Tag: 5*****
-
The Windmill, Portishead – Pub Grub No More
There are three things in this country rarer than a competent rail replacement bus: A week of sunshine. A pub with a view worth more than a glance. A pub lunch that doesn’t taste like it was scraped off the floor of a 2008 wedding buffet in Milton Keynes. Today, by some celestial clerical error,…
Written by
·
-
The Wheatsheaf, Combe Hay — Sunday Roast in Heaven’s Back Garden
Those of you who’ve been unwise enough to keep up with my recent reviews will know I’ve been on a bit of a German bender — bratwurst this, Bauhaus that, and enough Riesling to irrigate the Mosel. But today, back on dear old Blighty’s turf, I found myself luxuriating in something so English it could’ve…
Written by
·
-
Gilden im Zims: Where Beer Flows, Pork Rules, and Calories Don’t Count
It has, I realise, been something of a week of cliché for anyone who’s been masochistic enough to read my recent reviews. A dreary parade of the obvious, the tried and tested, the meat-and-potatoes (and sauerkraut) of travel food writing. And I’m not about to let you off the hook just yet, because this sorry…
Written by
·
-
Lamb, Lager and the Modern Curry House: Urban Tandoor Does It Better
I’ve never been a big fan of cliché. But, as fate would have it, on a sodden Friday night in Bristol, I found myself stumbling around the city centre with three other men of a certain vintage doing exactly that. Four middle-aged blokes looking for a curry house after one too many pints. It was…
Written by
·
-
Angela’s, Margate – A Seaside Sermon in Simplicity
If there’s one thing worse than a big restaurant, it’s a big restaurant that thinks it’s small. You know the ones – open kitchen clatter, faux-distressed brick, a fig tree potted in a bin, and a menu longer than War and Peace rewritten by Jamie Oliver on coke. That’s not a dining room; it’s a…
Written by
·
-
The Metropolitan, Whiteladies Road, Bristol: Brunch, Blessedly Reborn
Brunch was made for Bank Holidays. That delicious moment in life when you are actively encouraged to surrender to inertia. It’s a meal designed for people who have nowhere better to be, no deadlines, no emails pinging, no reason at all to look at the time. It’s a rare invitation to just sit down, shut…
Written by
·
-
Bristol’s Food Scene Is Back – And 1 York Place Proves It
Bristol, it seems, is getting good for food again. I know, I know – the foodie influencers of the world will tell you it’s been great for the past 20 years, but let’s be honest, it dropped off around the same time as the pandemic, which is hardly surprising. Even before that, places were nice…
Written by
·
-
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…
Written by
·
-
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…
Written by
·
-
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…
Written by
·
The Travel Critic 