Restaurant review: PLANET HOLLYWOOD (Piccadilly Circus)

Hey readers! Sorry I’ve been MIA for the last two months; I recently started a job in Finance and absolutely adore it! However, I’m also putting the finishing touches on my PhD, and between that, the 9 to 5 job (where the 5 often extends to much later than 5) and studying for exams that accompany my job, I have had very little time for anything else! Hence the non-existent film discourse. 

My coverage of the 2019 Oscar race will sadly be minimal compared to my extensive coverage this year, although, rest assured, I will find time to watch the key Oscar players, come hell or high water!

Until then, here be a review of Planet Hollywood, a cheery-looking place just of Piccadilly Circus that I have long wanted to visit, if only for its enticing name!

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I bought a deal for a two-course meal for 2 at Planet Hollywood on BuyAGift.com. I got the voucher with a discount, but I will be assessing the dining experience had I paid the price been what it’s retailing at on the website, without a discount, of £40.

With the deal, you’re entitled to two courses out of a starter, a main and a dessert. This is good because it affords flexibility, with those with a fondness for the savoury dishes given the option of starter, and those with a sweet tooth can choose dessert. What’s more, because the portions are quite large (think American-style portions), two courses will fill you, in the same way that it usually takes all three courses of a Café Rouge-style set menu to fill you.

Because I’ve always loved the sour more than the sweet (my personality in a microcosm, right there. #GoneGirl), I opted for starters instead of dessert. I had nachos: 

Restaurant review: BARRAFINA (Covent Garden)

On my birthday (18^th April), I ventured out of my cheap and cheerful and/or Groupon-bought dining comfort zone and celebrated in style with an altogether more upmarket dinner at Barrafina.

The restaurant specialises in Spanish tapas, and after the nightmare that was Salvador and Amanda with all their short-cut taking, I was naturally, a little hesitant.

I needn't have worried; Barrafina has restored my faith in Spanish tapas in London.

Here are some pictures:

A fabulous three course meal at the Scarman Conference Centre, University of Warwick.

I attended a conference at the University of Warwick this April, and on one of the evenings, we were all treated to a delicious three course meal. Here are the courses:

Salmon starter. Such a generous (and appetising) portion of seafood! (I love seafood btw; whenever I'm at McDonald's I always get the filet o'fish).

Restaurant review: LAS IGUANAS (Bath)

Channelling the vibe of Latin-American food, Las Iguanas is a very popular eatery in Bath where you can often find all age ranges - students, adults, pensioners - frequenting, whether it be to celebrate a birthday or just a pre-night out meal. 

The prices are fairly reasonable -- although they could stand to do more student offers, and, taking advantage of their 2-for-1 cocktails, we hit Las Iguanas after our last exam.

The food was, overall, well-cooked; the lamb and potato ensemble was fantastic but I felt the bread on my sandwich could have been better baked. Our choice of cocktail pitcher was this wonderful mango concoction:

And it was wonderful. It tasted so suspiciously unalcoholic that one had to wonder if there was any vodka actually in there, though I did feel somewhat tipsy after drinking it, so, there probably was. The mango blended with the rest of the ingredients fantastically.

Bea's Vintage Tea Rooms.

For my housemate's birthday, we had tea at Bea's Vintage Team Rooms, in Bath. In Bath, there are a lot of places where you can go for tea, but we chose this one as the prices were reasonable for the amount of food on offer. And it was a lovely experience!~~

It was one of these platters to share between two people, and they filled us up a treat! The sandwiches came in three flavours: salmon, cucumber and cream cheese, and egg and cress. They were all wonderfully made so that even a seemingly plain flavour like cucumber ended up being really tasty. The clotted cream was very rich and there were a range of cakes.  Me and Theo shared the chocolate and lemon ones, I preferred the chocolate but the meringue on top of the lemon cake rendered it quite tasty too.

Overall, a wonderfully cute place to go, full of pretty teacups, friendly staff and delicious food. Recommended!

Grade: A