Restaurants, Cafes, Coffee Bars

A friend of my sisters took over the Swiss Cottage restaurant circa mid-80's and kept it going for a few more years. He completely re-named and re-newed it but I cannot for the life of me remember what it was called. Will update when I next see Sis! It was a small but perfectly formed little place.

Where was Swiss Cottage? There was a little restaurant called Bourbons near Spon Street in a building that was demolished when they redid the Lower Precinct. It was pretty good, and still there in 1993. They did live music as well. It turned into something called 'Hungry Jack's' in the 1990s and went bust, I think.

There was one Swiss Cottage between The Smithfield Tavern and The Tally Ho! in Hales Street and the other one was in Queen Victoria Road/Corporation Street. Quite near to the exit to the lower precinct at the time.

The one near the exit to the Lower Precinct must have been what became Bourbons. It was good. Well, it seemed good to us students at the time! There wasn't really much choice back then.

Must be very young not to remember Farmer Giles'. A horrible place really but the rather greasy food usually tasted OK and was reasonably good value. I'm sure that it is mentioned elsewhere but the 'Geisha' at the bottom of Hertford Street has memories for many people. The sheppards/cottage pie was always good value. I believe it was even better before the war.

'Bourbons!' That was it Flap, thanks! Jack someone was the owner - as mentioned he was a mate of my sisters. Seem to recall lots of potted plants in there for some reason and there was a backdrop of the Alps behind the bar when they took over from Swiss Cottage. It was indeed to the left of the service road into the market and car park - where New Look is now and the Lower Precinct car park. Jack tried to make it as a trendy bar too - all went well for a year or two until its quick demise.

I passed it once at about this time of year. It was hosting what appeared to be a works Xmas dinner. The male workforce were all seated on one side of the room and the females on the other side, totally segregated. They were all wearing paper hats and extremely glum expressions. It was the most miserable looking party I have ever seen in my life.

In my youth I was in the gang show at Cov Theatre, we used to use the Swiss Alps in Hales St in between matinee and evening shows on the Saturday and if i remember correctly it wasn't bad food either but don't know what happened to the place, perhaps it was one of the many closing with the general decline over the years!!!

Think the one on Gosford Green was converted into a snooker hall and was situated approx opposite Swan Lane. (this has been a topic of conversation on the forum somewhere else!! I think!!)

The Swiss Alps chain was run by a man called Ivan Polancek. In addition to the Hales Street cafe he had one in City Arcade and one next to C&A by the entrance to the Market car park, which I used to frequent in the early 70s when I lived in Mercia House. He disappeared very suddenly with a lot of financial problems.

Ahh yes Mick thanks - its all coming back to me now. Ivan was the one who built that mad romanesque style house on Broad Lane opposite Woodlands School complete with statues in the front garden. It was the subject of much ridicule by the schoolboys who stood at the bus stop outside the front gates.

Pagoda Chinese Restaurant, Lower Precinct When did this once-renowned establishment cease to trade? I spent several excellent evenings here, but never liked how you had to enter the place, which was a lift in Mercia House. After a Prawn Chow Mein, it was down the stairs to Park Lane. My last visit there was in 1988 before I moved away.

It closed when they refurbished the lower precinct in the late 1990s or early 2000s, perhaps. It is now the 'management' suite of the Lower Precinct. When I was a student in the early 1990s, my parents loved this restaurant. Well, let's be blunt, the choice wasn't good back then in Coventry. I used to look forward to their visits as we always went there for a meal! They thought it amusing that it was up in a block of flats. When I came back here to live and work a few years later, it was still there. My parents were quite upset when it closed. What is strange is that all the 'nightlife' venues have gone from the precinct area, and now it's full of empty shops. Wasn't the original intention of the precinct for it to be a mix of shops with 'nightlife' in the area around Corporation street? I don't tend to eat Chinese much anymore - the 'restaurants' in Coventry are mainly buffets and I find the quality of the food to be quite poor, and I also don't want to serve myself. It's a bit like a canteen. I prefer good old fashioned menus and waiter service!

Yes we used to go in The Pagoda on occasions in that lift after a night at Park Lane. It was there or The Rajah in The Burges. Probably a good job most of the time I was too to see what I was actually attempting to eat!

We sometimes used to go in on Friday lunchtimes for their "Businessmans Lunch" although we patently weren't businessmen it didn't seem to matter . It was the cheapest place to get a decent meal at lunchtime. Never tried it in the evenings though.