Hi Everyone,

This is my first blog ever from the UK. My name is Unal – and yes it does sound different. Just a little background about who I am before I go any further.

Well I am a Turkish guy; born and raised until University years in beautiful Istanbul. I then moved to the USA and lived there for over 20 years. Last year I decided to move to the UK. Over the years, I have had the privilege to experience varied and diverse cultures.

I am foodie at heart, love to eat, try different food and drinks. I love going to restaurants, bars and now I am living in the UK, of course pubs; trying new dishes, embedding myself in the local culture and finding new favourite cuisines.

This eating habit and enjoying food accidentally got me into food industry during my College days in America. I was busy delivering Pizza until the late hours of the morning in a College town.

Now I am a Restaurant Consultant. Go figure. I have been working with restaurants for a long time in high level management, have even owned my own franchise. So, I understand the ins-and-outs of starting a food business, running a restaurant, managing staff, managing operations, stock management, branding; in summary an A-Z of the restaurant business. Over the years, I have been supporting food businesses to improve their client engagement and experience, develop customer loyalty, train their staff and support their overall strategy, including those that are eager to expend and open new units.

However, this blog is not just another professional review site. I aim to simply write about my own experience, and occasionally the views of other people I go with. I am not going to analyse every little thing about food, but also the general customer experience. Of course it may be difficult to take off my “Consultant” hat at times.

For the restaurant, bar or pub reviews, I will focus on the dishes I ordered, what I liked, what I think you should try if you go there, and what I see could be done better. We will have surprises on this blog as well as guest bloggers and industry experts. Of course, you are welcome to contact me with any suggestions you may have.

Living in St Albans, I am sure there will be lots of pub reviews but I will try to diversify my visits, meet with owners, etc.

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St Albans is in the heart of England. With 20 min train journey, you are right in the centre of London. Therefore it seems to be a rich, safe and a family-friendly, green commuter City with a high number of restaurants and pubs.

The Roman city of Verulamium, the second-largest town in Roman Britain after Londinium, was built alongside the Celtic settlement in the valley of the River Ver nearer to the present city centre. So there is a lot of history, including Roman ruins and the amazing St Albans Cathedral which is a great tourist attraction.

So, come and join us. Enjoy the blogs and do not forget to comment.