Jüdisches Museum, Berlin, Germany

Date of visit: Thursday 6th August, 2009

Refreshments consumed: 1 glass of Coca Cola, turkey salad sandwich, turkey club pitta, danish pastry, blueberry muffin.

Price: €12.50

Reason for visit: Showing a friend around the sights of Berlin.

Comments: This is a strange one. So far, the worst food I have tasted, yet possibly the most beautiful location. The cafe is huge, bright, with impressive views over the large museum gardens. It is unfortunate then that the food really does not match up to the surroundings. Anyone who has been to Germany will know that they make excellent sandwiches, and take bread very seriously. Any basic bakery in any town will carry a huge selection of loaves, bread rolls and freshly made sandwiches, typically costing little more than €2. It was depressing then, to be presented here with sandwiches that looks like they had come from a child’s lunchbox. Sliced white bread, wrapped in clingfim and served on paper trays. The pastries were stale, and €2.50 for a small (250ml) glass of Coke really is taking the, err…cola.

The Jüdisches Museum do have a proper restaurant though, which admittedly did look quite nice. Perhaps next time I am in Berlin I’ll try there instead.

Score: 1.5/5

Musée Océanographique, Monaco, France

This review comes from our secret restaurant spy in France, the identity of which is guarded under lock and key…

Date of visit: Friday 3rd July 2009

Refreshments consumed: 1 Cappuccino

Price: € 3

Reason for visit: To watch the fish…

Comments: Knowing that the café at the aquarium in Monaco was located on the monumental building’s rooftop, I could not wait to pay a visit and enjoy the amazing views over the hilly town and the sea. But, oh!, how disappointing it was to find the café’s outdoor area surrounded by high walls, that would only allow the view of plastic chairs, fellow guests and the blue sky. The menu mainly comprises of set meals for up to € 30, which seems inappropriate for a museum café that attracts tourists hoping to get a fairly decent and simple lunch – which is probably why I only saw bowls of salad and bread baskets on the surrounding tables.

A few more smaller options would have been nice, along with a reasonably priced cake + coffee offer – € 7.50 for a small slice of apple pie and a coffee seems too pricey, even for Monaco. However, the cappuccino is nice and strong, and the busy waiters are surprisingly friendly (I overheard one giving directions in English to an American couple). I wouldn’t mind coming back for coffee, but the lack of food options (don’t even mention “vegetarian”) makes the rooftop café rather unattractive for anything beyond.

Score: 1.5/5

The Social, URBIS, Manchester

Date of visit: Monday 15th June, 2009

Refreshments consumed: 1 large pot of tea and chocolate & nut brownie

Price: £5.50

Reason for visit: Videogame Nation Exhibition

Comments: URBIS in Manchester is a contemporary, spacious and engaging institution that blurs the border between gallery, museum and multimedia production space. They have a prestigious restaurant on the top floor (The Modern) and on the ground floor a smaller bar can be found (The Social). With a wide range of hot and cold food, and a selection of beers, wines and spirits, The Social is the perfect place hang out day or night (they open late and extend their menu for special events. A particularly fond memory is being there at 4am for last year’s Refication: The Tony Wilson Experience).

Onto today’s visit, the tea was, again, huge. Maybe this is a Manchester thing. Too big for even my appetite. Served in a massive teapot with a large jug of fresh milk and sugar. Lovely. The brownie was soft, gooey and sickly sweet. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but I’m sure that for those who do, this would be a proper treat.

As I have tried to picture, The Social also has a large daily specials menu, featuring a range of soups, sandwiches, pastas and other tasty sounding dishes. A dish from the menu to try out (I’ve had it before and it is a bit scrummy!) is the posh fish finger sandwich. Nom.

Score: 4/5

The Imperial War Museum North, Salford Quays

Date of visit: Sunday 7th June, 2009

Refreshments consumed: 2 pots of tea, scone with butter & jam, tomato, mozzarella & basil pesto mayo ciabatta

Price: £9.50

Reason for visit: Captured: The Extraordinary life of Prisoners of War exhibition.

Comments: The restaurant at the IWM is light, airy and clean, with good views over the Salford Quays waterway. What really impressed me though was the tea. Proper tea in a proper teapot. And it wasn’t just any teapot, oh no, the teapots were huge. Really huge. Real leaf tea was provided (none of that Tetley’s nonsense here, though it does have its place, I admit), as were lovely teacups and ample supplies of real milk and sugar (no UHT rubbish or Splenda). The serving size proved too large for my dining partner, but being the real Englishman that I am, not only did I finish my own but hers too.

Now on to the food; scones were nice and crumbly, yet still moist. The jam was homemade and of the strawberry variety (seriously, who needs anything but strawberry jam?), self served from a large glass jar (nice touch!). However, there was no clotted cream available, just pre-packaged butter portions, which was slightly disappointing.

The tomato and mozzarella ciabatta was moist, tasty, non-soggy and surprisingly good for an out-of-the-fridge job. The basil pesto mayo was particularly enjoyable.

I will most likely eat here again.

Score: 3.5/5