The Boot & Shoe
82 Hospital Street, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 5RP
Tel: 01270 625193 email us at: the boot and shoe pub in Nantwich
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The Boot & Shoe 82 Hospital Street, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 5RP Tel: 01270 625193 email us at: the boot and shoe pub in Nantwich
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All reviews are for the current year (2007) unless otherwise stated. Don't take any of them too seriously, tis just a bit of fun. I will be adding to it constantly, so watch this space. Cardiff Chester Nantwich Tarporley Tattenhall Lymm Chester:- Although a chain restaurant we love Moules a Go Go - it specialises in seafood, but also has steaks, chicken etc. Never had a bad meal - and the portions are generous. Service is excellent. They do some good deals too! Another chain but a little different is The Black House Grill - does a very nice surf and turf with lobster - we have eaten there four times and sadly have found the standards to drop significantly on busy sessions .i.e race day. Overall very nice, slightly pricey, but would go back - probably during the week to ensure we received the excellent service and food we first experienced. The Mill - is a hotel bar restaurant, which we use as a favoured overnight stop. We usually book a premier room with a balcony for the fresh air option, and of course to sip some champagne whilst watching the world go by. The rooms are by no means plush and could do with updating, and most upsetting for us TV slobs -you can't see the telly from bed! The rooms however are clean and spacious. We have never stayed in the newer part of the hotel so cannot comment on these rooms. We have had a outstandingly fabulous meal off the 'flambé' menu and also had a bad meal too. I would personally avoid the chateaubriand (as I didn't find the cut of meat very good quality) but the steaks are great - especially for the price. The bar is fantastic and all you real ale drinkers will love the impressive array they always have on. The staff are very friendly and most have been there a long time, it is nice to be recognised and acknowledged when going into a City Centre bar/hotel. 2008 update - hoorah they have now installed some plasma screens in the premier rooms! No more stacking the pillows to the ceiling height to see the telly from bed! They have refurbed the reception lounge too. Piccolino - Only been here once and I thought it was scrummy. Nige however was not as impressed with his pasta dish. He said it was Ok but not the best. I had chicken in a cream and mushroom sauce, it was really tasty and the chicken was not dried out as I so often find in a lot of places. Will convince Nige to give it another go and see what we think second time around. The Crowne Plaza - mmm, not impressed with this hotel at all. Soulless to the point of being unfriendly. Rooms were nice. Very open and large bar area, so open that you could hear everyone's conversation and their screaming children...aaarggh! Some room dividers would be nice to break up the massive expanse and to avoid the "are we in school hall" feeling. We have stayed at the Crowne Plaza in Brussels and it had the wow factor, so not put off this chain of hotels yet! Bollicini -(Just inside Rufus court) we visited this restaurant/bar for the first time on our last visit to Chester and were very impressed. We had a light lunch, I had wild mushroom risotto, which can be bland, but this was very tasty, I suspect they cooked the rice in the juice from the mushrooms giving it a very strong flavour...I wanted to ask for more! Nige had a panini, which was crammed with palma ham, cheese and tomato. We sat outside on the patio, and totally 'chilled out' due partly to the sound of running water from the mini water feature and it was a real sun trap too! Most of the staff are Italian, and speak with strong enchanting accents (worth going to just to listen to them speak in their lovely tones) and I think a couple of the ladies are Swedish (for you boys) - all are very 'smiley' and charming. For very very grown up people only (not too sure why they let us in!) Can't wait to go back to see if it is consistent. La Tasca - not for foodies as it is more about the fun than the food. The food (mainly tapas) is consistent and fairly tasty, the atmosphere is lively, fun and noisy. The service is excellent. The only negative would be that none of their white wines are very dry. This place gets very busy at the weekends - get there early! Francs (french cuisine) - this place has an excellent reputation. Whilst the staff are really lovely we cannot find anything to rave about food wise. We will give it another try (as the menu does change frequently)...so watch this space! P.S. They love it if you can speak French, last time I had to phone my 6 year old nephew Joshua (who is fluent in French) and ask for some tips and sayings to try and impress....! Yeah, not such a good idea Jan...leave it to those who can eh! Very posh, but very nice, The Grosvenor Hotel. We have stayed here several times and are made to feel like royalty. The rooms are superb, obviously the more you pay, the better the room. A great place for a luxurious treat or a celebration. We have not eaten in the Arckle (cos Nige forgot his jacket...der!) but have eaten in the Brasserie - yum yum. The staff don't miss a trick and tend to your every need. Oh yeah, they have the fluffiest dressing gowns for you to lounge about in.....it's a girl thing! I love it here! Don't expect to come back with any money in your wallet, tis rather expensive, but worth it! Going towards the race course on watergate street is Bar Lounge, I love going in here. The staff are very well trained and have great product knowledge, they are very attentive. We normally only have light snacks in here, but have had the bar platter twice - a little pricey at £29.00 but scrumptious! Try their Gin and Tonics - the best I have had to date! The ladies toilet would benefit from some much brighter lighting - one could easily confuse their lip liner with their eye pencil.....not a good look! I can't find a web site for this venue but here is a couple of reviews from other sites - Onionring or Chester@large 2008 update - great to see they have now improved the lighting in the ladies! Across the road from Bar Lounge:- I cannot praise this place highly enough. Upstairs at the Grill is, in my opinion, one of the best dining experiences you will find in Chester. The staff were outstanding. The food was second to none. If you love your food and great service then this is a must. I cannot wait to go back. The bar is very well stocked and the decor is beautiful (as are the loo's). A great romantic venue - please don't change a thing guys! Brilliant! The Living Room - a complete contrast to the Bar Lounge - the staff are appalling, so much so, that we walked out on our last visit. We had waited at the 'nearly' empty bar and with four staff and what appeared to be a manager behind the bar, they still managed to have all their personal conversations and make themselves a cuppa before they served the guy that walked in after us!! How annoying! However, they redeem themselves with their comfy seating and fairly good grub. Nigel doesn't rate any of the draught beers or Guinness, so we stick to G&T's. Watergate bar - always pop in here for a drink - just a great atmospheric bar to break up the long walk between bars!! Great place to take people who have never been to Chester before to show them the crypt cellars. Could do with the old candles back on the bar or some slightly brighter lighting, or you could end up talking to someone you think is your husband...I'll say no more on that one!!!!! Oh yeah - please oil the hinges on the ladies toilet door it takes all my strength to push them open. Fairly young scene, hip and trendy. The Old Harkers Arms - been in twice for a drink and recently went for some scoff! Meal was fine, Nige had fish 'n'chips and I had chicken - although I thought it was a little pricey for a pub meal! However, the service was excellent. I ordered mushroom and goats cheese for my starter and it arrived smothered in tomatoes (which I loathe) and they took it off the bill and gave us some drinks with the least amount of fuss (as they agreed with me that it should have mentioned on the menu description that the dish contained tomatoes). Lovely atmosphere too. A thirty something's pub me thinks! Dutton's is another establishment that seems to have good reviews, but Nige and I cannot see why. Bland and cold food. We won't be going back. Great atmosphere though. The chairs seem to be crammed in and very little room for staff and customers to negotiate their way to tables and bar. Again I can't find it's own website so have found a few reviews beer in the evening or Onionring Aquavitus - we entered this restaurant one cold December evening, after just completing our Xmas shopping. We liked the look of the menu and asked the waiter if he had a table free, it was approx. 6:00pm. The restaurant was empty except for one table of four. The waiter 'seriously' opened the diary and started scanning it and then said reluctantly - "OK" and put us right in the doorway. Hmm, we thought they must be expecting a big crowd in tonight. We waited for him to come back with menus and to take our drinks order....and we waited....and we waited. Eventually menus were brought out and our drinks were ordered and brought to us. I ordered foie grais tart tartan for starter and chateaubriand for main. Nige ordered vegetable/cheese terrine and monkfish and prawn kebab for main. It was very very expensive. When our starters arrived, we both had to do everything in our power not to laugh, my tart tartan was lost on the 'size of an elephant' plate, but could have easily been put in whole, into even the daintiest of mouths!! Nigel's starter was the size of a large vol au vent! Although both tasted very nice. My chateaubriand was cold, but tasty. Nigel's main course was only tepid. By the time we had finished our meals, approx. an hour and 15 minutes later, only one other couple had come in. Now - we are not arguing over cost or taste. We won't go back purely because we were made to feel as though we were inconveniencing the waiter. Also, considering there was only another table of four in, our starters took well over half an hour to arrive after ordering!! We also thought it was overpriced and the portions were very small. We were both still hungry after we left. A real shame that we were put off on our first visit, I always think that it is a very attractive restaurant with great menus. |
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