Profil von LicencetoGil

The Islington Tap has been shut up for a while. Who knows when/if it will be back and in what form…

Comedor Grill and Bar has replaced La Piragua – or at least they have given the place a massive interior redesign. The kitchen is now glass fronted and the lighting (at least at the back) is green. Unfortunately neither works.

Maybe they were having an off day, having just opened this week, but the whole evening was pretty laughable. The multitudes of staff appeared clueless – forgetting to ask how we wanted our steak cooked is a fundamental part of working in a steak restaurant – and confused about important things like who ordered what or which plates/glasses were finished. The waiters mostly stood about watching although they did manage to spill drinks (on someone), attempt to clear unfinished wine glasses and cram into the kitchen.

The kitchen (now visible) was always crowded with staff but it was hard to tell what they were doing. The food arrived at random times, cooked to varying degrees and we observed several dishes sent back. It was odd things like the mains arriving but the accompanying (cold) sauces taking another five minutes.

The food itself was OK but nothing special. The steaks weren’t particularly juicy and I have definitely had better elsewhere (A La Cruz, Garufa or Buen Ayre). The sides were small. It was reasonably priced though.

What was particularly odd was, at the end, we were asked “How was everything?” and replied “it wasn’t perfect” to be told “well you are a big party”. There were seven of us. Why ask if you don’t want to know?

Finally Angel has a decent Chinese restaurant.

The menu was more Hunanese than anything else with a pleasing range of dishes from nicely done common dishes (such as Kung Po Chicken) to more obscure (man-and-wife offal) all of which was decent, flavoursome and much, much more than generic “Chinese” of Young’s, etc.

They were still playing the Italian music from the restaurant’s previous owners but we were too busy concentrating on the food to notice. The bill was under £20 per person too which made it surprisingly cheap.

A decent hotel on Bintan Island with clean rooms of a good size, a good size outdoor pool, easy beach access and a few things to do if it starts raining (which its done most days here – in between the sun). There is also a spa if you fancy something slightly more pricey.

There are two restaurants – a cafe and a beachside grill – which serve a mix of western foods like pizza, hamburgers and such as well as some local Indonesian dishes.

It seems that the guests are mainly from Singapore (45 minutes away by ferry), China and Japan. There isn’t much in the way of nightlife but that wasn’t what we were looking for when we chose it.

Overall, its a decent place to stay and everyone has been welcoming and friendly. I would check the weather forecast first to avoid rainy season (or the possibility of rain) but it makes a nice break from Singapore.

This place closed about five years ago. Shame really.

Good beach

98 teas to choose from and a lovely setting to drink them.