AT SOME buffet restaurants you wonder whether the food on your plate has been within ten miles of a chef. It's bland, lacks form, and seems to have been sitting in that heated vat for hours.
The chefs enjoy making food in this way; chatting to the customers, giving them what they like. It's a social, friendly experience.
At Peachy Keens in The Printworks, it's a different story. This all-you-can-eat restaurant opened last autumn with a promise to show us just how good buffets could be.
They styled it with bright, eclectic décor, installed a funky orange-lit bar, and put some decent music on in the background. But it didn't just feel different, it tasted different. Why? Because much of the food is made fresh by chefs while you watch.
Peachy Keens has 'Live Stations' where chefs in whites wait for you to tell them what you fancy eating that day before they get to work.
There's a stir-fry station, an Indian curry station, a sizzling stone station for steaks, a pizza station, a pasta station, a peri peri grill, a teppanyaki station, a naan bread station, and a kebab station.
You choose the ingredients, the chefs cook it in seconds while you watch, then presents it nicely for you on a plate.
Bearing in mind that this is a 'world buffet' covering seven different countries, we think this is a genius idea. It's like a mini street food festival – one guy will be making up a fresh, fragrant curry, another will be stuffing an enchilada, another will be sizzling king prawns over an iron hot plate.
It means the tastes are more defined, the food is hot (not just warm), and it's cooked just to your liking – whether that's super spicy, well-done, or heavy on the mushrooms.
The chefs enjoy making food in this way; chatting to the customers, giving them what they like. It's a social, friendly experience. And this being an A-Y-C-E, if you want more, just go back for seconds or thirds. Your chef will be well chuffed.
Peachy Keens also has lots of help-yourself buffet stations including sushi, salads, soups, curries, and sweet stuff. The dessert table is a lovely sight – a chocolate fountain, cake-galore, sweeties in jars, ice-cream. And it's all included in the one price.
Confidential has a £6 lunch deal and a £11 dinner deal available at Peachy Keens right now. Make the most of it while it lasts.
