Cate "CupCate" S.'s Profile

I know it's a practically unheard of opinion - but I don't really like this place. Why? Because I've had far better ice cream at BASKIN ROBBINS, and because their staff are some of the rudest people I've ever come across.

Take for example when I was there a couple of days ago. There were two other people in the entire shop. I walk in and politely say to the girl behind the counter: "Hiya, I'm waiting for a friend to meet me here, is it OK if I go ahead and sit down?"

"...yeah."

*blank stare*

I shrugged it off, and sat down. My friend showed up, we ordered, and paid separately. I gave the girl my order (I was met with more blank staring) and when she was finished preparing my ice cream (small cup, one scoop Caramello, one scoop Biscotto) she put the cup on the counter and looked at me.

I looked back at her. Our eyes blazed in to each others like wanton lovers. Or perhaps less like wanton lovers are more like mortal enemies. They're such similar looks, it's easy to confuse them. Especially when it's hot out and you're surrounded by ice cream.

I digress.

We stared at each other for a good five seconds, and I broke first and went to hand her my tenner. (I know this place has a £5 minimum for card, so I took cash out before.)

She, at the same time, said, "It's two pound....ugh. Don't you have anything smaller?" While ROLLING HER EYES AT ME.

I stared at her, my eyes full of OH NO YOU DID NOT JUST SAY THAT TO ME.

"No. No. I. Do. Not."

More eye rolling. She then proceeds to sassily take the tenner from my hand, toss some money around, stare and shake her head at the depleting amount of change in her drawer (NOT MY PROBLEM) and then she hands me back a fiver, a couple of pound coins, and then appropriately 20 pennies.

TWENTY PENNIES!!!!!!!!

She put them in my hand and without looking at me, asked the next customer what they wanted.

And this is when I calmly placed the gigantic tower of pennies she handed me on top of the register and said, as politely as I could, "I don't want your f***ing pennies," and walked out.

The family that ordered before us was outside, and overheard me say to my friend how rude she was. They piped up and mentioned that she was very rude to them, and that they had even been there the day before and she treated them the same way.

Hello, Scoop. There are plenty of people these days who need jobs. My advice would be that you find some of these people, people with even an ounce of friendliness in them, and hire them. An ice cream shop is not a place for people who are incapable of smiling. If Starbucks can manage to find people who will fake friendliness in the name of a pay check, I'm pretty sure you can to.

OVER AND FREAKIN' OUT.

I absolutely hate going to the dentist. I hate it. I will wait until I am in excruciating pain before I'll call and make an appointment - however, this is the first dental office I've ever been in that I was actually impressed by.

The interior of this place is amazing. Funky, colorful furniture, flat screen TVs playing the news, music videos, or a Michael Jackson DVD - there's even a coffee and tea station complete with a mini fridge.

There are multiple photos of New York-inspired works, including bright wallpaper with scenes of New York at night. The reception of this dental office reminds me more of a design agency or media company than a place you'd go to have your teeth drilled.

The examination rooms are equally kitsch, with clean white chairs, and even a flat screen TV above head so that you can watch something other than your dentists gloves flying in and out of your mouth with foreign instruments.

This place will make even the most nervous patient feel at ease, and the best part, is that they're both private and NHS. WIN.

THIS PLACE = A JOKE.

Myself and about 20-odd other people from a pretty well known company in London sat outside the Queen's Head & Artichoke this past Friday afternoon. Having just enjoyed a day out in Regents Park with their company, everyone decided on this pub as an after-party spot, and we quickly spent about £200 on beer, wine and spirits.

I joined the party a little late, went inside to order a pint of Erdinger, and the man who served me behind the bar was...awkward. He was cold, unfriendly, and was pretty condescending. (As if I should have been psychic and just KNOWN that they were out of the Landlord Brew, which I had asked to try before order the Erdinger.)

Moments after joining our large crowd outside, said awkward man stormed outside and started shouting at the members of our group who were eating strawberries.

As our group had been at Regents Park all afternoon, they had a few crates of leftover food with them.

"GO. You have to go now. You CANNOT EAT THAT HERE. Go. GO NOW."

It's not like this place sells strawberries. And it's also not like we were all sitting around, tucking in to the leftovers from the picnic. A couple people had a handful of strawberries - after spending £200 at this place already.

This man did not ask politely if we would stop eating strawberries. He did not appreciate the fact that having a large group of people standing outside his pub, laughing and having a good time made his business look fantastic to passers-by. He also didn't care that we all explained to him that we would stay there all night and would spend a LOT of money there.

He was beyond rude, and despite a good number of our party trying to reason with him, he insisted we left. (After trying to actually take the crates of food away from us.)

Did I mention he also lied and told us he was the highest member of staff in charge that night, despite the owner being upstairs, later finding out what happened, and begging us to stay?

This smug little man laughed in our faces when we told him that we were all going online to give this place a bad review. He scoffed at the notion that we would take our business elsewhere. And he literally held up his fat little hand (as in TALK TO THE HAND, SISTER) when one of us tried explaining why we had food with us to begin with, and that we wouldn't eat the rest of it there.

This pub is a disgrace. They don't care about customer service. They don't care about business. And they most certainly don't care about keeping their customers or their potential customers happy.

So, here you go, Queen's Head & Artichoke. Here's your crappy review.  My advice is to never waste your time going to this palce ,and take your business to The Albany instead. (Which is what we did, in the end, and had a FANTASTIC time.)

I've really tried to like this place. I've gone twice, at different times of the day. Once I just got a beer and stared at the cakes, the other time I ordered the goats cheese and aubergine quiche...and both times I was left feeling particularly MEH.

Their staff is always awkward. I try to be friendly, and maybe I come across a little too HEY I AM AMERICAN AND FRIENDLY for their liking, but come on, you work in a restaurant. Try a little. Gimme a smile or something.

I also feel like everything is a over priced for what it is. Perhaps they hitch up the prices because their stuff is Portuguese/Brazilian and people may not understand some of the ingredients. Like, "Hey, you can't really pronounce this, so therefore we're going to make it more expensive. And LOL when you try to order."

Anyway. This place is OK. You won't hate it, but you won't love it either. Personally, I think walking a few streets over to The Diner would better, but maybe that's just me.

When I heard that there was a pop-up Snog shop in Liberty, I wet my pants a little.

How exciting, right?

Never mind that a cup of frozen yogurt is probably the only thing in Liberty I can afford,  I was dead excited to get my hands on good 'ol Snog at Liberty.

However, when I got there, I was disappointed. In a real Snog shop, you have your standard three flavors but a crapload of topping options. At Liberty, you have the option for a £2.85 Natural Snog (just a cup of natural frozen yogurt) or a Posh Snog, which involves a lot of fruit, chocolate shavings, and apparently a diamond in it's centre as it costs you £4.20.

So those are your options, folks. £2.85 for a cup of just a plain cup of frozen yogurt, or £4.20 for a lot of fruit and chocolate. Call me picky, but for a pop-up shop I was pretty bored.

Granted, my Natural Snog was pretty tasty...but, I wasn't excited about it. Pop-up shops should give you at least more than TWO options on the menu, or at the very least, a  mid-range option.

This place is just....WOW.

I've probably walked by it a thousand times on Poland Street, just never noticing it was there. From the outside, it doesn't look like much. But the moment you step inside, you forget you're in Soho, and almost feel like you're on holiday somewhere tropical, amazing, and with an "amigo hour" EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK.

Granted, I'm cheap and only stuck to the "amigo hour" drinks, and got down 3 Hawaiian Coolers before said "amigo hour" was up - but let me tell you how delicous they are.

They're pink. They're (I think) vodka based, and they're tasty. AND THEY'RE CHEAP. This is all you need to know.

If you come here with your BFF, you will not be disappointed. Even if you come here with someone you don't even like that much you will enjoy yourself because HEY! It's freaking AMIGO HOUR and you've got two Hawaiin Coolers with your name on it. What could be better?

(Well, the size of the toilets could be better. Seriously, who makes toilets so small that you have to climb behind the damn toilet to shut the door? For that, Barrio Central, I knock off a star. No one should have do drunk yoga in a toilet just to shut the door. This is dangerous, above anything else.)

While, naturally,  I can't exactly afford to give the Sanderson my first born or perhaps my right arm in exchange for a room - I can definitely afford to sit in their lovely terrace and enjoy a cup of fresh mint tea.

If you can survive sitting in the presence of Botoxed fashion journalists who order Afternoon Tea but don't eat the cakes, and men who refer to those they're having lunch with as "Mr Big Executive Producer Man", this place is well worth it. (Or there's a very nice bathroom you can run vomit into, if the wanky businessman talk gets to be too much.)

In the terrace, aside from media types, you're surrounded by flowing, white drapes, Starck's Ghost Chairs, framed portraits of dogs, sunshine, and a fountain surrounded by gorgeous plants and flowers. In other words, you're surrounded by a lot of WIN.

The interior of the hotel is magnificent, and while their staff is a little stuffy, the door men look like extras from Chicago (sadly they do not dance or sing) and the swanky, funky, posh atmosphere will definitely put a smile on your face. (Even if you're just laughing at their clientèle.)

I say this is the perfect place to have a cup of tea with a client, lover, or perhaps even a Client Who is Also Your Lover.

I love this place.

Sure, it's in Greenwich which is a million miles away from anything (unless you live in Greenwich), but if you like local history and beer, The Old Brewery is your new wet dream.

True story.

Featuring some of the best beer in the ENTIRE WORLD behind the bar, and with the best of Meantime's beers on tap, this place will blow your mind.

They have Meantime's brewing equipment on display (and they actually use it!) plus a massive timeline of London's history with beer on the walls, AND a huge beer garden! I can't see how this place could possibly disappoint you.

Go and eat, drink, and be merry. It's the perfect place to go for a day out in Greenwich.

If you're a bit of a beer snob (as in you drink other beers other than Fosters and Carling or - god forbid - CORONA) you're probably a bit starved for places to go in Covent Garden.

And when someone suggests The Porter House, you probably crap your pants a little. Yes! It's an entire HOUSE of BEER. International beers that no one has ever heard of! SWEET!

However, when you get there, you're probably going to be a bit disappointed.

Why?

Because it's littered with shouty, suity men with pointy shoes eating over-priced chips with their PAs who are drinking large glasses of rosé. (Don't get me wrong, I like rosé, too. But not at THE PORTER HOUSE.) Sure, they sell a lot of beer. Sure, they have Anchor Steam. Sure, they have Casablanca.

But they just don't strike me as being an establishment of beer lovers. The staff will let you try out an ale you've never had before, but they don't want to talk to you about it. They're not passionate about beer.

If their staff can't even get excited about what they have on tap, why go there?

I'm always disappointed by The Porter House. There's never anywhere to sit, despite there being 3 - 4 levels. The staff is never that nice. It's dark, and not in the sexy way... And most of the interesting beers seem to be behind glass on display rather than behind the bar.

Get thee to The Rake instead, and don't waste you time with this place!

I had never had Moroccan food before, so I wasn't totally sure what to expect of this place. The interior was amazing, and the atmosphere was really chill, exotic, and laid back - so my first impressions were good.

And then they brought out the Casablanca beer, and I was head-over-heels in love with this place. The beer, plus a delicious Mezze platter and a plate of grilled holoumi later, and I wanted to propose.

At this point I was already full and ready for a nap, but I soldiered on and had the chicken, feta and spinach Tangine for my main and GOOD LORD was it good. I'm kind of a wuss and usually shy away from any meal where the meat is still attached to the bone (*shudder*) but the way the meat was cooked caused it to be so tender that it literally fell of the bone when touched. It was, needless to say, delicious.

This place has excellent cocktails, food, and atmosphere, so it's the perfect place for a big group party, or a quiet date for two. Plus, the staff are incredibly knowledgeable and can know the menu like the back of their hand and will recommend something if you're stuck, or unfamiliar with the food on the menu.