Lobby Lounge @ The Como Metropolitan London, England, United Kingdom

During our 3 nights/4 days in London [July 2017] we had dinner on a Sunday evening at the Lobby Lounge of the Como Metropolitan Hotel.

 

It was our second visit and again we enjoyed it very much.

 

Since we had had a very satisfying and indulgent lunch at Galvin at Windows at the neighboring London Hilton Park Lane we weren’t very hungry and looked for something light.

 

Normally there should have been a waiter. Since we had waited quite a while, the concierge took our order, which included one The Source still water, one hot chocolate, two zucchini rosti with smoked salmon, rocket salad and ricotta cheese and one exotic fruit salad.

 

He handed the order over to our waiter, who suddenly arrived.

 

For some reason the hot chocolate seemed to have gone lost in translation. We received it only after a friendly reminder.

 

The meal itself was very good and our main courses and the dessert were from the Como Shambala cuisine menu.

 

We chatted a bit with the waiter since we were the only guests.

 

The bill was 53 GBP (ca. 59.85 Euro / ca. 68.30 USD) including service charge, but the water hadn’t been charged.

 

We would return and at some stage and might even stay at the Como Metropolitan Hotel in our future.

 

©2017

 

The Orangerie Bar & Ballroom Lounge @ The Radisson Blu St. Helen's Dublin, Ireland

During a weekend in September 2017 my fiancé and I stopped on our way to Foxrock for a quick lunch at The Orangerie Bar and Ballroom Lounge at the Radisson Blu St. Helen's Hotel Dublin, Ireland.

The hotel is an estate dating back to 1750 and on Stillorgan Road in Blackrock, an upscale suburb of Dublin. It can be easily reached from the airport by taking the Aircoach or from the city centre by bus like the 46A.

Our first impression was that we had entered a completely different era.

To reach the hotel we had to stroll through the park and the rose garden with fountain, both beautiful.

To the left of the small entrance was the reception and past it were first the Ballroom Lounge, which has massive pillars and classic chandeliers and is completely marbled and then the Orangerie Bar.

The Orangerie was a tasteful winter garden attached to the original building.

If you are wondering where the guest rooms are located, they are in the new wing, which has been carefully added and doesn't obstruct from the Georgian architecture, while in the actual manor house is an Italian restaurant and the meeting rooms.

We were a bit worried we wouldn't find a table since we hadn't made a reservation. The bar and lounge were very busy. We were lucky and found an unoccupied table in the Ballroom Lounge.

A waitress arrived soon afterwards to hand us the menu. We decided on two hot chocolates and two feta cheese with watermelon and basil salads. It was refreshing and delicious. The cool sweetness of the melon went well with the creamy and salty cheese.

The staff was very friendly, had time for chats and seemed to know a lot of the guests, who ranged in age from toddlers to matured couples.

The hotel is child friendly, suitable for a romantic getaway and weddings, as bonus we enjoyed the gardens and saw indeed a wedding party incl. the beautiful bride and maids.

Our bill was 27 Euro / ca. 30.85 USD.

We were very impressed with the imposing architecture, friendly staff, good food and gorgeous gardens - there is one at the back too, leading to the sea - so at some stage we would love to stay at the Radisson Blu St. Helen's Hotel.

©2017

S'Parks @ the Hilton Vienna, Austria

During our two stays at the Hilton Vienna in July 2016 we had each evening dinner at S'Parks.

The chef is Gerasimos Kavalieris and S'Parks has received 84 out of 100 points at the Falstaff Guide.

The restaurant is on the ground level of the Hilton and has a lot of space. It can be cleverly divided into smaller sections if necessary and makes it much smaller and intimate during dinner than it is during breakfast.

During the summer months outdoor seating is available too. We decided to sit inside, since it was air conditioned.

The interior is modern and there are very high floor to ceiling windows.

We were accompanied to our table and given the menu.

We ordered on both occasions a large bottle of still water and Preiss juices. The producer is Austrian and the fruits used are organic. We tried the two varieties available: apricot and Williams Christ pear.  Since we loved the juices we looked for them in different shops in Vienna, but couldn't find them. S'Parks has a program to provide diners with specialities and rarities from Austria, called Genuss Region Oesterreich. Preiss juices belongs to it too.

On one of the evenings we had two hot chocolates.

We received different bread rolls and typical Austrian bread spreads.

We had two course meals, since the portions were generous.

Starters we tried were braised artichoke, tomato salad and mozzarella and scrambled eggs, Styrian organic pumpkin seed oil and meadow herbs.

Main courses were pan fried char filet, peas and romaine lettuce salad, tomato and mint, Krautfleckerl (cabbage pasta), a typical Austrian/Bavarian speciality I already knew from the home cooking of my mother, with green salad and Wiener Schnitzel with green salad and parsley potatoes.

Desserts we enjoyed were Kaiserschmarrn with plum sauce and apple strudel with vanilla ice cream. The Kaiserschmarrn could be made without raisins, since my fiancé is allergic to them.

Costs were ca. 80 Euro (ca. 87.50 USD) on both evenings.

We loved the quiet upscale atmosphere - there were other couples dining with us - but the majority wanted to sit outside, the attentive staff and the excellent quality of the meals.

When we will stay at the Hilton Vienna in the future we will eat at S'Parks again.

 

©2017

 

The Lobby Lounge @ The Metropolitan Hotel by COMO, London, England, United Kingdom

After our lunch at Benares in February 2016 – please see review – we visited the Metropolitan by COMO Hotel in London.

 

We made a quick stop to warm up at the Lobby Lounge, because it was a bit cold and raining during our February afternoon while out and about.

 

We had already some experience with COMO, having stayed at the Halkin Hotel, just a few steps away.

 

We were impressed by the stylish and whimsical, but comfortable interior design.

 

Would it have been a bright day, the lobby would have been light flooded due to the floor to ceiling windows.

 

The staff members were very discreet, not really visible and arrived just in time when you needed them, like magic, so this was an outstanding experience. Of course they were charming and efficient too.

 

We ordered tea, hot chocolate, a Vital Veg Juice and the Cashew ice cream sundae with walnuts, blueberries and verbena jelly.

 

The juice and sundae were from the COMO Shambala Cuisine Menu.

 

The juice included locally grown tomatoes, carrots, celery, peppers, cucumber, fennel, pumpkin, parsley, basil and lemon juice. It was delicious.

 

The hot chocolate was rich and the tea again by JING.

 

The sundae was really interesting and the jelly the most unique part. It was refreshing. The textures and flavors worked well together. We didn’t miss “normal” milk based ice cream at this time.

 

The bill was just under 40 GBP (ca. 52 Euro or 58.80 USD).

 

We would return again and we would want to stay at the Metropolitan by COMO Hotel in our future.

 

©2016

Cellar Bar @ The Merrion Dublin, Ireland

We decided more or less spontaneous that we wanted to have Sunday brunch again at the Cellar Bar at the Merrion Hotel in the heart of Dublin and reserved a table for two the evening before having the meal. Most time slots were already gone, so we took the one at 14.00 hours. We were also advised that we had to vacate it within 2 hours.

Arriving a little bit after 2 PM we were asked by the Maître d' if we had a reservation and brought immediately to our table.

The bar was busy with a large group and a few couples.

The staff was overall attentive and could remember us from a previous visit, even though that was around a year ago.

We ordered a large bottle of still water, two hot chocolates, one Charentais melon with ham, a super salad, available as starter or main course, two portions of scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and bagels with butter and one Banana Salted Caramel Sundae.

The water was filtered by the Merrion and treated with UVB before being bottled and sold.

All dishes were very good and we enjoyed the atmosphere and the meal.

The only criticism we have is the cream on top. It was too much and less would be nice, but our shared sundae was tasty and moreish at the same time.

The bill was 74.50 Euro or ca. 82.75 USD.

The bar had quietened down even before we left more than two hours later, so we assume some guests didn't show up. This was maybe due to the weather. It was raining and windy outside.

After paying we explored the hotel a bit further and used the public toilets, which are worth mentioning, because they are decorated with old photographs of Dublin landmarks and streets and display stamps (gentlemen) and Irish bank notes (ladies). The hand wash and cream are by Asprey Purple Water as on the rooms.

We noticed the hotel has new carpets, the artwork seems to have changed a bit and the way to reception is better signed than before.

We can also reveal that there will be a garden restaurant added, which is at the moment under construction. We look forward to it, but sadly the garden and courtyard will have a somewhat reduced size, but they're beautiful and a real one of a kind asset to this gorgeous hotel in the heart of the city.

We will explore the hotel more and let you know about our experiences, when staying at the Merion in the very near future, so there's no question we will return to this gem.

©2016

Häagen-Dazs Cafe Dubai International Airport Terminal 3, United Arab Emirates

We had a layover of around 3 hours in Dubai International Airport before our flight to Kuala Lumpur. Feeling a bit peckish we originally wanted to go to Jack's, assuming we were departing from the A Gates at Terminal 3. Since we were leaving from the B Gates we had to change our plans.

We spotted a Häagen-Dazs Cafe and decided to go there, as we love their ice cream and related products they sell.

There is a large menu board behind the counter. After deciding what to have, I placed our order with a member of staff. It was self-service.

We had a bottle of Fiji water, a hot chocolate, two salted caramel crunch and a cheese cake.

It was delicious and refreshing.

The cost was ca. 160 AED, approximately 39.70 Euro or 43.60 USD.

Should we feel peckish and depart from the B Gates at Dubai International Airport, Terminal 3, we will definitely stop by again.

©2015   

Indigo & Cloth Temple Bar (Men's Store and Coffee Shop) Dublin, Ireland

We heard about Indigo & Cloth the first time while staying at The Dean Hotel in Dublin. (See our review)

We had just visited the Temple Bar Gallery & Studios to see Peachy Dublin and another exhibition at the Gallery of Photography and wanted a hot drink to warm up.

Indigo & Cloth is a men's store, selling clothing, accessories, cosmetic and chocolate. They also have a coffee shop.

We decided to stop there for two hot chocolates.

The coffee shop is small with a table seating four.

It was self-service, but the person behind the counter was very friendly and agreed with his colleague that it was a good day for hot chocolate.

There were also cakes and pastries to choose from.

Coffee is provided by Clement & Pekoe.

We took a seat at the communal table and waited until he had made the hot beverages.

It was made with Aine Hot Chocolate Sticks. Having had similar ones at Clodagh’s Kitchen (See also review.) I was a bit worried the hot chocolate would be too sweet. Thank Goodness the cocoa content seemed to be higher here, so we liked it.

Cost for two hot chocolates was 6 Euro (ca. 6.70 USD).

There was reading material provided including Root and Bone, Fantastic Man and Cereal, inspirational food, fashion and travel magazines.

After our hot chocolates we had a quick browse and found chocolate tablets we liked. The company’s name is Bean & Goose and is based in County Wexford. The tablets are made on marble slabs and in small batches.

There are only two versions available (milk or dark chocolate) with sea salt and cocoa nibs.

The results are amazing.

The texture is on the one hand very smooth and on the other rough due to the sea salt and cocoa nibs. I personally agree with the employee in the store, who recommended the dark chocolate. I think it works better together with the salt, but I would take all two again. He doesn’t have any preference.

One bar costs 5.50 Euro or ca. 6.15 USD.

We liked also clothing by Sandquvist, Sunspel and Saturdays NYC, plus Norge Projects.

We will be back for more.

©2015

Mezza Luna @ The InterContinental Residence Suites Festival City, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

During our stay at the InterContinental Residence Suites Dubai Festival City, we had dinner and breakfast at Mezza Luna.

The restaurant was designed in the same contemporary style as the lobby with two story floor to ceiling windows and black and white photographs.

Mezza Luna serves Italian cuisine.

There was an open kitchen and when we arrived there was a family and a few couples already dining.

The chef showed some kids how pizza was made as they watched.


DINNER:


We ordered one berry smoothie, one mango juice, one hot chocolate, one Piri Piri chicken pizza, one gnocchi with artichokes, cherry tomatoes and garlic parmesan sauce and a tiramisu to share.

The hotel is dry, so Mezza Luna doesn't serve alcohol.

The pizza had just the right amount of spiciness. It wasn't a scorcher, but hot enough.

The gnocchi dish was surprisingly light, considering the sauce was cream/cheese based. It was colorful and mild.

The tiramisu was served with coffee ice cream. All was delicious.

The bill came in at 200 AED (ca. 42.10 Euro or 54.50 USD).


BREAKFAST:


Breakfast was included in our rate
.
Cold items were served buffet style with a lot of Western and Middle Eastern choices, including fruit salad, lassi, cold cuts, cheese, bread and pastries and much more.

Hot items, coffee/tea and juices could be ordered from the waiter.

We had scrambled eggs with sausages.

We enjoyed the quality and freshness of both, breakfast and dinner.

We would gladly enjoy Mezza Luna again when staying next time at the InterContinental Residence Suites Dubai Festival City.

 ©2014

McCafe @ Amarin Plaza, Bangkok, Thailand

Normally we aren't big McDonald's fans, seeming to have it out grown. We heard from an acquaintance, that the Thai branches are really good, so we went to the McCafe at the Amarin Plaza, which has open 24 hours a day.

The interior of the McDonald's was colorful and contemporary. It was quite late into the evening when we arrived, but the business was brisk.

The staff was friendly and spoke very well English. We ordered two hot chocolates, one green apple juice and one fruit parfait.

The drinks were fresh and nice. The parfait was colorful and very tasty. The fruits and jelly was very refreshing too.

When we are next time in Bangkok we will go back to this outlet and would love to have experience the same flavors again.

©2014