 This restaurant review was
undertaken on July 4, 2009
Never let
it be said that we don’t suffer in our pursuit to bring you the
most up-to-date food reviews.
This was
the overriding feeling we had during our meal at Ask last
Saturday. It wasn’t due to the food or the staff (both of which
were good) but rather this was due to the relentless heat
in the restaurant!
Situated
within the Xcape building, Ask quite obviously will not benefit
from opening outside windows, and on a night as warm as it was,
the absence of any breeze was all too noticeable.
The
restaurant itself is decorated to quite a high standard. Dark
wooden tables and floors and low spot lights might give the
appearance of intimacy, however the tables are so tightly packed
together (40+ covers) that any intimacy is soon lost! There is a
trendy looking, dark panelled bar and open kitchen which add to
the ‘high-spec’ look and a full mirrored wall along one side.
The only things that really let it down where the toilets (which
really need a spruce up) and the fact that the main doors to the
toilets were left open all night. I wouldn’t have fancied
sitting near those!
Did I
mention it was hot?! Even opening the front of the restaurant
only offered a little respite from the heat. This also meant
that the tables nearest the front were opened up to the very
busy thoroughfare in the Xcape, exposing diners to the passing
Saturday night revellers. Also, this place is loud. You really
have to strain to have a conversation. Maybe not the best venue
for a first date (unless you’re shy and have nothing to say!)
although it does look nice.
Overall we
found the service to be very good. We were seated as soon as we
arrived as our table was reserved. We did see one couple sitting
on the plush leather couches in ‘reception’ they were seated
pretty quickly. Our table was a little cluttered, with
promotional literature, a tatty looking menu and a small
specials board (I don’t know if this was supposed to be here!),
but at least we had a bit more space around us than other
dinners. Within a couple of minutes our drinks orders were taken
by a friendly waitress named Elena, who remained helpful and
attentive all night. I ordered a bottle of Peroni (surely a
standard in an Italian restaurant!) at £3.20, and my partner
went for a glass of Pinot Grigio Blush at £4.35. These arrived
in about 5 minutes, and we were then left to peruse the menu.
The menu is
pretty much what you’d expect in an Italian restaurant, being
made up largely of pizza and pasta, but with a good balance. My
partner, who is vegetarian, felt there was a better than average
range available for the herbivores among us! There is a decent
selection of salads to choose from, as well as a couple of
risottos, and also some more ‘exciting’ dishes in the Al Forno
(which I believe means ‘From the Oven’) section. We were given
about 10 minutes to make our selection, and when Elena returned
she explained everything well, made recommendations and was very
helpful with regards to substituting ingredients. I would be
interested to know if this later information is usually freely
offered, as we did have to ask. She didn’t, however, introduce
the ‘specials’ despite the board having been left on our table!
I opted for
the Calamari (£6.45) which is one of their new additions. I
chose this for two reasons; 1) I really fancied it! and 2)
because I know how hard it can be to cook right! (Mean of me, I
know!). My partner went for her old favourite of Mushrooms al
Forno (£4.95). Our starters arrived after about 15 minutes,
which I felt was a little too long, but then the restaurant was
full to capacity. The Calamari was ok. The fish itself was not
in the least bit rubbery as it so often is, but I felt the
batter was slightly too thick and over cooked, making it a
little oily and clumped together. It was served with a salad
garnish and a parsley mayonnaise (well, mayo with whole parsley
leaves in it!). The worst thing however, was the extremely
chipped bowl in which it was served! In contrast, my partner’s
mushrooms were cooked to perfection. Moist and heavy with a rich
cheese and light crumbly topping. Maybe they could have done
with a pinch of salt, but the hefty garlic mayonnaise offered
good lubrication!
Whilst we
waited for our mains to arrive, we noticed 2 other diners
actually chase down a member of the waiting staff (who to be
fair were very busy and constantly floor walking) to ask for
help, and one diner actually left because he was too hot! We
stopped one waitress, the lovely Abi, to ask about this, and she
informed us that the air con hadn’t been working for ages,
despite their requests to get it fixed! She did however offer to
get us a glass of tap water each without being asked, which was
nice and welcome addition.
For the
main course, I ordered the Terrina Mediterranea (£9.25) from the
Al Forno section, and my partner opted for the Risotto
Vegetariana (£8.25) from which she asked the peas to be removed!
The Terrina Mediterranea is basically a fragrant chicken and
prawn type stew, served in its own pot straight from the oven.
When our waitress had eventually wrestled the lid off, the smell
was divine! This was probably on reflection, not a great choice
that night though, as the heat coming off the dish only added to
the discomfort of the night! However, after the waitress
generously garnished both my meal and my knees with parmesan, I
manfully dug in! The sauce was fantastic, heavy and rich with
juicy raisins, olives and huge butterbeans. There was a generous
helping of chicken and prawns which were also thick and juicy.
Each mouthful really was a different combination of texture and
flavours. I made a slight mistake though, in that I ate all the
meat along with the accompanying ciabatta bread first, leaving
me with half a pot of sauce to get through at the end. Although
this was delicious, it did get a bit samey towards the end, and
the taste of rosemary became a little overpowering. The only
real disappointment was the salad dressing that accompanied the
side salad. This was served in what looked like a vase and was
far too cumbersome to operate. When I did manage to pour some on
my salad, it was too oily and vinegary and particularly
unpleasant.
My partner
was again delighted with her food. The risotto was perfect,
light and fluffy with just a little bite to the rice. The
courgettes, caramelized leeks and olives gave it enough body to
be satisfying, while the oven roasted tomatoes added the
authentic Mediterranean flavour. Although she loved her food and
was particularly impressed, as risotto can be a difficult meal
to make, my partner did comment that by this point she wanted to
hurry up and finish as the heat was so unbearable!
We were
pretty full after our meals (Italians love their carbs!) but did
bravely choose a slice of honeycomb cheesecake (£4.75) to share,
with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream to cool us down! The
cheesecake was lovely, thick and creamy and what you’d expect
from a pre-made desert in a chain restaurant (maybe could have
done with a little more honeycomb!).
We had a
brief chat with Chrissie, the duty manager, who explained that
they are used to catering for the pre-cinema crowd, so need to
turn tables within the hour – we did notice the quick turn
around in service. We also noticed some diners taking their time
and being allowed to do so. From our observations, experience
and from asking other diners, we found that all in all the food
and service were pretty good. Ask is a decent mid-range
restaurant with a positive image and prices set at the right
level. The restaurant in Milton Keynes could probably be even
stronger if there were a few less tables and a slightly more
ambient atmosphere, although I’m not sure if this would be
commercially viable. As it stands, Ask is a good pre-cinema or
‘nice meal out’ venue, suitable for families, couples or the
casual diner. There is a range of food which should satisfy the
basic pizza lover and the more adventurous. I would advise you
reserve a table though as the place get’s packed! We didn’t see
it start to empty until at least 9 o’clock. To Ask I
would advise – spruce things up a little, but more importantly,
get your air-con sorted! The heat really is the predominant
memory of the night and could ruin it for some people, which is
a shame as Ask offers and delivers on most levels. |
