Profil von MatthewMeadows

*NOTE*

EL GRINGOS HAS NOW SHUT DOWN IN YORK

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El Gringos is fantastic.

However, I probably wouldn't say this if I wasn't a student (us lucky guys and gals get 50% off on Sunday/Tuesday). There's a massive dish called the Belly Buster with the most horrific amount of meat ever. You just get this big pile of meat which is impossible for any human to consume. In fact, me and my GF couldn't even finish one between us...or get anywhere near.

Also worth noting are the cheap cocktails, £10 for a massive pitcher, which has left me and my friends a little bit on the jolly side after a big meal. Oh, and when I say massive I mean it! The food isn't the greatest in the world and can sometimes be a tad dry but El Gringos definitely takes the American view of Quantity over Quality. Actually, that is a little harsh, the food is good, and is by far the best Mexican in York (with only one competition, as is the way in York!).

Oh, also, the service is fantastic and the staff (mainly Hungarian, as I found out) are lovely and really really do their best to make you feel welcome. I can thoroughly recommend El Gringos, especially for students/big parties.

Parking:

On Lowther St, it's free after 8 I think.

Ok so I know its really touristy to go here but my gf was convinced that it would be good, while I was convinced that it would be more disneyland paris than montmartre chic.

Alas, as always, my gf was right. We got a nice booth in the corner and got 2 cafe viennoise. They were very reasonable (€4,40 each) and much better than the more expensive ones we got at cafe des flores.

Also interesting was that there was a nice mix of tourists and locals, making a cool atmosphere. Also, our waitress was lovely making the cafe even better.

If you're ever in Montmartre then drop in and pretend that you don't really care about Amelie, when in reality you're giggling like a little girl about seeing the table that Amelie sat at.

Our visit to the sacre coeur was a real shame. Of course the cathedral itself is great, but to get there one has to walk up the gardens (if heading in from the south).

The gardens, complete with a funicular, merry go round and live busking shows are, in theory wonderful, but in reality horrible.

On the way in I was manhandled at least 3 times by some Senegalese guys trying to tie a string around my wrist, to get me to pay it, and at one point I had to physically shove one guy in the chest to get rid of him.

Then were met by 10 kids trying to distract us while they attempted to pickpocket us. It didn't work, but seeing another group of string sellers and pickpockets ahead we abandoned our trip to the cathedral itself. When I last went to the cathedral, about 4 years ago, I didn't experience any problems and loved it, so I don't know what changed.

Also, the police presence was laughable, I saw 1 that was relaxing at the top of the funicular and that was it, terrible considering I saw at least 50 con artists.

Normally in these situations one can abide by the key experienced traveller tenants of; keep a low profile and be sensible, but in this case there was no way to avoid cons and attempted pickpocketings. My advice is to go really early to avoid the criminals, maybe 6-8am, otherwise prepare to be manhandled and pocket dipped.

Waiter was snobby, rude and unhelpful. We asked for a cafe glace and were told "non", with no reason given, and ordered a cafe viennois which was very average, especially considering the hefty €7 pricetag.

My girlfriend who speaks little french (she's taiwanese) then, mistakenly asked for chips as opposed to frites. I corrected her and said we wanted frites not chips and he said "frites or chips?" to which I clearly said "frites". When he came over he gave us a plate of crisps and had a smug look on his face. Ugh. The crisps were rubbish too.

Would avoid, my advice would be to stay away from left bank cafes in general as you're just paying a premium for the location.

It's worth mentioning that when I went here it was Valentine's day, and of course there was shedloads of people, so the service probably wasn't representative, but while the food/drinks took a little longer than I would have liked, the waitress was very nice.

For starter we had the Calamari with Garlic mayo. I wasn't blown away by it to be honest, and preferred Bella Italia's one, which sounds quite bad to say.

For main course I had the Arabiata Fussili (sp?) which was pretty good, but a little on the spicy side, and my GF had the special monkfish ravioli which I thought was great, but very steep (7 pieces for £11). We also ordered some "posh chips" which are chips with cheese and truffle oil, but I didn't really pick up on anything other than the fact that they were pretty nicely cooked chips, so I wouldn't waste £2.50 on 15 chips!

However, the thing that saved this meal from total mediocrity was the AMAZING Panacotta with seasonal fruits. It was absolutely delicious and by far the best thing about the meal.

Oh, also, the tables are super close together, so much so that I overheard an American on his first date with a girl next to me claim to be some sort of spy for the US government. Charming.

Overall, I probably wouldn't recommend Jamie's again as it's really too pricey for what you are getting. Don't expect it to be "Jamie Oliver" quality, it's just pretty competent Italian food, which isn't a rarity in Leeds/Yorkshire.

Had an awesome curry here last night at 2am. It is by far the best place open after 1am in York, and provides a great alternative to the previous choices of either McDonald's or Efe's.

For £4.50 you get a really nice big curry with a good ratio of rice/chicken.

Would recommend.

This place was like hell.

That's not to say it's terrible, it's just striking how much it's like hell. Everything is bathed in a hellish red paint, it's full of fat people, very reminiscent of the pigs eating in the hit anime movie Spirited Away and generally the fast paced music just made me feel uncomfortable.

However, the food is pretty alright. If you get some things, then they'll be great, I enjoyed the tacos and burgers, but some other things, for example the Chinese food, are terrible. Oh, and as said before, save room for dessert as this component of the meal probably has the best selection, including very well made Crème Brule.

Very odd, and I probably won't be rushing back.

Amazing. Perfectly cooked Chinese buns for a quid, and great, authentic bubble tea for £2.

There's also a great atmosphere about the place, and this is definitely a meeting point for trendy young East Asians in Manchester. Oh, interestingly, there's an Asian internet cafe around the back, but I didn't venture there.

The toilets were fine, nothing special but if you needed to, you could use them.

I walked into Tai Wu late at night, around 1:45am. Me and my girlfriend live in York, but we enjoy trips into Manchester. My gf regularly visits Taiwanese language blogs about the UK and one place that kept popping up was Tai Wu.

It seems that Tai Wu is something tantamount to folklore within the East Asian community of Manchester. Everyone, and I mean everyone who speaks Chinese as a first language in Manchester will know this place. It something of a secret within the community, kept from the regular folk for fear of more English Chinese food.

When I walked in, the place looked empty, but we were led behind a load of dressing room screens that made a make-shift wall to find a massive, bustling restaurant.

The food was fantastic, and the place was very reminiscent of my time spent in Taiwan, with a lot of Asian families eating out together late at night.

I can especially recommend the Spring Roll pancakes, which were lovely and fluffy, cooked to perfection.

Overall:

A must, especially considering they open until 3am (last orders 2.30am)