All reader reviews by Maggie

Belgo Centraal

I booked a table for 10 last week for my boyfriend's birthday and didn't find it as enjoyable as in the past. The service is always so-so - the waiters are either rude or too jokey. I only found out about their no-cake-policy after I went out during my lunch hour to buy a cake then to the restaurant to drop it off. They said that they wouldn't be liable for any problems with the cake, so we were allowed to sing Happy Birthday, but not allowed to cut or eat it. They wouldn't even store it for us. I think they should notify customers on their website or at the door of this.

We thought the Lobster festival was on that week, as advertised on their website, but when we got there, the only lobster dish was the Surf n Turf. Quite a few of us ordered this and the amount of lobster (1/2 a lobster) was tiny, the steaks were all of different cut (mine was too tough, another was too fatty). Even the fries weren't that nice this time - over fried.

I don't think I'd visit again unless I really couldn't decide where to go and to take advantage of their beat the clock offer.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5

Sugar Hut

I went to the Sugar Hut yesterday with my boyfriend - we managed to book a table at the last minute and even got to use the toptable discount of 50% off our food bill.

The entrance was really hard to find at first as we were driving. We drove around for quite a long time before parking in the Waitrose car park nearby. You have to ring the doorbell to be let in which was quite quirky. Then you're taken to a darkly lit bar area with sofas and drapes and funky dance music. We were the 2nd out of 3 tables at 7pm. There was a large party at 8pm but we were asked if we could finish by 8.30pm as it was fully booked. When we left, the restaurant was still half empty.

The drinks were ok, but the food was great! For starters, we ordered the Talay Thod and the Thodmun Goong - I loved the plum sauce. They were quite similar, but the fish was really tender and soft. For mains, we had the Talay - a mixture of seafood in a curry sauce which was quite nice and the duck in tamarind sauce. The Pad Thai and coconut rice were good too.

Service was good - they were polite and quite attentive. The atmosphere was quite different - quite clubby but the dining area was nicely furnished.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8