Pickwick's Pub

Pickwick's Pub
21010 Ventura Blvd
Woodland Hills, CA 91364
(818) 340-9673

I never went to the old Pickwick's but my fiancee and I are big fans of how it is now. We met up with a few friends for dinner and drinks one night and have been fans ever since.

We love the small, cozy feel of the place and we have loved every dish we tried. They serve British pub food - fish and chips, shepherd's pie, bangers, English breakfast complete with English bacon and beans. Everything is delicious. They serve other food such as burgers and tacos but we stick with the British food.

Service can be a bit slow at times and it can be hard to find a table on certain nights, but for a cozy, fun, yummy place where we always feel welcome, Pickwick's is our choice.

Limon Latin Grill

1555 Simi Towne Center Way
Simi Valley, CA 93065
Phone: (805) 955-9277
Website: http://www.limongrill.com/

We had a girls' lunch at Limon after a spa day and everyone loved it. I was so impressed that I took my hubby out to dinner about a week later... but really disliked it! It's too bad - even though the food's good, I doubt I'll drive out to Simi for this again.

Limon offers a full bar and tapas in addition to the extensive menu of seafood, meats, and pastas. The food is flavorful and beautifully served with a variety of creative sides such as quinoa or pineapple salsa. Diners fight over the patio seating to listen to thier acoustic guitarists. Fridays and Saturdays the restaurant clears out and becomes a dance club.

On my first experience, I was impressed. The lobster enchilada I ordered was surprisingly large and overstuffed with mounds of delectable fish. Even though it lacked sides, it was perfectly filling and rich. Other fun menu items shared around the table were the mojito chicken, paella, and lots and lots of chimichurri sauce. Dessert was a treat too. Usually, I'm the chocoholic but I let the other girls fight over the lava cake and churros while I dug into the bananas foster made with tart plantains.

At our second attempt, the service and food were both lacking. I asked for the miso halibut that I'd seen my friend order the previous week. (It took a lot of willpower to not take bites when she wasn't looking that day). Sadly, mine didn't look anything like hers. Even though the piece of fish was bigger, it was dry and missing the terriyaki glaze. It was also missing a side of pineapple salsa. I have a sneaking suspicion that the fish wasn't halibut too, but that might have been due to how badly they overcooked it.

Part of the bad experience was my fault and partly bad service. The waiter disappeared, and by the time my husband asked for the manager, he'd finished his meal. They offered to replace the dish with a corrected piece of fish, but by then we were done and I wanted to leave. We paid our $75 bill and left, not exactly feeling worth it.

I may have beat Addy to the punch on this review - feel free to add!

Toast

We went to Toast over the weekend to celebrate Good Eats Here blogger Chris' birthday. Happy Birthday Chris!! We went for the drinks, the company and the atmosphere, and while those were fantastic, I felt that the Toast experience left something to be desired. It was my first time there, and let's just say that Chris and Kit Kat will have a hard time convincing some of us to go again next year.

Details:

Toast

20969 Ventura Blvd

Woodland Hills, CA 91364
tel: 818.992.5500

http://www.toastaurant.com/

Ambiance: They have a comfy, well decorated bar area. It doesn't have too many tables, for the amount of space it takes up, but all for all it's a comfortable space. TVs for the sports inclined, dimmed lights for the romantics. We saw at least one first date, and I wouldn't be surprised if there'd been more.

Food: I was a little torn on the food. Our group ordered a few things - mac & cheese with lobster and truffle, burger and fries, cake.

The mac & cheese was good - split by roomies who were thrown off at the lobster, but they both enjoyed it, and I liked the bite I snagged, even though I only got noodles and cheese. I would definitely recommend it, if you're looking for a quick bite to share.

The burger & fries were also good - bravo on the garlic fries, they were really really good. And it seemed our friend throughly enjoyed his burger.

The cakes? Well, they were good. We ordered two - a lemon layer cake with coconut, and a chocolate mousse cake. The lemon cake came out with little problem, but they got the wrong chocolate cake. They brought us a decadent chocolate cake, which LOOKED amazing. And then they took it away to bring us the other, only to return five minutes later saying the other mousse cake had run out. We decided to just stick to the one piece, and Dani's and my enjoyment of it was only vaguely dimmed by the amount of time it had taken to arrive.

Service: The service in the bar is the main reason I wouldn't choose to return. When we arrived, there were two other parties being served. We sat in our reseved area and got our first round of drinks without issue. By the time the whole party was there (10 - 15 people, with people coming and going), there were 4-5 other parties in the bar area, and the service became sluggish at best.

Example: I ordered a Pepsi because I was driving. I finished my Pepsi. The bartender came by and asked if we needed anything. I told her I'd love a refill. 20 minutes went by without a refill. She came to the table again to take a food order, and left again. Another 10 minutes went by. She came back with someone else's drink. I asked for a refill again. Another 15 minutes when by. I said, screw this, and walked up to her at the bar with my glass, where she looked at me blankly until I asked AGAIN for a refill. She filled my glass with Diet.

I guess this is a pet peeve of mine, but still. If you're bartending at a restaurant on a Saturday night, you should have at least the basic skills to keep the DD's glass full. Also - we had numerous times through the evening when someone would be more than ready for another round and it was left un-noticed.

Also? Our cake took FORTY minutes to arrive at our table. What's that about? How long does it take you to cut a slice of cake?

Another quick thing before I stop whining - when we sat down, the bartender girl asked us how we would do the checks. We said, not sure, we'll figure it out. As more people came around, another woman (a manager?) came by and asked us again - how would we like to do the bill? We said, oh, maybe split it into thirds? And she said, oh, well we'll just give you one big bill and different copies. What? No. If you don't want to split our bill, don't ask how we want to do the check!

Good for:
- Slightly pricey first date

Addy's Rating
4/10 (<-- 4 points for the mac & cheese and the fries)

Mister Tiki Mai Tai Lounge

Gaslamp Quarter
801 Fifth Avenue
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 619-233-1183
Website: Mister Tiki

This is one of my favorite places to dine in San Diego. Okay, well, this is one of my favorite places to drink in San Diego, but the food’s good too. The decorations are eclectic and lively. Tables have lava lamps and hand-blown, glass puffer fish hang in schools from the ceiling.

Last time I visited, I was disappointed to learn Tiki had discontinued my favorite drink - a key lime pie martini. It was the perfect combination of pineapple juice, pineapple rum, vanilla vodka, and whipped cream, rimmed in smashed graham crackers. If you ask the bartender, he may still make you one, sans the rim. If not, try the Coconut Kiss – it’s sinful.

The beef short ribs are as close as you can get to the real thing from HI. They also make my kind of sushi – sweet and crunchy. And they’ve figured out just what every meals needs – a tiny dessert. Tiki’s was one of the first locations to offer dessert bites in shot glasses, so no matter how full you are, you can fit in one more. Try the tiramisu or strawberry cheesecake.