Infusion (611 London Road) vs The Pantry (651 London Road)
Alvaston
Derby
DE24 8UQ
On London Road in the Alvaston area of Derby, there are two sandwich shops in close proximity of one another – and of two business parks (three if you count Pride Park), so they’re an obvious choice at lunch for workers in the area. There are people who swear by The Pantry just as there are people swearing by Infusion. Question is – which one’s the best?
Let’s compare a few things...
I like my cobs/baps crusty, and I also really like coronation chicken, and I really want some salad to go with it (no onions, though – can’t stand raw onion).
Infusion: £1.95
The Pantry: £1.90
So obviously, The Pantry comes out on top as it is 5p cheaper. It only works out a 5p difference because of crusty bread and the salad – The Pantry charge extra for both, and have an extra charge for “special” fillings. Infusion class coronation chicken as a standard filling, don’t charge extra for salad or the crusty bread. If you, on the other hand, just want a plain soft bap with ham and salad, The Pantry is 10p cheaper (£1.50 instead of £1.60). Four weeks of having a 10p cheaper bap will save you £2, and it all adds up.
However.
Looking at baked potatoes, it’s a different story altogether.
Let’s say I fancy one with tuna & sweetcorn mayo with some salad. Butter? Yeah, why not.
Infusion: £2.45
The Pantry: £2.80
That’s a 35p difference! I seem to recall getting fewer bits of sweetcorn from Infusion, but who cares? They have a proper potato baking oven, so their potatoes come out with that lovely baked potato skin. They also make sure they have them prepared, so when you come in, you don’t have to wait around for it to warm up.
At The Pantry, you have to wait for them to microwave it, and the skin isn’t much different to that of a boiled potato. There is no information what kind of mayo is used, whereas Infusion have it down as “light mayo”. As mayo is one of the most calorific things ever, getting the lighter option is a definite plus.
Spotted in their window that Infusion have a five star hygiene rating, but Derby City Council isn’t listed yet on the Scores on the Doors website. However, did manage to track down a PDF of all the hygiene scores in the area on the council’s website. The Pantry’s is listed as four stars, but they haven’t chosen to display their certificate. (Hey, a four-star rating still bragworthy!)
Which one gives you the friendliest service? Some insist one of them have grumpy people and that the one they go to is all smiles – and some people say the exact same about the other one! Guess it’s just down to personal preference and how you treat people.
My personal preference? Has to be Infusion. They have a bigger menu (granted, The Pantry has a much bigger selection of cakes!) and it’s easy to find out the cost (The Pantry is all over the place), and it looks nicer. Infusion also have a website, so you can ogle the menu beforehand and decide on what you fancy. They also do menu deals and a loyalty card – and they even know to hold the onions...
Friday 23 July 2010
Thursday 15 July 2010
Gourmet Burger Kitchen - in Nottingham!
Discovered today that Gourmet Burger Kitchen have opened on Trinity Square (between Cornerhouse and Victoria Centre) in Nottingham! Went there for food tonight. Well nice burgers. Review to follow, at some point.
Monday 15 March 2010
Gourmet Burger Kitchen (Covent Garden): Review
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
13-14 Maiden Lane
Covent Garden
London
WC2E 7NE
0207 240 9617
Website | Email
Visit: March 2010
Summary: Big burgers with nice flavours.
We had tickets to the theatre and luckily, this restaurant was on a narrow street just behind the it. We also had a voucher, which made things a little cheaper: two burgers with fries for £10.95. Considering most burgers are around £7.50 to £8, the voucher was very good value. Even if we didn't have a voucher, we'd much rather spend £7.95 on a burger and chips from GBK than the same from one of the major fast food burger chains.
Drinks: The lemonade was very refreshing and not too sour or too sweet. It had zing and a great lemon flavour.
Sides: The chips were nice, if a bit greasy. We ordered the onion rings, which turned out not to be the uniform size breaded things you'd get in most places, but they were of very different sizes, and generously cut. Tasted great as well.
Burgers: You have the option of customising your burger. If you don't want the bun, you can have it without, and so on. We had a Blue Cheese beef burger ("aged Stilton dressing, salad, mayonnaise & relish") and a Camembert & Cranberry chicken breast burger ("camembert, cranberry sauce, salad, mayonnaise & relish"). Both very generous in size and skewered with a wooden stick to hold them together. There wasn't much of a Stilton flavour in the dressing, but the burger itself was very nice. The chicken burger didn't stand out at all, unfortunately - it wasn't really any different from a standard breaded chicken breast burger from a generic pub, so that was disappointing. Overall, the assembled burgers were very juicy and flavourful.
Service: It was quite busy for an early Wednesday evening (then again, London is different from Nottingham), so it felt a little on the slow side, but considering the place was packed, it was to be expected. You have to place the order at the counter, not at the table. Staff were friendly and happy to help.
Inside: Not a massive place, so a bit cramped when full. Nice and modern décor, big photographs and paintings on the walls.
Outside: Quite a narrow London back street, just behind the theatres on the Strand (one of the nearest is the Adelphi).
We expected some tasty burgers, and what we got wasn't just an upmarket Whopper or Big Mac, but something a bit more distinct, and definitely a lot nicer. You get what you pay for. Would we have gone if we didn't have the voucher? Perhaps, perhaps not. As the restaurant was just behind the theatre we were going to, it meant we didn't have to get lost on the winding streets of the capital, but instead, we had a nice meal and then had plenty of time to leasurely stroll over to the theatre.
Would we go again? I believe so. There are plenty of great-sounding burgers on that menu, and we were both interested in one of the the lamb burgers, so we'll be back. If not to this particular franchise, then to another one.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen is a chain and they have restaurants not just in various parts of London, but all over the UK. See their website for your nearest one to where you are. They also have some restaurants in other countries. You can eat in or take away.
13-14 Maiden Lane
Covent Garden
London
WC2E 7NE
0207 240 9617
Website | Email
Visit: March 2010
Summary: Big burgers with nice flavours.
We had tickets to the theatre and luckily, this restaurant was on a narrow street just behind the it. We also had a voucher, which made things a little cheaper: two burgers with fries for £10.95. Considering most burgers are around £7.50 to £8, the voucher was very good value. Even if we didn't have a voucher, we'd much rather spend £7.95 on a burger and chips from GBK than the same from one of the major fast food burger chains.
Drinks: The lemonade was very refreshing and not too sour or too sweet. It had zing and a great lemon flavour.
Sides: The chips were nice, if a bit greasy. We ordered the onion rings, which turned out not to be the uniform size breaded things you'd get in most places, but they were of very different sizes, and generously cut. Tasted great as well.
Burgers: You have the option of customising your burger. If you don't want the bun, you can have it without, and so on. We had a Blue Cheese beef burger ("aged Stilton dressing, salad, mayonnaise & relish") and a Camembert & Cranberry chicken breast burger ("camembert, cranberry sauce, salad, mayonnaise & relish"). Both very generous in size and skewered with a wooden stick to hold them together. There wasn't much of a Stilton flavour in the dressing, but the burger itself was very nice. The chicken burger didn't stand out at all, unfortunately - it wasn't really any different from a standard breaded chicken breast burger from a generic pub, so that was disappointing. Overall, the assembled burgers were very juicy and flavourful.
Service: It was quite busy for an early Wednesday evening (then again, London is different from Nottingham), so it felt a little on the slow side, but considering the place was packed, it was to be expected. You have to place the order at the counter, not at the table. Staff were friendly and happy to help.
Inside: Not a massive place, so a bit cramped when full. Nice and modern décor, big photographs and paintings on the walls.
Outside: Quite a narrow London back street, just behind the theatres on the Strand (one of the nearest is the Adelphi).
We expected some tasty burgers, and what we got wasn't just an upmarket Whopper or Big Mac, but something a bit more distinct, and definitely a lot nicer. You get what you pay for. Would we have gone if we didn't have the voucher? Perhaps, perhaps not. As the restaurant was just behind the theatre we were going to, it meant we didn't have to get lost on the winding streets of the capital, but instead, we had a nice meal and then had plenty of time to leasurely stroll over to the theatre.
Would we go again? I believe so. There are plenty of great-sounding burgers on that menu, and we were both interested in one of the the lamb burgers, so we'll be back. If not to this particular franchise, then to another one.
Gourmet Burger Kitchen is a chain and they have restaurants not just in various parts of London, but all over the UK. See their website for your nearest one to where you are. They also have some restaurants in other countries. You can eat in or take away.
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