Alex's reviews
Review of Aldwickbury Park Golf Club
18 Apr 08, 17:40
Run for the hills... 
This is at the back of Harpenden, with the course sloping away down to the river Lee in the valley. So there are some quite steep ascents and descents—enough to keep a golfer fit, but not enough to require crampons, oxygen and resuscitation. The downhill holes are also good for the ego, as even an ordinary golfer can hit 300 yard plus drives—my wind-assisted record is now 350 yards (but I still didn’t par the hole!)
The management have been spending money to improve the course, and it shows, though maturity will take a few more months. Young hedges will need time to thicken up.
There’s very little water on the course, though the lake on the 18th gets a few visitors. The fairways are wide, and, at least in the spring, the rough isn’t too rough and if you stray into the trees you stand a good chance of finding your ball. The story from the members is that they don’t have to buy too many balls, and that favourite balls retire from old age, not because they get lost!
Some of the holes have hedgerows across the fairways, so golfers have to decide between going for glory, and laying up, which adds interest. The clubhouse is smart, and, thank goodness, stops short of being pretentious. There are security codes on the changing room doors, which are necessary, but I find a little irritating.
The bar and lounge are big, pleasant rooms overlooking the 18th hole and its magnetic lake, and, as visitors, we found the staff very welcoming and catering good. We have already booked our return trip, and would recommend it to you!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Graffiti Restaurant
18 Apr 08, 17:30
What colourful fish!
On Saturday nights it can be tricky to get into a restaurant without having booked in advance, but Graffiti managed to make the three of us welcome and find us a table. It’s called Graffiti because diners are given crayons and encouraged to be artistic on the paper tablecloths. Good drawings are then put up on the walls, which must save on the decoration costs.
The centrepiece is a brilliant marine aquarium, with waving corals and unlikely- coloured fish darting in and out of them. The staff, quite rightly, are proud of the aquarium and very protective of it. Another less obvious feature is one of those trailing tradescantia plants, which goes up one wall, across the ceiling on cuphooks, along the opposite wall, then round to the opposite corner—about 40 feet long we reckoned (is this a record?!).
And what about the food—well, we were impressed. A pasta dish was good; the pizza big, excellent and beautifully crispy. I had a calzone, a folded-over pizza, which was huge—it seemed to stretch across the plate halfway to Bedfordshire, and tasted excellent.
The food was big, but the bill wasn’t, so it was a big thumbs-up from us for Graffiti, and we’ll be back
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Jacks Fish & Chips
17 Apr 08, 17:01
Bloody good!
By far and away the best fish and chip shop in Harpenden. The fish is caught daily and transported to this quaint Hertfordshire town where it is lovingly fried in only the finest vegetable fats.
Jack’s chips are something to experience too – ohhhhh their good!
The only danger is that you’ll get hooked, and end up eating fish and chips every day – and that can’t be good for the heart, can it?
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of TMC
17 Apr 08, 16:33
Cheap and cheerful...
... and that's just the staff!
The Motorists Centre is a good, cheap alternative to better-known stores such as Halfords and, erm, Halfords (?!)
Although you need to be a little more rigorous with quality control as you shop, it’s a good place to pick up bargain parts and spares for your car, van or bike.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Threshers
17 Apr 08, 16:30
Now "Wine Rack"
Threshers in Harpenden has recently been rebranded with the “Wine Rack” facia, but as far as I’m aware, is still the same company.
The deals seem just as good, with various “3 for 2” offers and lots of decent bottles of wine for well under a tenna. Not as cheap as the supermarkets, but open much later, so I guess you’re paying for convenience!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Pruden's Bakery
17 Apr 08, 16:26
Bake me, bake me... 
I always prefer giving my business to small independent shops, and Prudens is no exception. With only a handful of outlets in and around Beds and Bucks, they’re still a family baker.
The Harpenden branch, although small, has a good range of cakes and breads but a fairly limited selection of sandwiches, especially if, like me, you prefer veggie food.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Premier Move
16 Apr 08, 17:27
Superb! 
I have genuinely never met such an honest group of people in the property-marketing industry.
The guys at Premier Move are helpful, non-salesy, and above all else, patient. I was so fussy when I walked through the door, but they kept on coming up with properties until we got the perfect flat.
They have a mature and delicious approach to business.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Harpenden Grill & Kebab
16 Apr 08, 16:45
Fast, friendly and yum!
The Harpenden Grill was introduced to me by “American Bob”, an American guy, now native to the UK. The food is fresh, flame-grilled and darn nice.
Highly recommended if you’ve had a skin-full, or even if not! Once thing to note though is the fairly prohibitive opening hours – they shut at midnight, which is 2 hours before half the pubs in town. Nuts.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Tesco Stores
16 Apr 08, 12:59
Good for those essentials...
This handy little store is open till midnight, 7 days a week, so even if your stuck for bread and milk at 23:38 on a Sunday night, it comes in handy! Having recently been refurbished, the store now boasts a greater range than before and more fresh fruit & veg.
On the downside, they no-longer stock any vegetarian dishes at all, previously stocking a reasonable range. I guess this is to make room for more expensive items like caviar and goats cheese!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Somerfield Stores
16 Apr 08, 12:53
Open late, good for a Somerfield
Somerfield is located in the Southdown area of Harpenden. I’m not usually a massive fan of the company, as they fired me when I was 17, but this is a little bit of a gem.
It’s the only supermarket in Harpenden open past 8pm (until 10pm in fact), and is actually bigger than the others, boasting a far greater range than Sainsbury’s and Waitrose – especially when it comes to dried goods. If you go late at night, there are normally a load of items fro 10p, reduced to clear, so if you’ve got a big freezer, get on down!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Marks & Spencer
16 Apr 08, 12:36
This isn't just food...
… well, actually it is. The Harpenden branch of M&S is one of the fast-growing “Simply Food” stores. It’s great for party food, posh ready meals and fancy wines & beers, but when it comes to good old-fashioned ingredients and kitchen-cupboard basics, it’s not so hot.
One thing they do well though is deals. Many items are “2 for £x” or “3 for 2” etc. so, if you need quantity & quality, give it a try. Otherwise, for a more full-range hi-end store, pop next-door to Waitrose.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Waitrose
16 Apr 08, 12:32
Nice, but at a price...
Waitrose has a lighter, more airy feel to it than Sainsbury’s.
They offer a great range of quality food, but they’re not cheap! It is reasonably competitive on brand-named goods, but expect to pay over-the-odds for some of their own-label products.
Waitrose appears more ethical than neighbouring quality food store, M&S Simply Food, so for the green-brained amongst us, if you can afford it, then give them your business.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Sainsburys
16 Apr 08, 12:27
Pretty good
"As expected" for a small-town Sainsbury's store. Has been refitted fairly recently, so quite a nice feel to it inside, but still a bit pokey. Some of the staff can be a bit short with customers, but on the whole, they’re normally quite helpful.
The car-park is located on the roof, which is novel at first, but by the 15th time you’ve tried to struggle into the lift with your trolley, it can become a bit irradiating!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Shapla Restaurant
16 Apr 08, 12:24
Superb Indian Cuisine
This is one of the best Indian restaurants I’ve found in years. We discovered it by chance when we moved house and had a leaflet pushed through the door just as we were after something to eat…
They deliver for free and always chuck in some freebies with your order, be it extra naans, dips or even a bottle of wine!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Prezzo Restaurant
16 Apr 08, 12:09
Superb Calzones!
A colleague took me here last week as a thank you for some work I’d assisted him with, and it greatly exceeded my expectations!
The building is interesting and I liked the minimalist charm of the décor. The food is extremely reasonably priced, in fact, I would happily pay £3-5 more per dish. The portion size is also excellent.
They make their money on wine, but I say fair enough!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Pizza Express Restaurants
16 Apr 08, 12:02
Excellent food
Pizza Express is ideally located on the way into Harpenden from St Albans. The food is consistently good, the service of a good standard and the prices reasonable.
Although smaller than many of it’s sister-restaurants in neighbouring towns, the location and setting of Pizza Express in Harpenden put it high up on my list of recommended eating establishments.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Billy's Bar & Restaurant
16 Apr 08, 11:46
Get over it.... 
Billy’s used to be the life and soul of Harpenden, but recently, a lot of less savoury folk from Luton have made it their ‘local’, and it’s gone downhill.
I can’t help thinking that this now-slightly-pretentious bar needs to get over itself slightly, especially when it comes to drink prices!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of The Fox
16 Apr 08, 11:30
Wow! Very nice...
The fox, although not technically in Harpenden, is an excellent Gastro-pub just north of the town on the Luton Road.
The food is superb and service very good. This is the sort of place to take a nice lady (or chap) to impress, so expect to pay £20-30 per head for food and drink.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Inn On The Green
16 Apr 08, 11:28
Not bad
The Inn on the Green is a fairly generic pub. Nothing special, but quite a good location. It really comes into it's own in the summer months, when sitting outside in the sun enjoying a beer and the views over the green is quite a pleasure.
Can be noisy in the evenings, and a bit chavvy at times!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Cross Keys
16 Apr 08, 11:25
Lovely old pub...
The Cross Keys is often referred to as a bit of an old man’s pub. Whilst this isn’t entirely fair, it is true that the clientele are slightly older/more mature than those of, say Billy’s or The George.
This charming little pub has a good range of beers on tap and usually pretty good service. Def. one to pop into if you’re in Harpenden…
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Harpenden Arms
16 Apr 08, 11:21
Good, honest pub
The Harpenden Arms is very near (2 mins walk) to the train station, so tends to be the first port of call for thirsty commuters and people coming to Harpenden for a night out.
The drinks are very reasonable, but I am yet to try the food. It’s a Fullers’ pub, so good for bitter-drinkers, and there normally a couple of good Ales on tap too…
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of Slug & Lettuce
16 Apr 08, 11:18
One of Harpo's finest...
The Slug & Lettuce is the place to go for a more classy night out in Harpenden. The food is excellent and the staff go out of their way to please.
Drinks are reasonable, especially for the surroundings, and a lot of very attractive young people while away their evenings there.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of The George
16 Apr 08, 11:14
Good for a night out
The George is a good-sized ‘going out’ pub in Harpenden – it’s one of only a few with a late licence and live DJ, so turns into a bight of a dance-venue later in the evening.
There’s a good space with Pool Tables at the back of the pub. Only downside is the food/service varies greatly. I’ve had a couple of decent meals there, but more recently have been disappointed.
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.
Review of The Engineer
11 Apr 08, 21:54
Brilliant little pub!
The Engineer is a really well-run pub in this little Hertfordshire town. Given the size of the town it is always surprisingly busy, though you can usually find a table, or failing that prop yourself up at the bar where you will find the bar staff more than happy to chat to you about your day or life in general!
The food is of a really good quality and reasonably priced too, given most of the locals commute to London and would happily pay London prices for their meals.
There is a fair selection of beer and the toilets are always really clean.
All in all, a really good pub, top night out, and the regular Tuesday quiz nights are a good laugh!
0 out of 0 people found this review helpful.