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Elche, 569 High Road, Leytonstone, London, E11 4PB, England - (+44)0181-558 0009 Rating: 1/5 |
(Although not French, we felt this "Catalan" restaurant merited inclusion as it features dishes which can be found in France throughout the South-eastern area.) Our meal consisted of tapas, a selection of hors-d'oeuvres, washed down with the house red, a very pleasant 1996 Navarre of 12.5%. Patatas bravas, an old favourite consisting of crisply-sautéed potatoes with a tomato and chilli sauce, was well-executed, as were the espinacas a la catalana, steamed spinach with tender pine nuts, sultanas and sweet peppers. Bunuelos a la bacalao, cod and mashed-potato fish cakes, were on the insipid side of subtle. The chipirones a la plancha, baby squid which were described on the menu as "very tender", would have served well as the lining of a bullet-proof vest, while the calamares a la catalana, squid rings in batter, were also extremely tough and coated in an eye-pleasing but soggy batter. We had heard that the service was "chaotic" and this was indeed the case. There were more than enough waiters for the number of tables but they still managed to forget the wine order, then, when reminded, still bring it late, for example. The ambience was heightened by a trio of musicians, who unfortunately were from the Andes rather than Catalonia, but the local clientele were not supposed to know that! The bill, when it arrived, was £58.00 - on querying it, it turned out to be £34.00. On the whole, one to avoid - although you will have no difficulty obtaining a table without booking, even on a Friday night! |
