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Charliegwen
Posted 04 Jul 2008 7:53 PM
Small,
about 40 covers, but the atmosphere is very friendly and the food is
locally sourced and well presented. Reasonably priced and excellently
cooked. Very, very tasty. Try the 'german pancake' (cannot remember
the name) as a starter, absolutely delicious. Best restaurant for
many many miles.
Source: http://uktv.co.uk/food/outlet/aid/621865
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TABLE
FOR TWO AND TWO TODDLERS,Western
Mail (Cardiff); Jun 3, 2006; Rhodri Clark Western Mail; p. 21
Taking
small children to high-calibre restaurants isn't usually a good idea.
It's not that the little ones don't appreciate fine food - more that
the proprietors and other customers might not appreciate your little ones.
During a
family day out in Criccieth, my wife and I entered Poachers
Restaurant with some trepidation. The restaurant's website makes
clear that it's a child-friendly establishment, with a separate page
to call up marked 'kids'. But casting an eye over the stylish,
uncluttered interior and hearing the relaxed quietness of a Saturday
lunchtime, I couldn't help thinking of the mess and embarrassment our
children could cause. We were shown to a table with a bench seat
under a tall bay window. Our three-year-old made a beeline for the
bench. Before he could start fooling around with the cutlery, two
children's menus arrived with a butterfly picture to colour in. They
were soon followed by crayons and a basket of soft bread rolls.
The
restaurant was established in 1994, when chef Martin Bischoff, son of
a German master chef, returned to his native area. He and his wife
Jill, who now manages the dining room, previously worked at the
spectacular Banff Springs Hotel in the Canadian Rockies. The couple's
two children, of primary-school age, seem to have had some influence
on the restaurant's approach.
The
specials menu in our half of the dining room listed three appealing
seafood dishes - chef's speciality. We hadn't realised they were for
evening meals (which wasn't stated on the specials board) but the
waitress checked and chef was willing. My starter was a tartlet of
Welsh goat's cheese, served with a delicious selection of salads
including couscous with a strong flavour of ground cumin. My main
course was 'lightly Cajun spiced' red bream on a chunky sauce of crab
meat and leeks. The whole thing was a delicious combination, and the
fish was cooked to perfection. The spices were prominent, despite the
'lightly' description. My wife enjoyed her seafood medley in tomato,
white wine and cream, although she felt it was a little too hot for
her taste. After further investigation she decided the culprit was
the mashed potato accompaniment, which she thought was peppered. I
chose pear poached in mulled red wine, with homemade ice cream, for
dessert. The mulled wine did not overpower the pear's own flavour.
The nutmeg ice cream was the sort of revelation that makes eating out
a delight, in an age when supermarkets stock all kinds of produce and
recipes for seemingly everything are available on the internet. My
wife opted for the rich chocolate and raspberry torte, which tasted
more of chocolate than raspberry and didn't feel heavy on the stomach.
Meanwhile,
the bench seat in the bay window was turning out to be a mixed
blessing. Halfway through his Nuremberg pork and herb sausages, our
son decided to eat Roman-style - reclined. Threats of ice-cream
deprivation eventually got him sitting upright again. Then he stared
at a woman parked on the double-yellows outside who was tucking into
a custard slice from the local bakery, thoroughly embarrassed by his
scrutiny. The staff and other customers weren't annoyed even when our
one- year-old started demanding, in her one-year-old's way, to be
removed from her high chair. The people at the nearest table even
thanked us for providing entertainment
The
restaurant offers good value for money in a relaxed atmosphere where
children are genuinely welcomed.
Reviewed
by Rhodri Clark
Full
Text:(Copyright 2006 Western Mail and Echo Ltd.)
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To
full to move [09 Mar 2003 19:44:35]
Excellent
meal of local produce including fish from the "specials"
board was more than ample. Adequate choice of dishes with an
international flair (the owner-chef is apparently half Welsh half
German and his wife is Canadian). Good to see vegetarian choices that
did not include the dreaded "lasagne". Clean and friendly,
if a little packed. Would highly recommend this unpretencious
"cafe style" restaurant as good value for money.
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Food:4/5 |
Service:4/5 |
Ambiance:4/5 |
Overall:4/5 |
Recommended Dishes: Stuffed pancakes (either meat or spinach &
mushroom with garlic)
Anonymous
Source: http://chefmoz.org/United_Kingdom/Wales/Criccieth/Poachers_Restaurant952734859.html
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