La Parrilla Lark Lane

Went to La Parrilla on Lark Lane on Wednesday night for dinner. I've had it on my list for a while as the one on Bold Street was voted one of the best restaurants a few years ago.

It seemed to be run by a 1 man band the manager was just on his own serving, taking orders and making drinks then whoever was in the back cooking.

I asked if there was coriander in the food as it seemed inevitable that it was a Mexican which means of course there's coriander but he said he's the manager and he hates it so they don't have it. Said the chefs were using it as a garnish and he just said no, and it's one less thing for him to have to buy and order.

It's quite big inside with a lot of sombreros everywhere. Was a few people in there when we went. We got there just before 6pm and they have an early bird menu - 2 courses for £15.95 from things that are green on the menu.

Starters

Spicy BBQ Chicken Wings - served with peppers and onions

Authentic Mini Basket - Served a top Mexican rice,  beef chilli, chips in its own edible bowl topped with cheese and sour cream

The wings were super spicy the BBQ sauce was not a fan. The basket was alright but wish I got the nachos instead

La Parrilla Fajitas - Marinated Chicken Breast - hot from the grill on a sizzling skillet - on a bed of sauteed onions & peppers with with rice, lettuce, flour tortilla wraps, salsa, guacamole and sour cream

The chicken was nice but quite salty. The guacamole was really spicy as it had actual chunks of chilli chopped into it which I didn't notice and ate!

Enchiladas - Wrapped in a corn tortilla, beef chilli. Coated in spicy salsa smothered in cheese and baked in the oven the traditional way. Served with rice, sour cream and refined beans

Didn't like this, felt like the tortilla wasn't cooked properly. Was just like toasted and didn't taste nice.

The food came out super quick when we ordered so feel like everything is already pre cooked and then just reheated for when it comes out.

The food wasn't great but the service was actually good even if it was run by a 1 man band. Wouldn't be going back and glad to say I've finally tried so it's now taken off my list of places to go to.

Twitter || Instagram || PT Instagram || Tumblr || Bloglovin || Pinterest

Picnic Smithdown

 Went to Picnic on Smithdown Road. I've been here before with Holly nearly 2 years ago. We were originally going to Bowl with was a few doors down but there seemed to only be 1 person working in the place. We were stood waiting for ages and this woman seen us but didn't acknowledge us. She just looked at the orders coming in then went back into the back. She did it twice then another girl came out and asked if we had been served. We said no and said she would be with us in a second. After a long wait she eventually served us. I seen they had a poke bowl so went to order that but said they had no salmon. Just left it then because the menu is very limited and we seen the portion size someone got and it was tiny. Also the service was rubbish as we just weren't being seen to so left to go to Picnic. 

We actually had to walk past it to go to Bowl and there was a few people sat inside. When we went back it was empty.

Cappuccino - £4

Matcha Latte with Coconut Milk - £4.80

It was a good matcha. The use 92° for their hot drinks which I've been to before. They have a cafe on Jamaica Street in the Baltic Triangle.

SNP Peri Pasta Bowl - Chicken, Warm Fusilli Pasta Twists in a Homemade Creamy Salt and Pepper Peri Mayo Sauce

Comes with Lettuce, Tomato, Cucumber, Grilled Peppers & Onions Topped with Vegan Peri Mayo Sauce - £12.95 (Extra Chicken +£2)

Teriyaki Stir Fry - Pasta, Sugar Snap Peas, Tenderstem Broccoli, Peppers, Cabbage, Onions Beansprouts, Picked Onions, Spring Onions, Sesame Seeds & Homemade teriyaki Dressing. Grilled Salmon - £15.95 (I got grilled salmon +£3 and changed the rice noodles to pasta)

I got the Teriyaki stir fry with salmon which was nice. The salmon wasn't over cooked and the sauce was nice. The only thing was the sugar snap peas were very uncooked and the pickles were so strong! Also would have preferred the cabbage and onions cooked not really a fan of them raw. Food was nice and was better than last time. I did think I probably should have kept the rice noodles instead of changing it to pasta though.

It was definitely the better option than going to Bowl as the portions are a lot bigger and a lot more choice. Bowl has changed it's name as it was called All Day Poke which only opened last year and didn't last long at all and has now change its name. I guess it wasn't doing well. But it was annoying as it was shut at 4pm everyday so I just didn't get the chance to go. Guessing it still won't do well now since their customer service is rubbish and a very limited menu with only a few sandwiches, acai bowl, porridge, make your own and some pasta dishes.

Twitter || Instagram || PT Instagram || Tumblr || Bloglovin || Pinterest