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With areas
suitable for families as well as those looking for a quiet
corner, John Lewis’s recently refurbished The Place to Eat is an
ideal location to relax on a shopping break in the centre:mk.
You can choose from salads, sandwiches and soups, plus cooked-
to-order food or coffee with cake.
Décor
The restaurant
is situated on the first floor opposite Middleton Hall – the
perfect venue for viewing the shopping centre’s varied events.
On this occasion a fully blown sand beach play pit took up
almost the entire hall. See
www.thecentremk.com/events for
further details.
The pastel
blue pillars and small prints in The Place to Eat make this a
simple yet
affective place to unwind and eat good food. If you are lucky or
organised enough you can enjoy there are sofas available for
extra comfort. There are four different food counters with a
variety of dishes to choose from.
Atmosphere
We visited The Place to Eat on a Sunday afternoon. The
restaurant was relaxed and but still vibrant. As this is a café
based restaurant, you as a customer will need to visit each
counter to select the food of your choice. In January (2010) the
MK Lions will be playing their basketball games in Middleton
Hall so this will add to the theatre of the cafe. You may even
get better seats for the game if you book early enough for a
balcony seat.
Service
This is a self service restaurant, come large café where you can
count on
smiling, joyous staff that are friendly and helpful both at the
counters and
around the tables. The tables were cleaned at every meal ending
and I
watched the management team keeping a close eye on proceedings
ensuring everything flowed smoothly. There is a till on every
station which makes life easier
when paying for your well-prepared, well-cooked and presented
meals.
Food
We started with a bowl of the very popular Moroccan chicken
soup. Apparently customers come from all over to buy this soup.
Many have also been known to take the recipe home with them with
the permission of Head Chef Dale, who has previously worked in
many fine restaurants. The hot, well seasoned spicy soup is very
tasty and you will feel the textures and aroma from every
spoonful. The only thing missing for me was some bread which
would have cleaned the bottom of the bowl.
The Place to Eat have opted for large chalk boards fitted on the
walls rather than a hand held menu. This works well for menu
additions and changes. The choices include:
Sandwiches and salads
Curries
pastas
Sausage and mash
Mini lamb & feta cheese burger with tzatziki & salsa
Roasted vegetables & smoked apple-wood cheese quiche (v)
Seafood & leek parcel
Smoked salmon & free range egg mayonnaise on seeded rye bread
Roasted vegetables, mozzarella and red wine vinegar in French
country
bread (v)
Ham & provolone cheese on seeded onion bread
Desserts
Mini fruit tartlettes
Banana, date & walnut flapjack
Shortbread
Tiramisu
Vanilla cheesecake
The dish that caught my eye on the chalk board was the burger,
laid on top of a naan bread with a side of lettuce, mint and
chunky chips. This quite unique dish intrigued me so I had to
have it. The burger was moist, yummy and mixed well with the
naan bread which I found surprising. The fresh chips tasted
great too. The mint sauce refreshes your pallet throughout the
meal.
My guest ordered the hand made beef, spinach and ricotta lasagne
with a side of garlic bread. The portion was huge to point that
my guest needed some help….my help! “Yes please I said!” This is
a dish you'll love time and time again. This lasagne is
extremely filling, hot and flavoursome. It looked and smelt
gorgeous.
Our menu was
accompanied by the organic Sicilian lemonade.
Desserts
My guest and I selected the shortbread and maple syrup crepe
made by the Italian chef. The short bread is well made and full
of buttery, tongue-wetting flavours.
The Place to
Eat provides a great choice of food for kids. For £3.50 you can
choose 5 items from:
Cheese or ham
sandwich
Carton of fruit juice, milk or water
Apple and grape fruit pack
Fromage frais
Fresh fruit
Dried fruit pack
Kit-Kat
Cracker
Carton of fruit juice or Ribena
Hot Menu:
£3.50 per meal
Sausage with mash and beans
Macaroni cheese
Pizza |
