Food: The Second Wife

The Second Wife is a bit of a curiosity. It's a cosy little place, the type run by hard working families (I do not know if this is true), where you know the attention to detail is what will count. Our group of many (10 perhaps?) were led downstairs into the Moroccan themed basement, where we were able to relax to some level. Browsing the menu certainly stroked my appetite; there was something about how basic and simple the breakfasts on offer were (just to be clear, we went for lunch), and quite frankly I wanted to try more than one item on the menu.

I eventually settled for the Eggs Royale - two poached eggs on salmon and a bagel with hollandaise sauce - and it was good enough. As a side (cough) I ordered a stone baked sausage pizza which, quite frankly, was very ordinary. Overall the food was middling, but at around a fiver or so per breakfast it was of a decent enough value.

The only complaint was, unfortunately, a big one. Unfortunate from two angles actually - firstly a lack of service will always have an impact, no matter how amazing or cheap your food is. But secondly it was unfortunate because it probably wasn't normal: our group was joined by another similarly sized one and it was clear the kitchen wasn't equipped to deal with such number of covers on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Orders were omitted and cancelled and even the basics like plates and table water were a struggle.

It's a shame because I could have imagined the place to have been the default place to go for a greasy breakfast (yes yes, at lunchtime), but unless we know we'd have a basic level of attention I can't see us going back. So I'll say it for the third time this article: unfortunate.