Corleone

Corleone is another of Colliers Wood’s restaurants that hasn’t been around for a long time but the site has been home to fine Italian cuisine for a good number of years with the previous incarnation, Rehab. The exterior may fool you into thinking that Corleone is a take-away being no more than 15ft wide but realistically it can seat well over 50 people comfortably serving fine home cooked Italian meals and a range of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

My most recent visit was for a friends birthday party and despite numbering well into the twenties our party managed to squeeze into the separate area at the back with little problem. With parties of this size a set menu is offered, I actually turned up late so missed the starter but I think I saw soup bowls and some leftover bits of salad, for main I chose a Pizza (I find it hard not to in an Italian) although there were vegetarian pasta and beef as other options. It was very tasty but then I expect that of home-cooked Italian pizza. For desert I had Banoffee pie (which happens to be just about my favourite) although there was a choice of chocolate cake or Ice cream.

The price is fairly difficult to gauge from this visit as the bill was split and came to about £30 per head BUT there was an awful lot of wine flowing around the table which would have brought the price up considerably. I would suggest that it would be on the higher side of average for Colliers Wood dining but definitely not a rip off. The way the restaurant is shaped it always feels full no matter if there are five or fifty people in the building and with a degree of mood lighting it always has a very pleasant atmosphere, and the décor may not make you feel like you are really in a 1930s New York gangster film it does provide a good back drop for the evening.

Based on having many a good evening there whether it be as Corleone or Rehab (which was practically exactly the same) I have to give Corleone a very strong recommendation 4/5

Corleone can be found almost directly opposite the underground station at 186A Colliers Wood High Street. It is open 5-11pm Monday to Friday, Midday-11pm Saturday and Midday-10pm Sundays

http://corleonerestaurant.co.uk/

Delhi Heights

Delhi Heights is one of the newer Restaurants on the Colliers Wood scene. The location has had many guises in recent years most of which have been really quite unsuccessful (Baobab, Royal 6 Bells and something else in between) but Delhi Heights has taken it in a new direction replacing the usual pubs with a North Indian Restaurant and it seems to be succeeding. I visited the establishment on a very quiet Monday evening and thus the atmosphere wasn’t all that electric but I expect that is not the case on the Weekends when they serve their All you can eat buffets. My order started with the traditional poppadoms and then I moved onto a dish called Saag Gosht which was a dish which used lamb and spinach as its basis. It was very flavourful but it lacked any spicyness which I do like. Now I knew when ordering that it wouldn’t be spicy but then there was nothing on the menu that catered for that market which I found very unusual for an Indian restaurant.

Delhi Heights boasts more than just food, it also has a comprehensive range of Cocktails and other drinks and also has an outside area for people to smoke a Shisha (flavoured tobacco) pipe if that is your thing. I didn’t partake in either on my visit and stuck to a nice Indian lager. This though, like the food was definitely a touch on the expensive side. As previously mentioned, there is a buffet option on the weekend and then the value is entirely up to your stomach capacity but for a normal dish I paid £25 for just a main dish with rice, a naan bread and one pint of beer.

The food was tasty even if the menu was a little sparse, there are many facilities including a UV toilet which makes you feel like you are on the set of a horror film but for me the price is a little too much for the experience that I had. 3/5

Delhi Heights can be found at 222 High Street Colliers Wood and is open 7 days a week 12noon – 3pm and then 5.30 – 11pm.

http://www.delhiheights.co.uk/index.html

Venus

Venus is a lovely little Bar and Restaurant located just off the High Street a full 10 seconds walk from Colliers Wood Underground. Many Making Colliers Wood Happy veterans will be familiar with Venus as it has played host to a number of Quiz nights over the past couple of years, even one written and hosted
by yours truly. For those that don’t know, Venus is described as a ‘Metropolitan Restaurant with Ancient Roman influences’, I would suggest that is a bit much as the only influences are a couple of pictures and a chalk board with a few facts on but nevertheless it is a lovely place. I have eaten there on a couple of occasions and have always been impressed by the quality of food. The food served is much more up market than your usual bar food and so definitely deserves to be called a restaurant, but if it is ‘pub grub’ that you want they also do a mean plate of Nachos. Both the food and drink is, in my opinion, very good value; you’ll get a pint of lager cheaper in Venus than any other high street venue.

When Venus is not packed to the rafters with quiz goers it is usually a very quiet place to relax and maybe enjoy a romantic meal. Due to its quiet ambience, Venus is another of Colliers Wood’s attractions that I have been able to use as a resource for my work as it is a great place to go for a chat/meeting. Although it is open late into the evening, Venus can’t compete with other Colliers Wood pubs for a night out atmosphere but then I don’t think that it is particularly trying to.

If you want somewhere to relax in Colliers Wood and watch the world go by with a cocktail in hand then there really is no better place for you than Venus. 4/5

Venus is located on Christchurch road, next to the tube station and is open midday until 11 pm Monday to Saturday and Midday until 10:30 pm on Sunday

http://www.venusbar.co.uk/

Frankie & Benny’s

My first review of one of Colliers Wood’s many chain restaurants. I will try and review these based on the general experience and in comparison to other restaurants in that chain, assuming I’ve been to one. Frankie & Benny’s is certainly one that I have been to many times, for those that don’t know; Frankie & Benny’s describes itself as a New York Italian Restaurant which is a pretty fair description. On the menu you will find both your American classics such as Burgers and Steak and also your Italian Pizzas and Pastas.

F&B Colliers Wood is one of my favourite places to go for a casual meal, as soon as you enter you are serenaded by 60s American pop music and if you shop right it can be very good value. I went recently to celebrate a family birthday and the majority of the table chose food from the 2 Courses for £10.95 deal, which has a good selection of dishes. I started with the stuffed mushroom for starter which in all honesty wasn’t all that wonderful but some of the other starters that people had did look tasty. I followed this with the ‘New York’ Burger, a definite American Classic; Beef Burger with Bacon, Cheese and BBQ Sauce. This I tucked into so fast I forgot to take a picture. Don’t expect gourmet cooking at F&B, it is there purely for a bit of good hearty food in a cheerful environment.

Personally I have always found the staff in the Colliers Wood branch to be very helpful and well mannered and although I may be accused of bias, this is not something I have always encountered elsewhere. I remember both in a London branch and in Kingston feeling rushed.

This might not be for you if you want a quiet meal due to the aforementioned music and also more often than not there is a fairly noisy party going on close by but if you want good value food in a friendly and spacious environment then I would definitely recommend the Colliers Wood branch of F&B to anyone. 4/5

Frankie & Benny’s Colliers Wood can be found in the Tandem Centre and is open 9am – 10.30pm 7 days a week

http://www.frankieandbennys.com/restaurant/frankie-bennys-colliers-wood

Ban Yai

Ban Yai is one of the many MANY restaurants that can be found in the Abbey Mills. It serves a range of Thai cuisine with both indoor and outdoor seating in the very pleasant surroundings of the Abbey Mills.  I apologise for the strange photo, it originally had me in it but I decided to cut it out.

On getting to the Abbey Mills I had not intended to go to Ban Yai but rather to another one of the restaurants there but as I hadn’t been there before I decided to give it a try. It was a fairly nice evening so my Girlfriend and I sat outside. I am not particularly a connoisseur of Thai food so I picked pretty much at random the Red Duck curry seen on the right. It was very good, my Girlfriend picked a stir fry which too was very tasty. The problem with her dish though was that she had asked for it with no Cashew nuts on, yet when it came it was quite clearly sprinkled with nuts.

Unfortunately this was not the only example of poor service, we asked for a round of drinks that never found their way to us until it was prompted about 20 minutes later. This can be understood on a busy night but there were only 3 tables of customers in the restaurant at the time.

This was just one ‘untipped’ waitress though and I wouldn’t suggest that all the staff are like this but this detracted from the good quality of the food and thus I shall only score Ban Yai a mediocre 3/5

As I said it can be located in the Abbey Mills and is open 12noon-10pm Monday -Friday and 11am-10pm Saturday and Sunday.

http://www.banyai.co.uk

The Spice of Raj

The Spice of Raj is an Indian Restaurant on Christchurch road which has been in business since 1999. I start my Colliers Wood reviews here for two main reasons; first of all I believe it is one of the finest eating establishments (that I have been to) in the area and because I have been there very recently and thus have some recent pictures.

As the sign suggests, the Spice of Raj are specialist in Tandoori and Balti dishes but being the adventurous sort I have tried most from the mild Byriani to the spicy Vindaloo dishes here and have found all to be extremely flavourful and explained well on the menu. On this occasion I went for the Garlic Chili Chicken with Pilau rice and I shared side dishes including Saag Paneer (Spinach & Cheese) and Bombay Aloo (Potato). It was delicious and I couldn’t finish it despite my enormous appetite.

Whenever I have been to the restaurant I have found the staff to be extremely friendly and helpful whether it be opening doors, taking your coat or explaining a dish to you. The Spice of Raj is not the cheapest place to eat in Colliers Wood but it makes up for that in quality and you do get very large portions. The pictures above were for 6 people and cost, with drinks and dessert about £140. Also after dinner you get given little chocolates as if you weren’t already full enough.

On the whole I would give the Spice of Raj a solid 4/5 stars, definitely worth a visit.

Open 7 Days a week 12noon-2pm & 6pm-12midnight

http://www.spiceofrajlimited.co.uk/