Illuminati Restaurant & Bar - A Tasteem Review
This contest is labelled ‘Where to eat for my blind date? Yet all the other entrants don’t seem to have read it and there’s no mention of the theme in their content.
At least I’m mentioning the topic, surely that’s worth something?
If I had a blind date that I was thinking twice about, I might take her to Illuminati Restaurant & Bar in Burnley, Lancashire. Depending on the type of the girl, I might not get that second date.
Am I a snobbish eater? Possibly, but I know good from bad, and good this isn’t! I blame @bingbabe for picking this one, and from the moment we saw it, we both had bad feelings.
It was Saturday night and in a town centre; we felt a little out of place. Not being 18 any more doesn’t really help one fit in.
Being easy to find helps, and the Illuminati Restaurant & Bar isn't exactly in your face.
Was this the red light district or a restaurant that is supposed to be quite highly rated?
Tentatively stepping through the door, it didn’t get any better. A 90 degree turn to the left and we were greeted with a door. Yes this was the grand entrance.
The inside looked like an American Truckers stop-over joint. That’s how I would describe it. The neon signs, the basic looking tables and corrugated iron siding next to them really didn’t do it any favours.
We were placed quite close to the bar and a few minutes later some revellers came in the door and hustled around the bar area. What would this place be like at 9pm?
Would you like to have big fat arses in your face while trying to eat your food?
I could see this coming and this wasn’t going to be good, so requested to be moved further down in the seats with the high backs. They were non-too pleased with the request but conceded.
Shouldn’t you be able to converse in a restaurant? The music in Illuminati was at such a high volume level that I was struggling to hear what @bingbabe was saying to me. Maybe this is what you get in a place that’s described as ‘Restaurant & Bar’.
The menus were a little sparse but not too expensive. I quite like Tapas so we ordered a set of 4 for £13.75 and a Marinated Chicken Hanging Kebab at £10.95.
Surely thing were going to improve? The gang of women decided also to eat and took up a table close to us. Fortunately they were not off their heads yet and were not throwing beer around the place.
The service was quick; I will give them that with the Tapas arriving in 10 minutes or so.
They looked OK at best, but the taste was disappointing. Adequate and filling is about the best I could give them all. We ordered Tempura King Prawns, Salt and Pepper Squid, Crispy Cajun Wings and Mozzerella Bombs.
The squid was quite nice but was just covered with this loose breaded coating, as was the prawns and chicken. The Mozzerella Bombs looked good but had almost no taste.
A few days earlier we had some McDonalds Nacho Cheese Bites which were infinitely superior.
Nevertheless, we finished the Tapas quickly as @bingbabe was getting uncomfortable with the surroundings. Not that is was particularly bad, but really not the kind of place we generally frequent.
The Hanging Kebab came shortly after along with a side of chips and sweet potato chips. The Kebab, where should I start? 6 pieces of chicken hung on that swing, separated by fried vegetable pieces in some kind of sauce.
The chicken was just boiled chicken and nothing more. The chips were a little greasy but tasted quite good. @bingbabe told me the sweet potato chips were not so good, but I didn’t try them.
The vegetables separating the chicken were eatable, but that’s about all I can say in a positive sense.
Both lots of chips got mostly left as we didn’t have the space for them. I can say we left full and you get plenty of food, but its just average food. Not particularly bad, but not a place we would ever return too.
The bill was reasonable considering all the food we had ordered along with some drinks at £35. We were also in and out in 45 minutes.
If you are starving to death, then I could possibly recommend the Illuminati Restaurant & Bar. It’s not too expensive, the service is excellent and they sell Tapas. I’m really struggling to include more positives.
https://www.wearetheilluminati.co.uk/
18 HAMMERTON STREET, BURNLEY BB11 1N, UNITED KINGDOM
Restaurant Information
Illuminati Restaurant & Bar
18 Hammerton St, Burnley BB11 1NA, UK
This post participated in the Tasteem contest Where to eat for my blind date?
Not my cup of tea.... Although the price was right I don't want to do any concessions about taste... So you won't see me there any time soon :P (like if I did hahaha)
Yes not one of the better picks of venue this time. That's two semi-negative's back to back, the next one will be better. I had to label it as 'a place to tell friends about' so that they can avoid it.
Looks pretty awful, but a fun read nonetheless. Thanks for taking one for the team.
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LOL, it was not so good. Those chips look worse than they actually tasted and they were one of the high points.
I'm glad you listened to your mother on that "If you can't say something nice..." day.
I hate when I get caught up in one of those. The good thing about taking a blind date there: If you get the second date it's cause she liked YOU not where you took her. A promising thought.
Then if you don't go again you can blame the awful place you took her. I mean, what an unfavorable light to have to overcome.
Thanks for an honest, if polite review.
@bingbabe is NOT choosing the next one. Even she agrees it was the worst place we have probably ever been too.
The next review will be much more positive. I don't want to get a negative writers reputation!
lol what a concept. I love the concept of the restaurant just too bad the food was disappointing and on a level with McDonald food:[ Thats kind of sad, it had so much potential!!
The bombs were much worse than the offerings from Mc's, if the food was good I would'nt have minded. There's so many places that serve average food and this is one of them.
That place looks dreadful! The food looks as if it's aimed at people who've had enough booze to numb their tastebuds, really just an add-on to the drinks while you're trying to catch a lumber! And that hanging kebab... I've seen it all now! Well done to both of you for sticking it out!
Yes, not our best choice of venue, it can only get better when we choose the next random location.
Wow, that is too bad that the place didn't live up to your hopes. I know how disappointing that can be. I agree with you the food looks pretty weak. It's too bad that the mozzarella balls were bland. There is nothing worse than bland appetizer!
FOR TSE: The place has all the ambiance of a men's room at a truck-stop. I'm astonished you took one look and still pressed on. (Remind me to tell you about something called "reverse.") Four stars for ... well, ... courage.
What a creepy place. Food matches the decor by the looks of it.
Wow, that looks pretty shady! And what could be more impressive than a restaurant named Illuminai to impress a bound date!
Lol, this is what you would tell friends about? I know they don't give options for less good restaurants... But it does seem funny!
I tell my friends NOT to go there.. hehe.., the other choices just didn't seem appropriate. If they have a representative at SF3, Ill try and persuade them to include, 'a place to tell your friends to avoid'.
Yes, there needs to be negative review options as well... It doesn't make any sense otherwise to have a restaurant review site if everything is good!
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