With the party season over, it can often be hard to re-adjust to early mornings, sitting in traffic and working until 5pm or later.

It was this, and the thought of a full week still ahead, that prompted me to head out for a meal last Tuesday night.

As I’m in the process of moving to Bangor, I decided to try a local restaurant in a bid to get to know the town better.

We headed to Papa Joes New Orleans, an American cuisine restaurant with a New Orleans’ influence, located in the centre of Bangor.

As it was a Tuesday night we had assumed there would be no need to book. My dining partner and I were surprised when, arriving straight from work, we just about secured a table.

Our drinks order was quickly taken and the waitress promptly returned with the order as we looked through the extensive menu.

Having just about gotten rid of the bloated feeling that comes from eating to much over Christmas, I was keen for it not to return and choose pea and ham soup for my starter.

My dining partner, settling on a dish that was more in keeping with the restaurant’s authentic style, choose chicken wings coated in a special blend of spices.

Arriving a short time later, the soup was very tasty but could have been slightly warmer. My dining partner enjoyed the chicken wings but found them slightly sharp. Not for those who dislike very spicy food, he accompanied them with water.

For the main course my dining partner choice a cajun beef enchilada. This came with a choice of side and he went for chips.

Trying to stick to my new year healthy eating resolution I choose chargrilled chilli chicken, but fell foul with my choice of side as I could not resist some chips.

The chargrilled chicken was served on a bed of thinly sliced carrots and came exactly as I had asked, with the chilli sauce on the side. The chicken was tenderly cooked with a beautiful flavour.

The beef enchilada was packed with beef and the portion was so large my dining partner had to admit defeat towards the end, but not before claiming it to be the best meal he had had in a long time.

My dining partner then finished the meal off with a knickerbocker glory, Papa Joes’ style.

However, while the food was delicious we found the service disappointingly slow towards the end.

Although the waitress remained friendly throughout it took a long time for dessert to be served.

We then faced another long wait after requesting the bill and, having finally received it, we had to seek out the waitress to make payment as we were in a rush elsewhere.

Will we return to Papa Joes? The simple answer is yes, but next time we will bear in mind the length of service and ensure we don’t have further plans after dinner.