Derry / Londonderry - Ryan Review

Derry~Londonderry

Plenty of cheap parking throughout NI and Derry~Londonderry was no different. I parked in Bishop Gate for 9 hours at a cost of £4.50. Train station is over the river which can be walked to in about 10 minutes. You're no further than a 10 minute walk to everything here either - Bogside Murals, Free Derry Corner, St Columb's Cathedral etc.

As you walk in the till is above you and just round the curve to the left the restaurant then opens up with the 20 tables or so. Certainly not huge inside. There are 6 or so more tables outside on Shipquay street. There's also a large pot/sculpture immediately to the right of the entrance, with a couple of medium size paintings on the right wall here where the toilets are also located.

Above the till is wood panelling with many red and yellow vertical shelving units displaying sauce bottles. There are some yellow wire lampshades for lighting hanging from the ceiling here too. Below the counter the wall is decorated with a mosaic style with lots of oranges/reds/yellows.

By the till is a larger circular table by the drinks station and a square booth. The first table around the curve by the entrance is a long 8-10 seater table. Towards the back (by the windows on Shipquay Street) are a few more square booths - the rest being tables/chairs sets.

All of the ceiling above the seating is reclaimed wood in a zig-zag pattern which is nice. Suspended from this for the lighting are some multi-coloured wicker shades and stained glass orbs. Above the drinks station are a couple of bright canvas paintings with another above the 8-10 seater. There are then some small grey wooden pieces on sticks in the full length of the windows on the left side.

It was a Thursday evening at 5:40pm and I was claiming two 1/4 chickens for free then also getting chips, rice and ratatouille. There were just a few tables in use... and the food came in just under 20 minutes. I wrongly assumed that ordering two 1/4 chickens together would give me one leg and one breast but I got two legs... and sadly, the chicken quality didn't make up for it. It had been under the heatlamps for quite some time (I reckon about 15 minutes), so it was very dry once I received it - really very chewy and for once I was glad there wasn't actually much chicken on the legs either. The rice and ratatouille had both gone cold - and the ratatouille was also swimming in what I hope was just tomato juice. Chips were a mixed bag with some crispy, others cold and soggy and others hard in the middle - but it was a gigantic portion...

Toilets were very beige and very clean. The large mirror above the sinks had a beige marble effect surround too.

Staff were pleasant enough, but did as expected.