So how was it for you? : This week we've turned the tables and left restaurant reviewing to the diners. In Soho, London, Esther Oxford took the notes, Edward Sykes the pictures - Small and friendly and not too fancy
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Your support makes all the difference.Mildreds wholefood cafe and takeaway, 58 Greek Street
Mark Rivers - cameraman.
Ellen Yates - teacher.
Mike Fairbrass - architectural model- maker.
Jayne Russell - nutritional therapist.
WHILE they were checking the sky to see if it was going to rain, a baseball cap emblazoned with the Big Issue banner floated out of the top window and landed on the bench. So there it was, perched on the end, and there the four of them sat, enjoying 'a small but variable menu', with 'attentive waitresses, intent on serving the food before the rain poured down'.
They barked out their comments in between bites.
'The penne (pasta) came without Parmesan - it was weird.'
'I had a Mexican burrito with bean chilli sauce, guacamole and sour cream. And the side salad was lovely.'
'The Negra Modelo (a mild beer) needs to be frozen.'
'I'm a vegan, but I eat fish. Stir fry with shrimps did the job for me.'
One of the women came to Mildreds last Wednesday. It was full. A waitress suggested she waited in the pub opposite. She did, and half an hour later the waitress came over the road to tell her the table was ready.
'Inside, it is really chatty and friendly. The tables are small, so you end up sharing with other people. But it's very relaxed; you don't have to make an effort. The music is not too loud either: you can hear the other person speak. And it is not too touristy like other restaurants around here. Or too fancy.'
The service, they agreed, was young and friendly. On cue, the waitress arrived, smiling. One of them asked for a plate of cheese. 'I bet she rushes round to the corner shop to get it,' he
whispered.
'We only do cheddar,' she said.
Ellen and Jayne ordered two fruit
salads.
There was only enough left for one. They agreed to share.
Five minutes later, the waitress was back: 'There is not even enough fruit salad for one. You can have the remainder free of charge.'
One of the guys gestured his approval then dug into a raspberry and chocolate ice-cream garnished with orange slices: 'Mmmm, home-made, tangy, not too much sugar; wouldn't have minded a few more flavours though. I got the nob end of the orange - it is full of pith] And
the ice-cream is icy in the middle (he
makes as if to break the spoon).'
One of the girls insisted on reviewing the lavatory:
'It wasn't attractive, but it was clean and it did have toilet paper. I ended up drying my hands on a square inch of towel: the machine was stuck.'
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