Bad Meal

Yesterday, I went to a Persian restaurant in Hockley called Lalehzar.



It was a memorably bad meal. Maybe it was the worst, or the second worst I have had during five years in Birmingham.

I have read many good reviews on this place: great food, great service, and great price. In my experience, only the last was true. But, when the food isn't good, I cannot say it was cheap. It would have been cheaper eating at home, or at a fast food joint just around the corner.

In recent months, I have had nothing but good meal. I immensely liked Turners, Ananda Bhavan, and Red 'N Hot. I had a bad meal in Portugal in October, but all the rest was from good to superb, as far as I can recall. If you are a regular reader of my restaurant reviews, you should be wondering if I can score less than 7/10, like Mr. Paul Fulford of Birmingham Mail who seems to have good experience in every restaurant in Birmingham (which, actually, isn't so strange when virtually all the restaurateurs in town know he is a restaurant critique).

Actually I can. I am terribly critical when I have to. Just, honestly, I have not had bad meals, partly because I have been lucky, partly because of a matter of course. Different from professional food critiques who are sent to certain restaurants for specific reasons, I just go to the restaurants I want to go after having carefully studied reviews and menus. As I have to pay from my wallet, I do all I can to avoid the places where I might have bad meal.

I hate to write a bad review of a privately run restaurant. But I will. There are too many good reviews on this place and I need to redress the balance.