Hi. We're now back from Largs.
Let's start with the mystery. In 1996, driving to Largs across the bottom of Scotland then up the coast road, late at night, me half asleep, we both believe we saw a Mexican restaurant. It was in a village, and had a lighted sign above the door. Later that week, and this year, we couldn't find it. Does anyone know if it existed, and if so, where it was, and if it's still there?
Thanks for the suggestions. We tried the Thai Royale, and found everything terribly oversalted. Is it always like that, or were they having a bad day? Not very child friendly.
Here are the other places we ate at or got takeaways from: Creme de la Creme, Argyle Street, Glasgow. What can I say? Buffet every night, around 10 main choices (4 veggie) and 8 starters (4 veggie) plus pappadoms, salads, chutneys, rice, nan, bhatora, coffee/tea and sweets. Booking absolutely essential, though. Very child friendly, even when run off their feet. Now offering a loyalty card. Between UKP9 and UKP12 per person.
Pizzabella takeaway, Nelson Street, Largs. Real Italian pizzas by real Italians. We fed 2 hungry adults and a kid for under UKP12. Perfectly cooked bases and plenty of toppings.
Marcos, on the main road in Greenock. Tasty Italian food, child friendly, generous portions. Only 2 veggie pasta options (out of about 8). Anthony had the tortellina which was a bit stodgy but very tasty. I had the Arribiata, which was lively without burning, and they're generous with the parmesan: they leave you the bowl. The place is marred by having static chairs/tables - the sort you can't pull up/push back. About UKP12 each for 2 courses.
Mama Miska, Argyle Street (same end as Creme), Glasgow. Italian/Slovenian. Massive menu. Various "deals" whereby you choose
>from a shorter menu or come in before 7pm to get a cheaper meal. Fairly
child friendly. Anthony started with the mushroom mornay, which was very tasty indeed. I had the bruschetta, which was completely decadent but slightly overcooked. Lee nibbled at some garlic bread with cheese before going and playing with their collection of extralarge teddy bears. Next, Anthony had the veggie tour, consisting of veg cutlet, tagliatelli koper and puttenaio. The cutlet was seriously overcooked, so the outside was like a biscuit. The tagliatelli were nicely cooked and sauced. The puttenaio, which was what he was really interested in, was an extremely rich vegetable stew with big chunks of vegetables in a thick spicy tomato sauce. He says next time he'd just have the puttenaio as a dish on its own. I had the gnocchi miska - which they were kind enough to make without mushrooms upon request - which was very creamy but spicy, and filling. I also had the salad, which I would not recommend unless you like those very bitter breeds of lettuce. There's also a complete range of "paprikas", stews with paprika and other spices in. These seem to be "variations on a theme" in the same way that, say, korma and tindaloo are both curries. There were plenty of veggie options, including one of each sort of paprika, various pastas, pizzas etc. For adventurous carrion-eaters, there's also a Haggis Lasagne.United Kingdom