American Restaurants
Restaurants reviewed on this page:
* Captain America's
* Zak's
* Old Orleans
* Tootsies
Guest Review!!! Captain America's (Angie de Souza, Norwich)
4, Exchange St, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 1AT
Tel: 01603 622551
Smoking: Yes
Parking: None - nearest car park St. Giles Street, St. Andrews or Castle Mall
Expect to pay: £20 a head (approx) for two courses with drinks or £25 (approx) for three courses with drinks
Just got back from Captain Americas after reading your review of it (having found you site a while back and putting it in my favourites!) and wanted to send you this because the meal was so bad and you might want to update your site - We did note the date on it before deciding to risk it!!
The restaurant was very busy, which we hoped was going to be a sign. After being offered a table for 3, we ordered our drinks from a rather grubby menu. James ordered a deluxe burger, cooked rare, with fries and a side order of corn. My son ordered a smoky burger, well done, with fries and a side order of mushrooms and I ordered a fillet steak,rare, with fries and a side order of coleslaw.
After a long wait for our food, although the waitress did come and apologise for the delay, we received a big plate full of food. My steak looked like it was cooked more than rare, so I cut it before the waitress left, and it was a mixture of between medium to well done. You could see this just by looking at it. I sent the steak back. The waitress asked if I wanted to eat it still and we could 'do something' at the end. I'm not quite sure what the 'do something' would involve, but I send it back saying I ordered a rare steak, because that is how I like to eat it!
So James and Max continued to eat their meal whilst mine was being cooked. The burgers were not freshly made. The 100% minced beefsteak claim - well, James said that Burger King burgers were nicer - and trust me - we rarely do fast food. Maybe at an airport or something! Since we make our own burgers at home, we know a homemade burger! The quality was really poor. The side dish of corn was bland - absolutely no flavour - it must have been boiled to death. The mushrooms were watery and the batter was greasy and too thick. The coleslaw was really horrible. There was no crunch to the carrot or cabbage, and the whole thing was minced rather than shredded.
When my steak finally arrived, the steak this time was very well cooked, nice and springy and even warm all the way through which is key for a decent rare steak! The salad that it came with, instead of having garlic dressing on it, had some kind of creamy dressing - I am not sure what it was to be honest.
The iced mineral water that I asked for with ice and lemon came - straight in the glass - no ice, no lemon.
We left most of the food, although I did eat my second steak.
When we paid - he asked us how the meal was, and we told them exactly what we thought of the meal, not being nasty - just saying that it was all poor quality etc etc, after listening to us, he asked if everything else was OK. Kind of taken aback, since everything was clearly not OK, I told him the milk shakes that we ordered were nice. That truly is the only good thing that we had at Captain Americas.
It's a shame really, as I have fond memories of that place, going with my mum and here letting me have a cocktail with my meal!!! Unless of course it is the realisation of what decent food is when you are 14 as opposed to 38! The meal over all was £42.00, so I guess you get what you pay for, but in my honest opinion, we may as well have chucked the money straight in the bin.
So - my ratings for Captain America ......
Rating:
Food * Service *** Atmosphere *** Menu * Wine/Drinks **
OVERALL = **
12th September 2007 - Tootsies
Unit Mw10, 409, Chapelfield Plain, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 1SZ
Tel: 01603 662060
Smoking: Outside
Parking: No. Nearest carpark Chapelfield or Forum.
Expect to pay: £15 a head (approx) for 2 courses with drinks or £20 a head (approx) for 3 courses with drinks
It's my birthday! As usual I decided to treat myself to a birthday burger. It was a really nice sunny day so I decided to go somewhere where you could sit outside. Tootsies was the obvious (and maybe only) choice for burgers and 'al fresco' dining.
The service was excellent, the burger was perfect and I had a very nice birthday lunch.
I had: Classic bacon cheeseburger. Perfectly cooked beef in a really fresh bun with fantastic relish and crisp salad. The only critism is that they use frozen fries and they'd been slightly overcooked. I only had a jug of water with my meal so I can't comment on the wine this time(see below)!
Rating:
Food ***1/2 Service ***** Atmosphere *** Menu **** Wine/Drinks ***
OVERALL = ***
14th April 2006 - Tootsies
Unit Mw10, 409, Chapelfield Plain, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 1SZ
Tel: 01603 662060
Smoking: No
Parking: No. Nearest carpark Chapelfield or Forum.
Expect to pay: £15 a head (approx) for 2 courses with drinks or £20 a head (approx) for 3 courses with drinks
Tootsies promises 'The Best Burger You've Ever Eaten' and I can't believe I've taken this long to try it out. To be honest, as I hardly ever wander up to the hell-hole that is Chapelfield Mall, I completely forgot it was there. However, after visiting Wagamama's a few weeks ago it got me thinking that I should pay it a visit.
I really liked the decor - dark wooden seats with quite spacious tables adourned with pickles and sauces. American 'memorabillia' and mirrors decorate the walls and it almost makes you feel that you could be in an American restaurant. The music was at just the right level and our waiter or 'server' as they're know here was helpful and pleasant.
The burger was good, but I wouldn't say it was 'the best I've ever tasted' but it kept me happy and filled me contently.
Unfortunately, the wine was really awful. I've learned that I just can't drink beer with burgers anymore and we decided to share a bottle of red. It was the driest, most unenjoyable bottle of wine I've ever had. It didn't spoil our meal but did a good job trying.
I would probably come back again in the near future. I'm guessing Tootsies is a place you would bring the family for lunch or an early tea after a hard day's shopping. Chapelfield doesn't have anything to entice you in the evening like a cinema for example. This may explain why we, two families and a bunch of lads out on the tiles were the only ones in there this evening.
I had: I managed to refrain from my usual bacon cheeseburger and try the burger with chorizo, garlic mayonnaise and olives. It was good. I have to say I was a bit disappointed that I wasn't asked how I wanted it cooked. It was a tad 'dry' for my liking and could've been a bit juicier but I'm nit-picking a bit and I did enjoy it. I would have this again.
The fries were crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle as they should be and it was all served with a giant dill pickle. Excellent. I could've eaten a whole jar of them.
For desert we shared the chocolate brownie with warm dark chocolate sauce and vanilla ice-cream. This was really good. Probably not homemade but it had us fighting over the last piece.
Rating:
Food ***1/2 Service **** Atmosphere *** Menu **** Wine/Drinks *
OVERALL = ***
10th March 2006 - Old Orleans
Unit 7a, Wherry Rd, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 1WX
Tel: 01603 762884
Smoking: Yes
Parking: Yes - Riverside carpark
Expect to pay: £20 a head (approx) for two courses with drinks or £25 (approx) for three courses with drinks
What was I doing here? I don't normally venture onto riverside unless at gunpoint but my mate Bobby and I hadn't seen each other for months and we both fancied a burger and to see 'Walk The Line' - the Johnny Cash movie (which was excellent incidentally. Food AND movie reviews all in one!). Unfortunately, Riverside is the only place that can offer both within spitting distance.
I really hate to say this, because I actually wanted to be able to criticise and really lay into this place, but everything about our 45-minute visit was wonderful. Fantastically chirpy service, brilliantly cheesey music, massive portions, a cold pint of beer and a good catch up with an old mate. What more could a couple of men want? I almost changed into a stetsun, a chequered shirt, a pair of wranglers and cowboy boots before entering the cinema.
I had: The massive 8oz steak burger with bacon, monterey jack cheese and spicy onion rings and barbeque sauce. It came with 'Southern' fries, coleslaw and MORE onion rings! I have to say it was really good. Really meaty burger, tasty melted cheese, perfectly cooked bacon and crunchy (and quite hot) onion rings. The barbeque sauce complemented it all perfectly. There was exactly the right amount of fries and 'slaw, which was also really good with the right balance of crunchy vegetables and creamy mayonnaise. You have to understand how rubbish I thought this would be and how pleasently surprised I was. I will never judge a book by its cover again.
Rating:
Food ***** Service ***** Atmosphere ***** Menu **** Wine/Drinks ***
OVERALL = ****
12th February 2004 – Zak’s
Gurney Rd, Mousehold Heath, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 4HW
Tel: 01603 427016
Smoking: Yes (at the time)
Parking: Yes - car park in front of restaurant
Expect to pay: £20 (approx) a head for 2 courses with drinks or £25 (approx) for 3 courses with drinks
I have a funny relationship with places like this. I used to work in a TGI Friday’s in London and have hated American-themed restaurants ever since. However, I do like the big portions, the lively atmosphere and the terminally happy waiter/waitresses.
The portions were big, the atmosphere was lively, the service was good (but not too jolly) but the food was bloody awful. One of, if not the, worst meal I’ve ever had. Just a little piece of advice Zak’s… LESS IS MORE!!! You don’t have to smother everything with too much sauce, overload the plate with fries and salad or try and kill us with garlic. Yes, it is good value for money but it’s very off-putting having a mound of food that you’re never going to finish in front of you. It didn’t quite spoil the night, as it gave us something to talk about on the way home, but it did a good job trying.
I had: a shared starter of hot chicken wings. They were nice and tender but there was way too much sauce. I ended up using four serviettes!
For main course I had (a perfectly cooked) sirloin steak with garlic prawns and fries. I have never seen so much garlic. It was practically caked on the top of my meat. There were huge great lumps of it everywhere. It made me feel ill.
Declined on a dessert.
Rating
Food * Service ** Atmosphere *** Menu *** Drinks/wine **
OVERALL = *1/2
23rd January 2004 – Captain America’s
4, Exchange St, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 1AT
Tel: 01603 622551
Smoking: Yes
Parking: None - nearest car park St. Giles Street, St. Andrews or Castle Mall
Expect to pay: £20 a head (approx) for two courses with drinks or £25 (approx) for three courses with drinks
I have to say I was a bit dubious the first time I came here. I just thought it would be a bit tacky and the fact that I’ve hardly ever seen anyone go in didn’t really appeal to me. However, bacon cheeseburgers are in my top five meals of all time so I was willing to try it. The couple we went with love it and are regulars so I was pretty positive. It was fantastic and I fell in love with the place,
So this time – my second visit – I was actually quite excited. It didn’t let me down. I can’t believe it’s always so quiet. Wake up Norwich! You’re missing out. Where else can you get a half-pound bacon cheeseburger cooked exactly how you like it (medium rare is best…) with fries and a beer for less than a tenner? Make sure you also have sides of battered mushrooms, onion rings and a Waldorf salad. The perfect ‘combo meal’. Captain America’s does sell desserts. I didn’t even look at the dessert menu. Way too full…
I had: Half-pound bacon cheeseburger with fries. Cooked to perfection. The best burger in town bar none. I used to believe that a small burger van in Auckland called ‘The White Lady’ cooked the best burger in the world. Now I’m reconsidering that verdict.
Rating
Food ***** Service **** Atmosphere *** Menu **** Wine/Drinks ***
OVERALL = ****
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