard her tell a manager who said ‘if she doesn’t want another one that’s good and we don’t have to give anything away free.’

In the meantime, the new member of staff attempted to carry a tray with 4-5 bottles on it which then were dropped and glass was shattered all over the floor and by our feet- this then took around 20 minutes for them to clear up.

I was quite keen on leaving by the end- luckily we had vouchers (which Pizza Express is very good at) and so we didn’t spend much.

I look forward to visiting more independent restaurants now- I’m quite happy to give the chains a rest.