HaHa Bar & Grill - Review

[Astraeus]

HAHA Bar & Grill has been somewhere that I have put off eating at for some time now. It has a reputation amongst my friends as an overpriced purveyor of standard pub food fare. However, I am never one to knock it until I've tried it and I ventured to this fantastic setting next to the Peace Gardens for dinner.

 

The venue itself is fine. It does not blow you away but it is clean and airy and has a well-polished finish to it. We dined in the 'downstairs' part of the restaurant and we were four out of maybe ten people dining in the entire place. It was, however, before 6pm and so much of the work crowd which I suspect frequent this venue would not yet be in dining mode.

 

We missed starters and dove straight in for the mains with lamb cutlets, fishcakes, a chicken fillet burger with bacon and a chicken kiev being ordered. Owing to the fact that all of the diners had arrived separately by car, drinks to accompany the meal were basic - Cokes all round - and so there is nothing to say on that matter unfortunately.

 

The service was relatively quick - 20 minutes from ordering to having the food in front of us at the table. The lamb cutlets had been ordered without the mint jus which left the dish looking bland and incomplete - no fault of the restaurant, of course. Besides that, all of the dishes were well-presented although the skinny chips didn't look anywhere near as appealing as the home-cooked chunky chips which seem to be available commonly across most restaurants nowadays.

 

The fishcakes were pleasant but not exceptional. They were much like any fishcake you would order at a pub or less-expensive diner in the city centre, only with an added flavour of spring onion. Elsewhere on the table, the lamb cutlets went down a treat, even with the absence of mint jus to moisten up the dryness of a purely meat and chips combination.

 

The chicken kiev was enjoyed but not remarked upon with the diner finding it slightly too filling and so sacrificing his chips in order to accommodate the kiev. It was well-cooked and had a decent crisp to the outside but again, it fell short of feeling like something extraordinary. The chips felt very basic - there was none of the spice of curly fries, none of the charm of wedge-like potato cuts, and nothing to make you think you're eating something other than a McDonalds or Burger King fry.

 

The chicken fillet burger was, again, ordinary. Topped with back bacon and mozzarella cheese, it wasn't able to distinguish itself from an identical dish at any number of pubs in the city. In fact, the chargrilled chicken was, in places, too well-cooked and the flavour suffered as a result. The piece of meat was, however, of a decent size and the meal in all was a filling portion. At a touch under £11, you expect more than the chicken & bacon burgers freely available around the £5 mark and it was on this basis that the dish disappointed.

 

Having had our fill of mains, we turned to desserts - one order of ice cream to share and an Eton Mess. The ice cream is a difficult one to comment on - on the whole, ice cream is ice cream and this neither disappointed nor elated the diners. The Eton Mess was a difficult one to call as, despite it being a favourite of the diner, it was not a great success. There was just not enough meringue and just a little too much cream in the dish, making it filling without being all that flavoursome.

 

After washing down the meal with a coffee, we requested the bill which totalled up at upwards of £60 - not an amount to be sniffed at for food which wasn't really a cut above the rest. There was a shared feeling that the same standard of food and cooking could be had at probably half the price elsewhere in the city centre.

 

HaHa is a decent-enough eatery but it doesn't shine. There isn't enough to it to pull you away from eating the same fare at a far more reasonably-priced restaurant. Couple that with an expensive drinks bill (with bottles of coke costing £2.25!) and you quickly realise that you're very likely to spend a significant amount of money in pursuit of a meal which ultimately left us feeling flat and unastounded.

 

The service was exemplary and the waiters should be applauded for being friendly, approachable and not intrusive. They were a delightful addition to the experience.

 

All in all, HaHa Bar & Grill feels too ordinary to impress and, for what is a lot of money for the type of food you are eating, it falls some way short of the mark of being recommended.

 

Food: (3/5)

Service: (4/5)

Value: (2/5)

TOTAL: (3/5)

[neeeeeeeeeek]

Good review and it seems like you caught the place on a good day!

[Astraeus]

Forgot to mention one other thing - the Eton Mess came with a long hair strewn across it from the centre of the dish to the outside of the plate. Not at all appetising.

[missflirtuk]

God you people..... just because someone dares to have a different matter of opinion to you they either work there or an idiot.... grow up!!! No wonder many people don't post anymore with people like you around!

[made man]

HAHA Bar & Grill has been somewhere that I have put off eating at for some time now. It has a reputation amongst my friends as an overpriced purveyor of standard pub food fare. However, I am never one to knock it until I've tried it and I ventured to this fantastic setting next to the Peace Gardens for dinner.

 

The venue itself is fine. It does not blow you away but it is clean and airy and has a well-polished finish to it. We dined in the 'downstairs' part of the restaurant and we were four out of maybe ten people dining in the entire place. It was, however, before 6pm and so much of the work crowd which I suspect frequent this venue would not yet be in dining mode.

 

We missed starters and dove straight in for the mains with lamb cutlets, fishcakes, a chicken fillet burger with bacon and a chicken kiev abeing ordered. Owing to the fact that all of the diners had arrived separately by car, drinks to accompany the meal were basic - Cokes all round - and so there is nothing to say on that matter unfortunately.

 

The service was relatively quick - 20 minutes from ordering to having the food in front of us at the table. The lamb cutlets had been ordered without the mint jus which left the dish looking bland and incomplete - no fault of the restaurant, of course. Besides that, all of the dishes were well-presented although the skinny chips didn't look anywhere near as appealing as the home-cooked chunky chips which seem to be available commonly across most restaurants nowadays.

 

The fishcakes were pleasant but not exceptional. They were much like any fishcake you would order at a pub or less-expensive diner in the city centre, only with an added flavour of spring onion. Elsewhere on the table, the lamb cutlets went down a treat, even with the absence of mint jus to moisten up the dryness of a purely meat and chips combination.

 

The chicken kiev was enjoyed but not remarked upon with the diner finding it slightly too filling and so sacrificing his chips in order to accommodate the kiev. It was well-cooked and had a decent crisp to the outside but again, it fell short of feeling like something extraordinary. The chips felt very basic - there was none of the spice of curly fries, none of the charm of wedge-like potato cuts, and nothing to make you think you're eating something other than a McDonalds or Burger King fry.

 

The chicken fillet burger was, again, ordinary. Topped with back bacon and mozzarella cheese, it wasn't able to distinguish itself from an identical dish at any number of pubs in the city. In fact, the chargrilled chicken was, in places, too well-cooked and the flavour suffered as a result. The piece of meat was, however, of a decent size and the meal in all was a filling portion. At a touch under £11, you expect more than the chicken & bacon burgers freely available around the £5 mark and it was on this basis that the dish disappointed.

 

Having had our fill of mains, we turned to desserts - one order of ice cream to share and an Eton Mess. The ice cream is a difficult one to comment on - on the whole, ice cream is ice cream and this neither disappointed nor elated the diners. The Eton Mess was a difficult one to call as, despite it being a favourite of the diner, it was not a great success. There was just not enough meringue and just a little too much cream in the dish, making it filling without being all that flavoursome.

 

After washing down the meal with a coffee, we requested the bill which totalled up at upwards of £60 - not an amount to be sniffed at for food which wasn't really a cut above the rest. There was a shared feeling that the same standard of food and cooking could be had at probably half the price elsewhere in the city centre.

 

HaHa is a decent-enough eatery but it doesn't shine. There isn't enough to it to pull you away from eating the same fare at a far more reasonably-priced restaurant. Couple that with an expensive drinks bill (with bottles of coke costing £2.25!) and you quickly realise that you're very likely to spend a significant amount of money in pursuit of a meal which ultimately left us feeling flat and unastounded.

 

The service was exemplary and the waiters should be applauded for being friendly, approachable and not intrusive. They were a delightful addition to the experience.

 

All in all, HaHa Bar & Grill feels too ordinary to impress and, for what is a lot of money for the type of food you are eating, it falls some way short of the mark of being recommended.

 

Food: (3/5)

Service: (4/5)

Value: (2/5)

TOTAL: (3/5)

say no more.

[Bulgarian]

say no more.

 

Lets hope so.

[ben280489]

I have only eaten here once and it was 5 or 6 years ago. At lunch time and my boss at the time paid.

 

I had a coke and a burger, and remember enjoying it. But it was free!!! And burgers are very nice when your used to sandwiches for lunch.