Tag Archives: brasserie

June 02

Loch Bay and other stories. The Isle of Skye.

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You may ask yourself, how did I get here? Well, quite easily really; a flight to Inverness and then a three-hour drive through some of the most magnificent scenery I have ever seen. Like all of the proverbial best-laid, it didn’t go quite to plan. Booking The Three Chimneys on the strength of its reputation […]

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May 28

Six Portland Road. It’s the real thing.

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Foreword: I’ve been told by an eminent QC that I’m losing my touch and am being too nice in my reviews. “I like the ones where you hate it”, he says, “far more entertaining”. I cited in my defence a number of my less than glowing reviews but to no avail. Whilst he was only half […]

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May 20

Something for the weekend? The joy of Bristol’s bistros.

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In an effort to spread my dining net further afield than my two usual stamping grounds, central London and South Oxfordshire,  I decided to go west, specifically to Bristol and even more specifically, the Clifton part of Bristol. I think that Bristol may now be the second food city of the UK and it is […]

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May 02

A Jewel in The Crown at Burchetts Green.

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At the weekends I am often to be found in south Oxfordshire, supposedly relaxing and cooking wholesome food from scratch, hoping to justify my ever-expanding collection of cookbooks. My inner restaurant addict is having none of that.

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March 25

Noble Rot. An affair to remember.

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On entering, there is triggered a dim and distant memory of a rather louche afternoon spent here some time ago, in the entertaining company of a rather reprobate lawyer. This was before we all became slaves to modern technology and when you could just go AWOL for the afternoon, without someone thinking you were dead […]

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January 01

Les 110 de Taillevent. Bank on it.

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An accomplished brasserie with sophisticated food, mainly classics, executed to a high standard for the price point.

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November 05

The Ivy, spreading its tendrils to Marylebone.

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I’ve got a table for the new Ivy Café in Marylebone tomorrow, says Mr A, I know it’s short notice, but I thought you might like to try it. Short notice? Never a problem. As he said it, the vague memory of an Ivy opening in Marylebone drifted into my conscious mind. It had slipped […]

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June 13

Portland and yes it is (mostly) Great.

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#Firstworldproblems no 1:  being irritated by the OpenTable booking message telling me I can only have the table for a two hour slot. #Firstworldproblems no.2 : being called by the restaurant two days before the booking, to remind me about the two-hour slot, in case I hadn’t seen it on the screen during booking, not […]

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November 14

Sally Clarke’s. Posh nosh.

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There are cookbooks on a table, as we enter the restaurant. One of them is by Alice Waters – The Art of Simple Food – and I have this cookbook at home. I can wholeheartedly recommend it. It is a seminal work and Alice Waters is a legendary chef. Her restaurant,  Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California, is […]

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October 23

The Palomar. Party time.

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I didn’t get to hear the drum thing. It’s the owner’s special party trick; a little percussion medley, using the pots and pans in the galley kitchen, whilst customers perched on their barstools drink shots. Obviously the very thought of having that sort of display going on in front of me brings me out in […]

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