The way things tend to work are that after being seated and ordering drinks, your party will each tell the server two or three dishes (they're numbered too, so don't worry about brushing off those Spanish pronunciation skills you learned in school!), and the dishes are all brought together in small dishes, allowing you to graze, nibble, and share to your own delight. After finishing a "round", the waiting staff clear your dishes and take more orders. In essence you can try everything on the menu through the evening, as many times as you'd like! I particularly like their "Tapas De Pescado" (seafood), which are done very well. To be honest, all of the dishes are cooked perfectly and presented well, and I enjoyed all of the ones I've tried immensely. I've never NOT enjoyed a visit to La Salsa!

The venue itself is split into two storefronts, which originally had one unit as the main dining room and kitchen, and the other unit as a bar and lounge area, but with La Salsa's increasing popularity, the lounge area had to be fitted out as another dining room! The décor is traditional and rustic, with stripped wooden floors, chunky wooden accents and artwork, and partitions made from old wooden doors (!), and tall candles on both the tables and against the walls, as Spanish and Catalan music plays giving an authentic feel to the Spanish atmosphere, only spoiled slightly by the ceiling, which is office style Styrofoam ceiling tiles. But frankly who's looking up? There's more food coming!

The staff are young, friendly and hard-working. Most of them don't know how to pronounce "dauphenois potatoes", which makes me giggle. Due to how busy the venue can get, you can expect to order with and be served by several different staff members. Sadly, tips given to your wait staff are all put into a communal pool "kitty", and shared out equally. This may be fair I suppose, but it doesn't account for if you get a very good waiter at one table, and a poor one at another.

La Salsa doesn't have private parking, so you will have to use street parking, or one of the local free car parks within walking distance, but luckily both options are free. 

I love La Salsa, and continue to go again and again, as do my friends, parents, in-laws, and anyone else I've introduced to it! If you try it yourself, I guarantee you will too! It's also nice to see that despite lots of local competition, including from restaurant chains nearby at Middlebrook Retail Park, La Salsa continues to thrive and gain in popularity. That shows they're definitely doing something right!

Pizza Me undersells itself by seeming to just be a pizza place, when in fact it serves modern Italian cuisine, offering salads, pastas, pizzas, and specials, all offering tempting sounding Italian fare, as well as teas, a good range of coffees, and desserts.

However, on this occasion we decided to go for a pizza, and try out the name of the place. 

Although this was just a fleeting visit, I'm very glad we popped in, as it has cemented somewhere for us to go back to whenever we get chance, as the menu is very tempting, and the prices are just phenomenal for what you get! I urge everyone to give this place a try, as it's not your run-of-the-mill pizza place, and it deserves a little more recognition and love spread by word of mouth!

We will most definitely return.

Pizza Me

Breightmet Fold Lane 

Bolton

Greater Manchester

BL2 6PP

(01204) 238 877

www.wannapizzame.com

As you can see, the food does come out in an artistic and high class style, but don't let that put you off if you're more of a traditionalist, as the taste was utterly superb. The black pudding is definitely the best I've tasted, and the home made brown sauce was superbly done! 

As we waited for our main course, we spoke some more with the staff member who had seated us. He was friendly, knowledgeable and professional. If he needed to speak to us, he would always apologise for interrupting. It turns out he is the brother of the pub's chef, the renowned chef Chris Yates, and told us that as much as it pained him to admit it to his brother, he is blown away by his culinary excellence. He told us how chef Yates would make him and the family specific foods just for their tastes, and how he loves to cook for his parents too. He also offered us a taste of an intermediate course as it was a special occasion, and told us it was a fish dish.

I'm not always one for seafood, but what came out was delicious and perfectly prepared scallop with tasty accompaniments, including some truly tasty silverskin onions.

For our main course, I opted to go for the steak burger, and was asked if I wanted it cooked "pink or cooked through", which is always pleasant to be asked about a burger rather than just a steak! I naturally asked for it pink. My dining partner chose the suet pudding, which on the night was steak and kidney. We were told that the suet changes frequently depending on the day; you could get steak and kidney one night, and oxtail another. All the more reason to return if you ask me!

The suet was large, and sat in a pool of delicious gravy. It was served with a side of vegetables and some truly fulfilling cheesy mashed potatoes. The suet was soft, hot, bursting with flavour, and delicious.

The burger came out presented traditionally, with very fresh salad, a little basket of perfectly cooked fluffy chips, and a side of silverskin potatoes, and home-made ketchup. The ketchup was delicious, and reminded me of hoisin sauce! The burger was cooked to absolute perfection, and unlike the starter dishes, it was a big bugger, and very filling! I would come here again just for that burger, as it was excellent. You could definitely taste a good steaky texture to it. Perfect.

A few years ago when this place was called The Pavillion, it was a proper old-fashioned English-Chinese restaurant, complete with waiters in black waistcoats and bowties, plinky-plonky music, and finger bowls. Now it's become modern and fresh, whilst still retaining a few traditional touches, such as the Chinese design chairs. The staff wear t-shirts, and are more relaxed, whilst still being very friendly and professional, which is pleasant.

Set Menu E was £23.50 per person and included a choice of two soups: chicken and sweetcorn or (as seen above) the classic hot and sour soup. We all agreed the soups were delicious, and the hot and sour soup left your nose running and your throat warm, despite tons of flavour... that's the sign of a good hot and sour soup! 

My favourite part was the above platter, which had some of the tastiest ribs I've ever tasted, deliciously crisp chicken spring rolls, some curried samosas (which were nice, but an unusual choice), and some prawn dumplings as well as good ol' 'seaweed'. This whole platter was delicious, and not a single bit was left at the end, not even a strand of seaweed! 

One thing I did like is that between courses, when clearing the table, the waitress would use a little table-top vacuum cleaner thingy... well, not a vacuum, but what looked like a glasses case with rotating brushes in it to brush up the crumbs and detritus on the table. I liked this as I hadn't seen it before.

Carrying on, this was the part where we were trying to remember what the next dishes coming out was, followed by "oh yes, I forgot that part!" as we were presented with four plates containing more deliciousness, this time a very juicy beef in garlic with spring onions, some pork, some very tasty vegetables with a unique flavouring, and a delicious sweet and sour chicken, which stood out for me as sometimes Chinese sweet and sour chicken can be quite soggy, but this was succulent with a lovely crisp outer, which was superb!

Service was friendly and attentive, and we never had to wait long to have our plates cleared or to be kept updated with drinks by the friendly and helpful team. 

The China Room is a great place for a nice dinner out whether on a budget, or for a special occasion, as you always get that good service and the excellent quality food. The nice thing about it being in Pavillion Square is that you have an abundance of free parking right outside, making it easier to waddle back to your car after being filled up with delicious food!