Tag: 5*****
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Six By Nico: Bristol’s New Culinary Star Hits All the Right Notes
For the attention-span challenged: Just go. It’s brilliant. Now, for those capable of reading more than a tweet without swiping away: Six by Nico in Bristol has nailed the elusive restaurant trifecta (or, in this case, sextet)—ambiance, service, food, concept, atmosphere, and yes, that magical ingredient: the urge to come back. It’s a proper treasure…
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Nuevo Gerardo: The Lunch That Ruins All Others
There is nothing quite as opulent as a long lunch. Dinners are all well and good, but lunch—proper lunch—now that’s the real indulgence. The kind that stretches into the afternoon, where the wine keeps flowing, the conversation sparkles, and the food, ideally, makes you wonder why you’d ever eat anywhere else. Nuevo Gerardo is exactly…
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La Casa Del Abuelo: Prawns, Beers, and a Slice of Old Madrid
Madrid is a marvel. A proper capital city with all the grandeur and energy, but without the relentless tackiness that afflicts so many of its European counterparts. Sure, there are tourist traps, but even they seem to have retained some dignity, a bit of authenticity. And nowhere captures the soul of the city better than…
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Pabblo: Dinner with a Side of Spectacle
Going out for dinner with friends should be an occasion. It isn’t always. Sometimes it’s just another meal—food arrives, you eat, you leave, and if you’re lucky, you remember what you had. But a truly great restaurant needs more than just good food. There are four main considerations when choosing where to eat. First, the…
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The Ivy, Bath – Posh Breakfast Done Right
As I’ve written before, I’ve long held the view that the posher the location, the worse the breakfast. It’s a complex dilemma: do you opt for somewhere warm and welcoming, where the service is lovely but there’s a real risk of unnecessary garnish on your fried eggs? Or do you brave a hard plastic seat…
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Grano, Bristol – A Little Italian Gem That Gets It Right
The challenge for a small, local restaurant is that it has to be good. That might sound obvious, but it’s the brutal truth. A big chain can chug along, slinging out plates of reheated mediocrity because there’s always another lost tourist or lazy diner willing to settle. But the independents? They live and die by…
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The Alan: Where Manchester’s Cool Feels Warm
Manchester, they say, is trendy. Far too trendy for me, of course, which is a word I’ve now used twice and which, in itself, demonstrates how deeply untrendy I am. “Trendy” is surely not the word du jour. Nor, I suspect, is “cool,” which I’ve just used to underline how hopelessly adrift I am from…
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The Scarlet: Where Magic Never Fades
To anyone who read my recent review of the Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi, where I warned against the dangers of revisiting a beloved destination, feel free to ignore that advice. I’m about to completely contradict myself, because here I am, back at The Scarlet in Cornwall for what feels like the hundredth time. And thank…
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‘Twas the Lunch Before Christmas – A Review of Goram & Vincent
‘Twas the lunch before Christmas, and all through the place, The in-laws were smiling, all brimming with grace. Four days of their company, not just one night— So off to a restaurant to soften the plight. The Goram & Vincent, with its scenic display, A bridge in the distance—the Avon, they say. “Isn’t it lovely?”…
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Gigi Pizza, Bristol: A Slice of Cool in the Coolest of Cities
Pizza. It’s no longer just food, is it? It’s a way of life. A cultural moment. Where once you’d pop out for “a pizza,” now you find yourself wading knee-deep in existential questions. What sort of pizza are we talking about here? Is it artisan? Sourdough? Neapolitan? Detroit-style? Vegan? Bristol, the city that could gentrify…
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The Travel Critic 