Done by: Abdelrahman Taha, Mostafa, Talal Al-Emadi

5/1/2021
Paper 1 Practice – Pg 105

Café des Vikings review

Location: Oxford Street
Cost: ££
Cuisine: French
The Review
Have you ever wished to have your favourite meal next to you? Café des
Vikings just recently opened a new location next to where I live. I am a person
that loves French food.
I asked the waitress what their best-seller was she said, “The Soupe à l’oignon
and the Cassoulet.” The Soupe à l’oignon is a traditional French soup made of
onions and beef stock, usually served with croutons and melted cheese on top.
Dating back to Roman times, this was traditionally a peasant dish although the
current version dates from the 18th century. The soup’s unique flavour comes
from the caramelization of the onions, which often have brandy or sherry
added during the slow-cooking process.
Cassoulet is a comfort dish of white beans stewed slowly with meat. The dish
typically uses duck but can include sausages, goose, mutton or whatever else
the chef has lying around. This peasant dish originates from southern France
and is popular in Toulouse, Carcassonne, and Castelnaudary. The name of the
dish comes from the pot (cassole) that it’s traditionally baked in. This pot is a
staple in many French homes, highlighting the popularity of this rich, hearty
meal that’s perfect for those colder months. The food took 45 minutes to
prepared and I expected it to come hot and fresh. But it came cold, dry and in
a small portion.
When I entered the restaurant there was nobody at the front door to serve me
and take me to my table. I had to go in alone and find a table myself. The table
I found was next to the kitchen door and the table was dirty. I waited forever
for someone to come and take my order and clean the table. In my opinion the
restaurants design looked aged and used. It was old, dark brown wood that
surrounded the walls and covered the floors. It gave off the feeling of an old
medieval era.
Because the restaurant was small and crowded everyone was screaming so
that the person in front of them could hear them. There were kids running
around and playing with each other. They were hitting table and throwing food
on the floor and the waitresses didn’t bother to pick the food up or clean the
floor. They had loud music playing and it was annoying. Every time I asked
them to lower the sound, they slightly lowered it, but after a couple of minutes
they raised it back up.
Although I went there one time, I will probably never be back. I couldn’t handle
waiting hours to eat my food and I also couldn’t handle the loud noises and
crowdedness of the place.