Essendon Country Club

Taste It Polish

➤ 17 Market Place, AL10 0LJ, Welwyn Hatfield, United Kingdom

Carte • Soup • Polish • European • American

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"Good food and a friendly, laid-back service. All the traditional favourites are there in the menu, the portions are Polish (i.e. generous! and the prices very reasonable indeed. Preparation time wasn't instant. That's because the dishes are based on fresh ingredients prepared on the premises from scratch. To check this out, I chose Placki Ziemniaczane: a dish of 7 crispy potato pancakes served with sour cream, (though you can have them Hungarian-style with a pork goulash too . When I make them at home, I cheat by using Knorr powdered potato... these on the other hand were properly made, by grating potatoes very finely indeed– they took 20 minutes, and were exactly right: light, crisp and delicious. Filling though– I took two of them home! Total cost £6.50. Though it appears unpretentious, it offers some excellent specialities as well as the Polish basics: try their Duck Leg Confit served in its roast jus, accompanied with Silesian Potato Dumplings and grated beetroot. Their Pork Tenderloin served with a Chanterelle sauce and a juicy carrot salad looks wonderful too. I was driving, so their basic range of wines, and some interesting cocktails, were alas, left unsampled..."

Auberge Du Lac

➤ Brocket Hall, Welwyn Hatfield, United Kingdom

Carte • Kebab • Cafés • Seafood • Fast Food

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"A slightly bizarre experience we were welcomed warmly, taken to our table, and given a menu for pre dinner drinks. No food menus were brought. We ordered drinks, which arrived, but still no menus! So we asked for them. No wine list brought. So we asked for one. All rather odd. The starters were mixed a bland crab risotto, a rather vinegary tartare, an excellent parfait and a crispy egg which needed to be runnier, but was tasty, if too salty. The odd service continued: three of the four of us had finished do the waiter cleared our plates including the one of our friend who hadn’t finished, who was left holding a cracker in her hand! The mains were again mixed and generally over salty. The ravioli were excellent; the steak good but in a sauce which was heavy handed on the seasoning, the fish pleasant, again slightly salty and verging on the overcooked. We had chocolate soufflé for pudding generally well made and tasty, but again the service was odd an ice cream was pushed into it at the table by the waiter which caused a good amount of soufflé to fall inelegantly onto the serving plate; the cheese plate was an interesting but small selection of well kept cheese. Good petit fours (though we were surprised that one containing nuts was offered to us all despite one of us not eating nuts, which we had mentioned). So probably four stars over all, but only just. It’s good to see the restaurant open again but based on this experience, while it’s fine dining, it’s got some way to go to reach the standard of cooking I’m sure they’d like to aspire to."

Auberge Du Lac

➤ Brocket Hall Welwyn, Hertfordshire AL8 7XG, AL8 7TW, Welwyn Garden City, United Kingdom

Carte • Kebab • Cafés • Mexican • Fast Food

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"Really pretty place with the terrace right by the river. Food is very good, tasty and well presented with some interesting flavour combinations such as melon anise sorbet. The head chef came out to deliver the amuse bouche personally and spent time talking to us about produce which was a lovely touch. The only reason I have marked it down is the toilets are upstairs so it wasn't as accessible as it could be However, the staff happily drove the golf buggy round to the front entrance where the toilets are on the same level (the terrace and restaurant are a level down) and then it's a short distance to the toilets. They were also happy to drive the buggy to the car park to deliver less mobile customers such as my mother-in-law so service was excellent."

The Don

➤ 502 Elder Gate, Milton Keynes, MK91LR, MK9 1LR, United Kingdom

Carte • Asian • Balti • Indian • Bangladeshi

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"After reading some reviews, I decided to take my family to this restaurant for dinner. I was very impressed. The food was delicious and beautifully presented, the staff provided great service, and the best part was the affordable prices. We don't drink alcohol, but for those who enjoy spicy food, I highly recommend trying the house special jhaal huhn. It was like a mild vindaloo with lots of flavor - absolutely delicious. We loved it."

Cafe Trio

➤ 15 Wigmores South, Welwyn Hatfield, United Kingdom, AL8 6PL

Carte • Cafés • Kebab • Seafood • Mexican

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"My family and I have been coming here for years and we absolutely love it here. My mum orders the same every time she goes in here, and they remember her order every time we went in there yesterday, one of the waiters sees my mum walking in and says ‘someone get this woman a cheese omelette with chips!’ it made us laugh! It’s so lovely to watch how this little cafe has grown in popularity over the years, it’s the best! We love you cafe trio"