The worst night out on LL (Liquorish)

[Louisa]

Jonboy, anyone who has eaten at Le Moulin would suggest that by LL standards, it most certainly is a yardstick (and perhaps nort of Watford too). Why is a piece of cheese "not on these days"? They are not a vegetarian restaurant, they offered an alternative to a meat dish (bare in mind she picked a meat dish in the first place) and for one of a few reasons came up with that! What do you expect? Blood out of a stone? It's British customer service for you. Full stop.. Trying to imagine that they have a whole host of fresh vegetables and whacky arty farty dishes off the top of some standard chef whos on no more than 12k a year is living in fantasy land. Sorry!

[MadWorld74]

Louisa wrote:(bare in mind she picked a meat dish in the first place) and for one of a few reasons came up with that! What do you expect? Blood out of a stone? It's British customer service for you. Full stop.. Trying to imagine that they have a whole host of fresh vegetables and whacky arty farty dishes off the top of some standard chef whos on no more than 12k a year is living in fantasy land. Sorry

Louisa, were YOU the waitress I had the altercation with that other day in Liqourish?!!!

Why do you seem to be getting so worked up?

How do you think in your mind that mezze is a 'whacky arty farty dish'?

and lastly....we all have forum names we refer to each other as. Mine is Madworld74, not 'she'.

[*Bob*]

'whacky arty farty dish'

HA HA. Love it.

[Jonboy]

Ladygooner - I stand corrected on the ham/cheese quote :-)

Louisa, This is 2007. Vegetarians are not exactly a rare breed. Almost all kitchens stock a vast range of different staple items suitable for vegetarians to eat. I am sure the chef also went to catering school, where they learn to cook a number of different styles and using a wide range of ingredients. It really should not be beyond the wit of man to improvise something suitable for Madworld to eat.

It seems as though MW was given the cheese, not because the chef had nothing else, but because he was takng the p*ss. Simply not good enough as either the chef is incompetent or he is rude.

If you (ludicrously) dont have ingredients for a vegetarian dish, then say so - dont give people a bit of cheese.

[Jonboy]

Oh, I forgot. The fact that the chef may be on ?12k pa makes no difference - he/she is being paid to do a job.

[Jonboy]

And if he keeps up like that he'll be on 12k for the rest of his life.

[snorky]

Er. Im a veggie. yes.

if its not on the menu, then why should you be upset if the Chef/ Cook cant prepares something off the cuff for you ?

This isnt a 2000 place super resturant you are talking about - its a bar that does a bit of food

Would you go to Gordorn Ramseys and ask for the Lamb, but demand they prepare a vegitarian verison ?

of course not

YOu make do.

usually with gloopy cheese based dishes :(

[MadWorld74]

I didn't think Jacobs Cream crackers were used in eateries anymore? Apart from maybe Harvesters and Beefeaters?

[*Bob*]

London seems to have too many 'chefs'. I expect there's even a 'head chef' in a Wimpy these days.

The majority of these people aren't 'chefs', they're 'cooks'.

The bars-wot-do-food ponce-up the menus so they can hike-up the prices and say 'I'll talk to the chef' to give an air of grandeur. Actually, what they often mean is: I'll see if the unimaginative COOK who only knows how to do the 12 things on the menu can find something in the cupboard.

I don't believe it has anything to do with how much the person is paid, or whether you're in a top-flight restaurant or otherwise. I've been in sandwich bars with more imagination than some restaurants. Guess which places I go back to?

Budding CHEFS who make an effort to surprise and delight customers who ask for something slightly off-menu will actually progress in their chosen career. The others won't.

[Jonboy]

No-one is suggesting that a meat-free lamb be freshly slaughtered, but here

http://www.liquorish.com/menu.html

is a sample menu for the place, so its fair to assume these foodstuffs (or most of them) are on the premises most of the time. If the chef cannot be arsed to produce something better than a bit of cheese, he should be turned into sausages for the carnivores among us.

[MadWorld74]

Bloody hell! they didn't have that on the menu when I was in there! That's why I sort of had to choose the Mezze ( I think they had a veggie burger but I didn't want a meal)

[Fear 'n boozin]

made me laugh (from the menu):

Vegetarian burger with homemade chunky chips & salad

(Extra toppings: stilton, bacon, mature cheddar or chilli salsa for 50p)

I find most of the places on LL over priced when it comes to food, or woefull. I know we're in London, but I fail to see why that means I can't get a decent bit of food for a tenner. (This is mostly eating in the bars/pubs, haven't tried the restaurants much). I will say that I thought Buddah Jazz and Franklins were great though (and annoyingly I have enjoyed a garlic gbk).

If that's their menu (to get back on topic), I really don't see why they couldn't have provided MW with something decent.

[wee quinnie]

Glad you said that MW74 - I was going to suggest that they have loads of stuff on there they could have customised for your mezze.

[Annasfield]

Assuming that the menu (as in Jonboy's link) was in force, the "chef" shouldn't have had any problems in producing a vegetarian mezze -It really wouldn't have been difficult. Sounds to me like he/she just couldn't be @rsed and decided to be pedantic.

I've worked with several chefs who like to throw a Ramsey style strop, as they think it makes them look big and clever. Generally the request isn't unreasonable but they just like to thow their weight around.

[Brendan]

Yeah I've worked in a few resturants and "chefs" can be difficult buggers.

No offence meant to any chefs out there just a true observation from my experiences.

[SeanMacGabhann]

The online menu versus the current "actual" menu illustrates my point - something has gone wrong at the bar and we can talk till we are blue in the face but to sum up the facts (rather than opinions):

Some people have never liked Liqourish because of it's style - but lots of us like it for same reason

For people who like it, it has gone downhill within last 18 months or so

A recent appointment of new manager has yet to see an improvement

The real (as opposed to virtual) menu has shrunk and is inflexible

Service did not deal with a (slightly) awkward request very well

They are losing customers because of the above (and not the smoking ban)

That about sum it up? All the rest of the to-ing and fro-ing about what should and shouldn't be acceptable/possible in the outer reaches of zone2/zone3 is fun, but if I was the manager of the place I would like a quick summary of what the problem is (from a punter perspective)

[Jah Lush]

Yup, that sums it up perfectly Sean. Perhaps the manager will hopefully take a peak at your post and others and act on it.

[SeanMacGabhann]

Although what would be funny would be if Madworld74 posted something like..

"I've just realised I made a typo in my first post - all of the events happened but when I said Liqourice I was confusing the place with.. " [sniiiip - legal editor]

[MadWorld74]

just as long as he doesn't offer me a free meal to say 'sorry, I do love veggies, especially you!'....not likely to happen but hey.

[Jah Lush]

>:D

[MadWorld74]

SeanyMac you are very naughty.

[Louisa]

You can get a half decent veggie wrap in boots for 2.99.. I tried it and loved it!

[MadWorld74]

Louisa,

If you eat food from Boots the Chemist, then I need say no more. It's been a pleasure bantering with you.

Regards

Madworld74

[Louisa]

MadWorld, have you ever tried food from Boots? It can very tasty, and guess what, you can take it back and be fully refunded (statutory rights not affected) if its awful, unlike some of the restaurants you visit apparantly hehe

Next time I visit a steak house i'm gonna ask if they can substitute the steak for anything else.. Could be interesting..

[mockney piers]

Boots is even worse than Marks and Sparks as a purveyor of cold, limp flavourless lunchtime fare. If that's really your idea of good food then you're most welcome to it.