Bellevue Restaurant - Prague, Czech Republic

For my wifes birthday this year, we decided to head off to Prague, a city we'd heard so much about. We booked a lovely little hotel on the castle side of the Charles Bridge, near the embassy's and did some searching on the internet for a decent restaurant. I came across the Bellevue Restaurant which we understood was in Central Prague and very close to the Charles Bridge.

We booked a table for the Saturday night and had a little look for where the restaurant was situated when we arrived on the Friday. The location is fantastic with great views over the river, straight across to the bridge and castle beyond that. We'd seen a sample menu online and were excited about what was in store on the Saturday night.

So when Saturday night arrived, we wandered down across the bridge heading for the restaurant. Once inside, we were greated by a lady who checked our reservation and led us to our table. Champagne? Oh yes please that would be lovely. An amuse boche arrived which were so memorable that I've forgotten what they were!

Anyway, from the menu we opted for the four course taster with wines to accompany the meal. So to the first course which was a trio of seafood - they called Bellevue seafood degustation and included Lobster in Lardo di Colonata , Scallops with Barley Kuba and Tempura of Tiger Prawns. It was paired with a glass of Chardonnay and arrived at the table, looked great. It was a very pretty dish, served on a long horizontal plate. Tasty? I really liked it, lots of flavours but everything worked really well including the wine.

Second course was a Dashi Infused Cod served with a wasabi potato puree, spinach leaves and shi-take mushrooms with a safron oil. Looked lovely, very nicely presented but couldn't help wondering what happened to the wasabi....it just wasnt there. However the dish was nice and local Czech wine it was served with went very well.

Up next was Grilled Saddle of Venison (pictured above) which claimed to have roasted mushrooms and a rosehip sauce. Couldnt find any mushrooms anywhere but the spinach spatzle was fantastic enhancing the texture of the dish. This was my favourite despite the missing mushrooms and I could have eaten another one. I'm not sure the picture does it justice but it was absolutely lovely...perfectly cooked and the sauce worked really well. The wine was good too, nothing special but a nice red to go with the venison.

The final course for me was cheese, not being big on deserts but my wife had the Apple Strudel which she loved. My cheese was delicious, a really good selection which I'd had my eye on all night. I was persuaded to have some port to go with it, that went down a treat.

All in all, we had a lovely experience and would go back again if we visit Prague. It's a lovely restaurant with spectacular views over the river to the bridge and castle. Great ambience, good service, very friendly and not at all snobbish. The food was splendid too and represented excellent value for money. I'd certainly recommend it as somewhere special to go in Prague if you get the chance.

HIX Restaurant - Soho, London

I visited HIX recently for a business lunch with our PR agency and a journalist. Having never been there before but know of Mark Hix I was very much looking forward to it.

On arrival, I wasnt really greeted by anybody but having already spotted my colleague headed straight to the table. The restaurant was very busy and with a great atmostphere although probably not ideal for a business meeting, particularly given my dodgy hearing! We were offered some water while we looked at the menu and waited for our guest. On his arrival we got down to business and started checking out the menu - somebody brought along a board full of raw meat, the various cuts to select. I liked this, and I liked the guy explaining what everything was...despite knowing what they were it was a nice touch.

So we decided to dive straight into the main course, ordering a few nibbles to keep us occupied til they arrived and a bottle of Rioja to stop us getting thirsty. My choice being the Hangar Steak served with Marrowbone which I was very much looking forward to. We ordered some veggies and some chips as these didnt come with the dishes and were extra.

Our nibbles arrived, which were parsnip crisps (they were nice) and some Pork Crackling which was tasty but rock hard and went all over the place when you tried to break it or it it. Grease all over my napkin which was a bit annoying!

Main course arrived, it looked great even though the Marrowbone was quite big but the steak looked lovely. it tasted good too, although a little chewy and not so succulent. I ordered medium rare but would say that it was a little under that.

Consclusion? Well at £170 for the three of us, I didnt think it was great value, considering we only had the main course plus some nibbles. The food was average, service informal but very good, the wine lovely and the atompshere buzzing. I wouldnt go back in a hurry but will try it again at some point, even just to try out Mark's Bar downstairs from the restaurant - that looks a great place to chill out.