Meeting up in Plug

[Twitchy]

If every so often we had informal meet-ups in Plug for food and/or drinks before a screening...who would be up for that, and how often would you come along?

[Pureferret]

I'd come maybe once a month, as I don't want to over spend on Plub food. That being said it *is* all halal....

[Lambada]

Maybe.

Mainly I want food either before or during the screenings - and although Plugs wedges and burgers are OK, Parades food generally is much better - especially on the Pizza and wedges front.

Having said that I do prefer Plugs burgers.

*Shrug* I guess it would depend on what food I'm in the mood for - anything except Burger and wedges would drive me to Parade.

[Adan]

although Plugs wedges and burgers are OK, Parades food generally is much better

I've never eaten in Plug, but by God must it be dire if it's worse than Parade Bar!

[KingJ]

While Parade has better food, Plug tends to have much more seating - especially since you can spill out into the Student Centre if it fills up. Parade can get pretty noisy too.

[Twitchy]

I don't know...some of Parade's food is alright. I prefer their wedges, and the New York chicken is nice, and pizza there is okay. I can honestly say I've not tried enough of the menu. I actually prefer Plug pizza, but am not as keen on the wedges, and wasn't blown away by the burgers, either. The curry chips, however, are delish.

[Lambada]

although Plugs wedges and burgers are OK, Parades food generally is much better

I've never eaten in Plug, but by God must it be dire if it's worse than Parade Bar!

When was the last time you ate in Parade?

Parade is easily the nicest food place on Campus - excluding the Claverton Rooms and Wessex Restaurant (I don't think undergrads are meant to go in Claverton...). Having said that the Oriental part of Level One does some nice food sometimes.

[Adan]

Last semester sometime, and I would point out you said 'on campus'. It's still pretty bad food, no matter what else is available up here, and far from cheap.

For reference, Claverton food is also pretty dire (Quorn Chilli con Carne - a contradiction in itself, and then you realise they didn't even use minced Quorn, but vile sliced Quorn sausages) unless you get the sandwiches/baked potato, often worse than Level One even, and the Wessex House Restaurant is alright provided you want 'Big lump of meat' or whatever their equally bland vegetarian option is (and I don't think you can just walk in there and get food anyway) .

[Twitchy]

On that topic then, where can you get decent quality and reasonably priced food in Bath? Y'know, stuff that passes the Adan test.

[Lisey]

more like a reply to the top of the thread, Parade is the one of the two on campus which cater for us Coealiacs: thought i'd mention. but of late i've been eating out before screenings, so i'd be up for maybe one of the screenings each week about 3-4 per month

[Adan]

There isn't really anywhere that is particularly cheap in Bath, but...

Fair price, good food:

• Wagamama
• Las Iguanas
• TGI Friday (mostly because they gave me a free meal once)
• Cross Keys (all excellent home-cooked food, nice beer garden, surprisingly cheap)
• If you don't mind getting a ready meal, Whetherspoons is alright, but I don't like the atmosphere (too much like a bar).
• Sally Lunn's (they have a student discount off-season too)
• Eastern Eye (student discount here too I think? main downside is it's a bit odd eating Indian in what is essentially a ballroom)
• Pizza Express (not overly fond of pizzas these days, but it's alright)
• Ocean Pearl (upstairs in the Podium, far better than The Real China in my opinion)
• Fox & Badger (in Wellow, little village south-east of Bath, nice little ye-olde pub, all freshly cooked food)
• Hare & Hounds (on the way up to Lansdown, they go a good carvery on Sundays and the normal menu isn't bad either -- they know how to cook a steak medium-rare!)
• Cross Guns (Avoncliff, by the railway station, not a long walk along the canal path, another ye-olde place which does excellent cream teas and has a lovely beer garden)
• Yak Yeti Yak (very nice atmosphere, excellent food)
• Mai Thai (excellent décor, lovely food, quick service)
• Tea House Emporium (very nice home-made cakes, incredible teas, excellent service from very knowledgeable staff - quite well hidden, go into the shop and turn right down the stairs)

Expensive, good food:

• Ring O'Bells (£30/head you're looking at, very nice atmosphere, one for a romantic dinner maybe )
• Arabesque (they do awesome wines, I've been loads of times with different people, they also do an alright buffet at lunch, but it's not as good as the real mains, feels like you're in the middle east)
• Yen Sushi (cheaper than Yo Sushi, nicer food, REAL JAPANESE PEOPLE!)
• California Kitchen (do nice toasties for lunch, but expensive, and not a lot else)
• Marmaris (similar food to Arabesque, slightly more kebab like, looking at around £20/head, friendly staff -- I've read the kebabs are very good from here too)

BAD, I stay away:

• All Bar One (I've had bananas bigger than the cottage pie I paid £8 for, and all I got by way of veg was one stick of broccoli)
• Pizza Hut (charged me a lot for skank wine, food is bad, service is poor)
• Nando's (food is fairly bland, just lumps of chicken with different sauces slapped on, poor service, bad atmosphere)
• Yo Sushi (sorry, the anime sound effects drive me completely mad, cramming us in last time also put me off, and the food isn't that good)
• Plug (abysmal service, poor food!)

I'm told Onefishtwofish is good, as well as Jamie Oliver's place, but I refuse to give him any of my hard earned cash.

Incidentally, if you happen to ever go by the Millennium Dome and have £22 weighing you down, there is an excellent all you can eat meat place there, they do amazing steaks amongst other things (it's cheaper for vegetarians). Also, Hi Sushi by Leicester Square is incredibly good value - all you can eat in an hour for £15.

You can tell what we spent most of last year doing when we were meant to be working on our project .

[Haruhiist]

Deleted

[KingJ]

Also, Hi Sushi by Leicester Square is incredibly good value - all you can eat in an hour for £15.

I will have to check this out next time i'm down in London. There so many restaurants in that area - i'm always finding a new favourite one. On that note, if you're looking for a decent Japanese meal rather than sushi try Ten Ten Tei. Excellent price and actual Japanese people running the place and serving you. Bilingual menu too

As for Sushi in Bath, I agree. Yen Sushi far surpasses Yo, it's cheaper, the food is better quality and the atmosphere is much nicer. It can get a little cramped at peak times though.

[Twitchy]

Yen Sushi is better than YO!, quality and price-wise, but they were very bad at getting back to me about holding a social there, and they're a nightmare to go to if you're with a friend who wants something that isn't proper sushi/sashimi. Blue Mondays at YO! are good fun though...

I do want to try out Demuths sometime - I have heard and read many good things!

I must be one of the few people around that still likes Nando's, although it's much cheaper to buy the marinade, chicken and a griddle pan and do it yourself - my fake nando's is rather awesome, if I do say so myself.

[Adan]

They do ramen and a few other things as well as sushi.

[Twitchy]

Oh, I know, but there's not enough suitable for Mandy, for example.

[Twitchy]

In Plug tonight from 6pm, folks. Join us for a drink, food or just good old fashioned conversation.

[Twitchy]

Plotting another little get-together on Tuesday evening, prior to the screening. Watch this space.

[Lisey]

Plotting another little get-together on Tuesday evening, prior to the screening. Watch this space.

COOOOL

[Adan]

Having now bought food in Plug twice, I feel I can legitimately malign it! First time, I ordered a burger and they told me it'd be 20 minutes wait. After 35 minutes my number came up, I went to collect my food and got told "Sorry, they forgot to tell you we're out of burgers when you ordered"... Second time, I was waiting for 35 minutes for a pizza (they were only getting about 1 order out every 10 minutes), ended up complaining and skipping the queue .

On a happier note, a few weeks ago I did have the good fortune of having dinner in Yak Yeti Yak on the sae street as Second Bridge. Moderate price, very good food, and large portions - I even liked their salad, which is a rare thing indeed. It's Nepalese, so kind of like Indian but not really the same. The guy has an amazing memory too, he remembered everything we all wanted without writing it down!

The Hare & Hounds up towards Lansdown does a very good carvery which isn't too expensive, and the puddings looked decent. The Fox & Badger in Wellow also does very nice food, but it's a bit of a walk just to go there (stopping off on a day walk it's nice, and there is plenty of parking should you want to drive). Cross Guns at Avoncliff is a nice little place as well with an excellent outside seating area by the river, and they do a very nice cream tea. All three are on good walking routes, with decent, well signposted paths.