Aysha's reviews
Review of Three Tuns
13 Nov 07, 14:35
The Three Tuns 
Another Sutton pub that has undergone a facelift, The Three Tuns is popular with local students and is usually packed to the brim with bright young things getting wasted on cheap-ish booze. It's a weird set-up- very thin rooms with a courtyard in the middle- this means it can get incredibly busy, and can be annoying trying to get from one part of the bar to the other. It's not a great pub, as it can be very noisy, and can take ages to get served at the bar, but it is sufficient for a few mid-week drinks if that kind of thing takes your fancy. A word of warning- take your ID as I seem to get ID-ed every time I go in to that place, which is rather gratifying, as I am 25!
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Review of Apres Bar
13 Nov 07, 14:32
Apres 
Part of a chain, this place is pretentious and so up itself I have no idea how it functions as a successful business. Situated in what is essentially Sainsbury's car park in Mere Green, Apres is full of snobby footballers' wives wannabes and middle-aged men with Bentley's and sports cars they can just about fit into. I have been here a couple of times and have been victim of the obssessively fastidious door policy (I wasn't allowed in because the skinny black trousers I had on were classed as'jeans'- on a Thursday night.)! The place is pretty tight on seating too, and it can be difficult negotiating your way through the crowds to the toilets, or to the bar. If you're lucky enough to get served, you may well find that you pay through the nose for your drink because the barman has added it up wrong, as has happened to me twice, so be careful with what they charge you for it. I am not a fan of bars like this, they take the fun out of going out and turn it into much more of an ordeal than it should be!
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Review of Dutch Pot
13 Nov 07, 14:24
The Dutch Pot 
My boyfriend and I went here on the recommendation of his workmate, and we weren't disappointed. Dutch Pot is a Carribean takeaway, famous for its curried goat. We ventured there to sample this fabled cuisine and were blown away by the taste and value for money. For £4.95 each, we got an immense portion of curried goat, rice and vegetables, supplemented with two huge dumplings. The food was marvellous, and such good value for money. The menu is extensive, and includes things like Jerk Chicken and Fried Plantain. Having never experienced Carribean cuisine before, I was very pleasantly surprised, and all the more happy to indulge because of the cheapness of the meal and the quality of both the ingredients and the taste. It's a bit out of the way (in Perry Barr), and incredibly difficult to find parking close by, so I'd recommend parking in nearby One Stop Shopping Centre and walking the 10 mins or so to get there- it's worth it!
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Review of Bella Italia
13 Nov 07, 14:19
Bella Pasta
Like any chain, Bella Pasta is one of those places that seems to use the term'Italian' quite loosely. The food is average, the service is average and the place is, surprisingly, average. It's not like the food is inedible, but you do get a sneaking suspicion that it's just reheated stuff from a freezer. It's not exactly cheap either, so I'm not sure why it always seems to be packed whenever I go past it. I have been here a couple of times and each time has been thoroughly unremarkable. Like so many places, Bella Pasta seems to fall into the category of a forgettable restaurant, and as such, makes it a forgettable experience. I wouldn't say don't go here, but I would say why bother, when there's so many more interesting and less'beige' places to go and eat?
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Review of Zeb's Mirpuri Cuisine
13 Nov 07, 14:14
Zeb's Manipuri
Seriously one of the best balti restaurants in Birmingham, I am a devotee of Zeb's and defy anyone not to have a fantastic meal there. There's a very diverse mix of dishes on the menu, and some particularly good and unusual ones, such as Lamb Hydrabadi, which is absolutely exceptional. All of the dishes I have tried have been lovely, and they taste like real curries, as opposed to chicken or meat cooked with the sauce added later. The setting is ambient and clean, and the decor suggests a rather more upmarket experience than perhaps some other restaurants on the Ladypool Rd. However, the service is just as friendly as most other rival establishments, but the food is by far and away exceptional.
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Review of Churchill
13 Nov 07, 14:10
Churchill Florists
This great little florists has been open for some time, and does fantastic, good value bouquets for lots of different occasions. The proprietor is young, and this is reflected in the nice, quite modern arrangements available. However, more traditional styles are on offer, and I have used this florists many times for a variety of occasions. The flowers are usually very good value too, which makes a change, especially given the location in Sutton Coldfield. I would recommend this place for any occasion you may have coming up- I have always received great service and excellent results here- recommended!
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Review of Aloka
13 Nov 07, 14:07
Aloka
Another curry house in Birmingham, but one with a good reputation and a concise menu which means that food is good, fresh, and not overloaded with ingredients. I went here for lunch recently, and was pleasantly surprised by the service and the food. It was really tasty and very reasonably priced- my friend and I paid around £8 each for a meal and drink, which is not bad for Brum. It's a bit off the beaten track this one, and doesn't really warrant the extra mileage you may have to go to get to it, but it's definitely one to keep in mind if you're in that neck of the woods and you fancy an inexpensive meal in a nice environment.
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Review of Las Iguanas
13 Nov 07, 14:03
Las Iguanas
I don't know what it is about Mexican restaurants in Birmingham, but this place really shouldn't bother to be honest. It's rubbish- the food is vile, the service is abismal and the prices are sky-high to compensate for the fact that no one ever seems to return to the place once they've been there. I went there for a friends' birthday and we'd all arranged that we should try and each spend about £30 each on food/drink etc to keep the bill sensible and easy to work out at the end. As it was, the bar staff seemed to delight in confusing drinks orders, sending the same drinks over twice or constituting a cocktail when someone asked for a beer. As a result, our total bill came to something ridiculous like £500, for 8 people. Needless to say, I did not pay for most of mine, as by this point my mouth had been violated by food that was virtually inedible, and overused talking to waitresses who didn't even attempt to help us. Avoid, if you possibly can, and go somewhere else instead.
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Review of Shimla Pinks
13 Nov 07, 13:58
Shimla Pinks 
Not entirely sure why this place is still open to be honest, as it charges obscene prices for its sub-standard food and the service is atrocious. Went here a couple of weeks ago on the recommendation of a friend and really wished I hadn't. It's a very basic curry restaurant which I suspect used to be a great one, but its presence on Broad St has been brought down by the scallies that now seem to populate the place, and as a result, Shimla Pinks is really just another shabby curry restaurant in need of a facelift. It's not the worst place in the world- the food was okay, but the service was rubbish and the decor is out of date and makes you feel like you're on the set of a 1980s comedy. I wouldn't recommend this place- I'm not convinced it's the right way to go if you're in Birmingham and you want a curry. Head to the Ladypool Rd in Sparkbrook instead and see how a curry should really be made.
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Review of Zinc Bar & Grill
13 Nov 07, 13:54
Zinc
Didn't like this place from the moment I entered and clocked the ridiculous minimalist decor and the too beautiful bar-staff with chips on their shoulders- not a fan! Zinc is expensive to drink in and the atmosphere is a bit like being in an expensive clothes shop- it's not the kind of place you could have a wild night out in and the drink costs make this prohibitive anyway, so I wouldn't bother! One thing I will say for this place though is that it is immaculate, and as such, doesn't attract the undesirables you get in so many of the Broad St area bars. However, if it's atmosphere you're looking for, I'd recommend stumbling a bit further up the road and seeing what you can find!
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