Bar Amalia in Archez opened earlier on in the year and last month my family went to eat in the restaurant and see how Dot was getting on since I last spoke to her. We went for lunch and all of us wanted some really good pub type food, my husband was especially looking forward to a home cooked pie as that isn’t something I have time to do in our household! Well we were certainly not disappointed as all the food is home cooked. Dot prides herself on making the pastry from scratch and all the desserts, curries and pies. We arrived at Bar Amalia on quite a cold day for lunch but once seated in the conservatory area we were nice and warm from the sun that that was peeping through the clouds and had warmed up the room nicely. On a full sun winter lunchtime the outside terrace area would probably have been great to sit out and look out over the view of Archez but I was just as happy seeing it from the warm conservatory! Dot and her husband Mike welcomed us warmly and explained the specials they had on for the day. They showed the kids where there were some games to play and they settled into playing snakes and ladders together, whilst we had a chat with mike over how things were going. He was particularly encouraged by how many Spanish now came to try Dots curries and other traditional dishes. They are also supported well by their friends in Archez as they have now lived there for over 10 years and have make some good friends along the way. Dots only concern is for those that visited when they first opened when they were over coming teething problems and really hopes anybody who may have had a lesser experience will come back and try them again. For my family we were having a great time the kids were amused, we were drinking bottles of beer at 1.20 a bottle, the only problem was deciding what to have off the menu. In the end we ordered the brie and a spinach and feta tartlet for starters. For our main courses I ordered fish and chips, my husband the homemade steak pie, the kids had meatballs with spaghetti and Salmon fishcakes with chips. The time between courses was spaced so you weren’t waiting nor were you eating straight away. Dot was astute enough to ask if the kids wanted their main courses out straight away. On this occasion they were amused so we let them try our starters and then we ate our mains all together. The food really was home cooked. The pie was exactly what my husband wanted, the fish and chips had a really light and crispy batter that I loved, and I also tried the fish cakes which were great too. My son wouldn’t let anyone at his meatballs which he ate without talking until it was finished. It really was a nice meal in a warm environment at exceptional value. My daughter wouldn’t let us leave without having a dessert despite the fact we were really stuffed. However, when Dot reeled off the list off amazing puddings and deserts we ordered two with four spoons, as it would have been rude not to! Despite feeling full we managed the toffee sticky pudding and chocolate sponge cake with hot chocolate sauce. We couldn’t agree which was best as they were both fab! We had a lovely afternoon at Bar Amalia, I really like Dot and Mike and after eating there I’m only sorry we didn’t go earlier!
