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Coopers, London: The Restaurant Equivalent of pH 7
Read full review: Coopers, London: The Restaurant Equivalent of pH 7So here’s the thing. If you’re a restaurant in London, you have to have a thing. You have to be different, or exceptionally good, or have a stunning venue, or a bit of history behind you. You need amazing produce, a kitchen that can do something extraordinary with it, or at the very least one…
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Oz & Isle, Cambridge: All the Looks, Not Quite the Cooking
Read full review: Oz & Isle, Cambridge: All the Looks, Not Quite the CookingAustralia gets a lot of things right. Beaches and work-life balance are near the top of the list. Sure, they have their issues. An alarming abundance of deadly snakes, for one, and a rather questionable grasp of Olympic breakdancing. But we can overlook those things because anyone who has visited knows that when it comes…
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The Hobson by Adina, Cambridge: Old Bones, Modern Comfort
Read full review: The Hobson by Adina, Cambridge: Old Bones, Modern ComfortThere’s something rather satisfying about taking an old building and giving it a new lease of life without completely stripping away its character. Take an old police station, spruce up the stonework, add underfloor heating and furnish the rooms with everything you need for a comfortable modern stay. And there you have it: The Hobson…
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The Ivy: A Saturday Lunchtime Surprise
Read full review: The Ivy: A Saturday Lunchtime SurpriseAnyone who’s read my reviews before will know that I’m not the biggest fan of The Ivy. I’ve had a few visits that have left me wondering what all the fuss is about, and I’ve never been entirely convinced that the name on the door guarantees the experience on the plate. But my mum always…
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Coppa Club, Sonning: Cool Without Trying Too Hard
Read full review: Coppa Club, Sonning: Cool Without Trying Too HardThere’s a fine line between somewhere being modern and cool and somewhere being so desperate to convince you it’s modern and cool that you want to leave immediately. Thankfully, Coppa Club in Sonning sits comfortably on the right side of that line. It’s stylish, contemporary and has a nice atmosphere, but without the sort of…
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The Eagle, Cambridge: A Pint of History, Please
Read full review: The Eagle, Cambridge: A Pint of History, PleaseSome pubs you visit for a pint. Others you visit for the history. And then there are places like The Eagle in Cambridge, where you arrive for a Guinness and suddenly find yourself quite happy to write off the rest of the afternoon. This pub was chosen by my father-in-law, who certainly knows his way…
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The Great House, Sonning: A Hotel With a Soul
Read full review: The Great House, Sonning: A Hotel With a SoulThere is, of course, a tried-and-tested modern formula for establishing a luxury hotel. A sort of hospitality paint-by-numbers for the property developer who wants five stars without the inconvenience of anything resembling a soul. Step 1. Find a beautiful old building with some actual history. Ideally, one with wonky floors, original beams, a few stories…
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Green Street Sandwiches, Bristol: A Case of Pork Envy
Read full review: Green Street Sandwiches, Bristol: A Case of Pork EnvyYou know how much I love a new place that an influencer has decided to tell the internet about. You can generally guarantee it’s going to be one of two things: the best thing that has ever happened to mankind, or an unmitigated disaster involving a £19 plate of eggs and a queue that stretches…
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Bravas, Bristol: The Greatest Hits and One Hell of a New Track
Read full review: Bravas, Bristol: The Greatest Hits and One Hell of a New TrackThere is a particular moment at a concert when a mega-famous rock band, having spent two hours rattling through their greatest hits in front of 50,000 people, announces that they’re going to play something new. The crowd goes quiet. Someone goes to the toilet. A bloke at the bar orders another pint. It’s not that…
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Flat Iron, Bristol: Less Choice, More Steak
Read full review: Flat Iron, Bristol: Less Choice, More SteakI know Flat Iron is a chain. I know. You don’t need to email me. But what they do is very, very good. And I’m slightly surprised more restaurants haven’t figured this out. Because your average restaurant menu these days is basically a small novel. It wants to be all things to all people. Fish.…
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Fabulous food, stunning stays, honestly reviewed.
Paul Southgate is The Travel Critic—the kind of traveller who claims to love adventure, as long as it includes 24-hour room service and a spa.
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Paul Southgate: a patchwork of Hughs stitched together with fraying thread. The poor man’s Hugh Grant, all charm on a budget. The thinking woman’s Hugh Laurie, though thinking too hard might ruin the illusion. He’s got Hugh Jackman’s kindness, but not the abs, and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s enthusiasm for food, minus the ability to turn nettles into Michelin-starred soup. A wannabe Hugh Hefner—pipe dreams in a velvet dressing gown—but in reality, closer to Hugh Bonneville, bumbling through life with a comforting sort of dignity. A man of many Hughs, and yet…none of them.
