Review: Affordable restaurants that I miss the most
Hello readers! This week I've been missing being able to go to my favourite affordable restaurants. Now, I hear that 3 of them are cutting staff, shutting down some locations and are in financial trouble! According to articles from the Daily Mail and the Mirror; Cafe Rouge, Bella Italia and Pizza Express have all announced that they are facing difficulty due to the loss in sales from the pandemic. Cafe Rouge and Bella Italia are owned by The Casual Dining Group, and they have filed at The High Court that they plan to appoint administrators, which puts 6,000 jobs across the country at risk. Pizza Express which is owned by Hony Capital, a Chinese private equity group, was in financial difficulty before the coronavirus, and now have made plans for the closure of some of its restaurants. I absolutely adore these restaurants and have been a regular customer for years! I hope they survive, as I don't know what I'd do without them, and I will be explaining why I feel that way below.
This French bistro is home to one of my favourite dishes of all-time, the Poulet Breton! This dish consists of a chicken supreme, with soft mashed potato on the side, served with a mixture of courgettes, chestnut mushrooms and leeks, all topped with a thick, creamy white wine and herb sauce. I'm usually a red meat covered in Bordelaise sauce lover, but for some reason this chicken dish blows me away every single time I eat it. I believe that every ingredient has been carefully paired together, to produce the perfect combination. Another favourite is the Onion Soup for starter, which is also very delicious. Even though it doesn't look appetising at all, as it's very dark in colour and thick in texture, it tastes the opposite; rich onion flavours that really aren't too overpowering with croutons added, served with chopped baguette bread slices. I've been to Cafe Rouge many times, from casual meals, to special birthday occasions with family. The decor is subtle, with red and brown being the colour scheme, in efforts to re-create an authentic French bistro serving authentic French cuisine.
Moving on to Italian restaurants, as Italian food is my favourite type of food ever; pasta, pizza, etc you name it, I will love it! This restaurant sells my favourite starter, Dough Balls with Garlic Butter on the side. I can't describe to you how tasty these little bitesize treats are, with no supermarket bought alternative ever coming close to the taste that's created in the restaurant. For mains, I either eat a Classic American Pizza or the Beef Bolognese ragu. There are other options for your pizza base; a Romana, which is a larger, thinner, crispier pizza, or a Leggera which is a lower calorie option, served on wholemeal dough with a hole in the middle filled with salad. I have eaten there many times, mainly with friends, as it's always been super affordable and there's a Pizza Express located so close to everyone. There's always plenty of deals available, pretty much at all times, so you're able to have 3 courses for a very reasonable price. It would be such a shame if the locations closest to me shut down, as I don't think anyone does Dough Balls better.
Bella Italia is another of my all-time favourites. I find that the menu here is more simplistic than others but offers a much wider variety of food, as it offers the classic Italian dishes like Spaghetti Bolognese, Spaghetti Carbonara and lots of classic pizza options, but also Calzone, Risotto, Burger, Grill and Salad options. This is perfect for me as I'm a bit of a fussy eater, so every dish on the menu are meals that I would eat for family dinners. There are loads of delicious starters to choose from; like Polpette, which is meatballs that are baked in a spicy tomato sauce with mozzarella, and Calzonetti N'duja, which is a new addition to the menu. This dish is mini calzones filled with a mixture of spicy n'duja sausage, tomato and mozzarella, served with a red pepper dip. My personal favourites are the Funghi Arrosto, which includes chestnut mushrooms baked with spinach, in a mascarpone and porcini sauce and the classic Bruschetta. I love the design of this restaurant, blue is the main colour scheme, with naked bulbs and light-up signs, to enhance the classic family-friendly atmosphere.
Cafe Rouge
This French bistro is home to one of my favourite dishes of all-time, the Poulet Breton! This dish consists of a chicken supreme, with soft mashed potato on the side, served with a mixture of courgettes, chestnut mushrooms and leeks, all topped with a thick, creamy white wine and herb sauce. I'm usually a red meat covered in Bordelaise sauce lover, but for some reason this chicken dish blows me away every single time I eat it. I believe that every ingredient has been carefully paired together, to produce the perfect combination. Another favourite is the Onion Soup for starter, which is also very delicious. Even though it doesn't look appetising at all, as it's very dark in colour and thick in texture, it tastes the opposite; rich onion flavours that really aren't too overpowering with croutons added, served with chopped baguette bread slices. I've been to Cafe Rouge many times, from casual meals, to special birthday occasions with family. The decor is subtle, with red and brown being the colour scheme, in efforts to re-create an authentic French bistro serving authentic French cuisine.Pizza Express
Moving on to Italian restaurants, as Italian food is my favourite type of food ever; pasta, pizza, etc you name it, I will love it! This restaurant sells my favourite starter, Dough Balls with Garlic Butter on the side. I can't describe to you how tasty these little bitesize treats are, with no supermarket bought alternative ever coming close to the taste that's created in the restaurant. For mains, I either eat a Classic American Pizza or the Beef Bolognese ragu. There are other options for your pizza base; a Romana, which is a larger, thinner, crispier pizza, or a Leggera which is a lower calorie option, served on wholemeal dough with a hole in the middle filled with salad. I have eaten there many times, mainly with friends, as it's always been super affordable and there's a Pizza Express located so close to everyone. There's always plenty of deals available, pretty much at all times, so you're able to have 3 courses for a very reasonable price. It would be such a shame if the locations closest to me shut down, as I don't think anyone does Dough Balls better.Bella Italia
Bella Italia is another of my all-time favourites. I find that the menu here is more simplistic than others but offers a much wider variety of food, as it offers the classic Italian dishes like Spaghetti Bolognese, Spaghetti Carbonara and lots of classic pizza options, but also Calzone, Risotto, Burger, Grill and Salad options. This is perfect for me as I'm a bit of a fussy eater, so every dish on the menu are meals that I would eat for family dinners. There are loads of delicious starters to choose from; like Polpette, which is meatballs that are baked in a spicy tomato sauce with mozzarella, and Calzonetti N'duja, which is a new addition to the menu. This dish is mini calzones filled with a mixture of spicy n'duja sausage, tomato and mozzarella, served with a red pepper dip. My personal favourites are the Funghi Arrosto, which includes chestnut mushrooms baked with spinach, in a mascarpone and porcini sauce and the classic Bruschetta. I love the design of this restaurant, blue is the main colour scheme, with naked bulbs and light-up signs, to enhance the classic family-friendly atmosphere.
It's such a shame that these restaurants are considering closing locations, as I have had great dining experiences there, where I have experimented with options on the menu that I would never normally choose, and they end up becoming my new favourites. I have also had fond memories in all of these restaurants; catch-ups with old friends, laughter, drinks, celebrations with family, romantic meals with my boyfriend or even just casual last-minute lunches. Since I have a lot more time on my hands due to the lockdown, I might have to try and re-create my favourite dishes at home. Thank you for reading!
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