Strand Carvery

Part of the Strand Palace Hotel, this restaurant offers a cold starter buffet with a tasty variety of mainly seafood and cold vegetable dishes followed by a traditional hot roast dinner carvery with generally a selection of three roasts on offer such as turkey, beef or lamb and pork accompanied by the usual vegetable suspects and Yorkshire pud. You can't go far wrong if you enjoy a traditional English roast but it is worth getting here earlier as the food will have been on hot plates for several hours if you arrive before closing and thus may have deteriorated slightly in quality.

This is a calm and quiet restaurant that allows you to relax and take your time. If you use a discount card such as the Gourmet Society, the meal will be even better value and certainly worth considering.

I have eaten here many times and have never left disappointed. The staff are helpful and do not unnecessarily bother you. If you get talking, they are extremely friendly but leave you to make the first move, which is what I like.

There is also an A la carte menu, which I have never tried because I have always been persuaded by the buffet.

All in all, a good, safe choice particularly for entertaining guests and the consistency means that you know what to expect.