Roast Beef Dinner at The Square & Compass

[Lambada]

Well, I tried the Square & Compass............

for the first time today. Can anyone enlighten me as to what the globulous, amorphous mass is they serve in the middle of the plate? On our friend's plate it was called "mashed potato" (she had the bangers & mash), on mine it was "bubble & squeak" (I had the English breakfast). Exactly the same substance......mine with the addition of onion & carrot. We don't know what it was......but it sort of sat there, oozing its way on to everything else on the plate.
The culinary skills of the owner (a Brit. - I hang my head in shame) are surpassed only by his customer service technique. When our friend told him this was not mashed potato, he actually had the temerity to ARGUE with her!
I'm absolutely amazed this place was so booked you couldn't get in. What is the draw? It can't be the food & it most assuredly is not the owners' social skills. Thank goodness for the company we were with, they salvaged what was an eminently forgettable culinary experience. We didn't even bother to ask for the "amorphous mass" to be included in the doggie bag for our dogs.
I have yet to find a Dominican restaurant which treats its customers in this cavalier fashion. Had it been a Dominican restaurant the plate would have been removed, an apology made & a substitute dish provided. This has been my unfailing experience with Dominican restaurants over the last 12 years. It is done with charm & grace, not arrogance & argument. Once again, the Dominicans have a lot to teach us. Just wish everyone could learn.

 

[bochinche]

Hope you folks up there enjoyed your dinner lst night.

Do they have real gravy and proper roast spuds with the dinner, and custard with the spotted dick?

I feel a trip to the North Coast coming on, you guys living up there are really lucky, the restaurants down here have nothing to offer a Brit. I?m back to the UK in three weeks and stocking up on supplies. Oh I?m feeling hungry.

where is down here?....santo domingo has had a british restaurant for a long time.
they do a very good sunday roast.
there is plenty of other stuff on the menu, plus they serve bitter.
it may not be the best restaurant, but it makes a change from all the 'international' and pasta places.

 

[Simon & Nicky]

Strange eh?

I ate there on Wednesday (roast pork) :lick: It was very good. As you will see from other threads, I've now vowed never to recommend anywhere ever again.

Sorry it was bad - do I have to give you your money back?

Simon

 

[Escott]

I ate there on Wednesday (roast pork) :lick: It was very good. As you will see from other threads, I've now vowed never to recommend anywhere ever again.

Sorry it was bad - do I have to give you your money back?

Simon

Hey Simon, glad you finally got your touch of jolly old England in the DR.

Some people will never be pleased and will find difficulty with everything put in front of them. At least they are bashing a British person this time

Let them pay their own way and NEVER open the door to your paying because that can be exactly what happens. Some people scheme to have others buy their meals for a living

Funny, Sylvia, Peter, Belinda and yourself (all Brits) have spoken so highly about this British food place I can't wait to eat there on my return. Maybe we all should go there together when I return.

Scott

 

[Lambada]

Strange indeed, Simon

I ate there on Wednesday (roast pork) :lick: It was very good. As you will see from other threads, I've now vowed never to recommend anywhere ever again.

Sorry it was bad - do I have to give you your money back?

Simon

I'm glad your meal on Wednesday was good. Of course, you are not responsible for the standard of food & lack of customer service, the owner is. And I am responsible for my decision to eat there.
I missed the thread where you vowed not to make recommendations. That would indeed be a pity. I think you should go on making recommendations, particularly using the wonderful humour you used in your PM to me about this establishment. I WISH you would post that....folks, it is hilarious!!
To be honest, I didn't even know who the owner was when we entered the restaurant. He was seated & did not get up to greet us. Up here in Puerto Plata when I go into a Dominican restaurant, the Dominican owner always gets up to greet us. I suppose that's it really......in Puerto Plata I'm known, in Sosua I'm not. Is that why you don't want to go public with some of your views, Simon? Because you have to live among the folks of Sosua? I can understand that, don't agree with it, but I can understand it. I'm just vastly relieved that the one & only time I ate out with Escott, he did not pay the bill!!

 

[Bungle]

Well said Lambada!

My partner and I (both British I hasten to add!) have eaten in the Square and Compass on many an occassion - all paid for by ourselves would you believe Scott! And we have vowed never to eat in there again. I have never before criticised a business on a public forum, but felt I had too after being spoken to in such a rude fashion by the owner the last time I ate there. This was because I had the gall to complain about the food - outrageous how dare I! The food at the restaurant can be good at times, especially the curries and naan breads that his wife makes so well. However, like almost all restaurants in Sosua, the quality of the food is totally inconsistent, and we have suffered the effects the next morning from 'fishy chicken' many a time, and often the beef is so tough you actually lose weight chewing it.

Anyway, if this restaurant is so loved by Brits in Sosua (I also live in Sosua) why is it always empty???

 

[bochinche]

....it's kind of like, you lot are straight off coronation street, with your low class, northern bickering.........and us lot, down south are the chirpy, tough, eastenders....everybody's favourite.

don't know what the rest of the people on this board are thinking......they're probably watching the other channel.

 

[Escott]

My partner and I (both British I hasten to add!) have eaten in the Square and Compass on many an occassion - all paid for by ourselves would you believe Scott! And we have vowed never to eat in there again. I have never before criticised a business on a public forum, but felt I had too after being spoken to in such a rude fashion by the owner the last time I ate there. This was because I had the gall to complain about the food - outrageous how dare I! The food at the restaurant can be good at times, especially the curries and naan breads that his wife makes so well. However, like almost all restaurants in Sosua, the quality of the food is totally inconsistent, and we have suffered the effects the next morning from 'fishy chicken' many a time, and often the beef is so tough you actually lose weight chewing it.

Anyway, if this restaurant is so loved by Brits in Sosua (I also live in Sosua) why is it always empty???

Well I am not saying it is good nor bad because I haven't eaten there. I have been told by a bunch of Brits that have the the Curry's are good along with the Sunday Dinner.(What ever that is). I never heard about the breads.

Just goes to show you the old addage still holds, "You can't please everyone all the time".

So you don't think I should try this place? I don't remember having one memorable meal in London any time I have been there so maybe it is just British food that is the problem?

I think the best food city other than NY for me is Montreal. Go figger...

 

[Chirimoya]

....it's kind of like, you lot are straight off coronation street, with your low class, northern bickering.........and us lot, down south are the chirpy, tough, eastenders....everybody's favourite.

don't know what the rest of the people on this board are thinking......they're probably watching the other channel.

and which Eastenders character do you see yourself as, bochinche?

Chiri

 

[Lambada]

and which Eastenders character do you see yourself as, bochinche?

Chiri[/QUOTE
Is there a sankie wannabe character? Remember bochinche is seeking a mid life career change.

 

[BushBaby]

and which Eastenders character do you see yourself as, bochinche?

Chiri[/QUOTE
Is there a sankie wannabe character? Remember bochinche is seeking a mid life career change.

To get this BACK on topic I will say that I HAVE partaken of the curries in this establishment (& to ensure their is NO misunderstanding right from the start - I DID pay my own way!!), & all I can say is that the curries are ....... Mediocre. The Madras was not HOT, more of a medium temperature & like Bungle says, I found the pork (if that is what it was) hard to chew & difficult to cut (not that you should NEED to cut meat in a curry!). The spices were not of true Indian standars either ....... but it WAS a curry, a meal I always finish even when not up to standard!!

I have also sampled the bangers & mash!! The sausages were of paletable standard made even more so by the fact that they are not something I eat very often these days. The whole plate however, reminded me of meals produced by the very well attended "Greasy Spoons" to be found on the A1 (M) or the A5 just outside Telford ..... Hmmm enough said I feel!! My rating on the owner matches those above & I can only equate his 'Customer awareness' to those of the SAME Greasy Spoons I have just mentioned - sadly lacking in the understanding that even customers that are wrong (in his opinion only) have the right to complain about quality!!

Will I be going back?? No, not even if begged to do so & certainly not if they offered to pay!! - Grahame
PS - As I am sure everyone realises here, London DOES have some good places to go eat & where the food is of excellent quality & taste. You just have to know where to look &/or be taken by friends!! - GB.

 

[Chirimoya]

Chiri[/QUOTE
Is there a sankie wannabe character? Remember bochinche is seeking a mid life career change.

I don't know about sankie wannabes but last time I looked in the media gallery I saw Barry Evans. :surprised

Chiri (Dot Cotton is my role model)

 

[pedroA]

Good food in Montreal!!

I think the best food city other than NY for me is Montreal. Go figger...

Yes Escott, you sure have good taste and you know what you're talking about!! The restaurants in Montreal - cuisines from all over the world - are sure worth the detour whenever you come to visit Canada. I strongly recommend it to everyone on this tread.

 

[Escott]

Yes Escott, you sure have good taste and you know what you're talking about!! The restaurants in Montreal - cuisines from all over the world - are sure worth the detour whenever you come to visit Canada. I strongly recommend it to everyone on this tread.

I think you need to start a new thread with this post! LOL

Thanks,
Escott

 

[bochinche]

Chiri (Dot Cotton is my role model)

hello my cheeky chirpy cockney sparra'.......gerrcha!
i nevva thought of you as a 'dot cotton'...silly moo.
i fancied myself as a 'nick', but then you'd be my mum!...leave it owt!

i almost 'nutted' a taxi driver today......so i guess that makes me 'dirty den'.

are they still talking about their northern sunday roasts on the other side?

 

[BushBaby]

......so i guess that makes me 'dirty den'.

are they still talking about their northern sunday roasts on the other side?

No, ...... we've upclassed to Greasy Spoons on the A1(M) & A5 near Telford.
Had you down more as Harold's Dad in Steptoe & Son, or at LEAST Alf Garnett! - Grahame.