Best restaurants in St Ives: an expert shares their favourite local spots
Discover the best restaurants in St Ives, serving up everything from Mediterranean tapas to fresh seafood and unbeatable brunch on the beach
This popular corner of Cornwall is filled with great restaurants, cafés and interesting bars. Here's our pick of the best places to eat and drink in buzzy St Ives. For more Cornwall inspiration, check out our guides to the best restaurants in Cornwall, best restaurants in Penzance and the best hotels in Cornwall. Best places to eat and drink in St Ives Brine For inventive brunch dishes Grab a coveted window seat at this cute first floor café overlooking St Ives Harbour and try one of the inventive brunch dishes, like the Ful (beans with flatbread, pickles and tomato confit) or the Jaffle toastie, stuffed with fresh crab, Singapore chilli sauce and cheese. In the evening Brine transforms into a cosy spot with freshly shucked and topped oysters, small plates (such as smoked mackerel caesar) natural wines and cocktails. Look out for the late afternoon wine and oyster happy hour bargains too. @brine_stives Ardor For Mediterranean grilling The Josper grill is the star of the show at this central Fore Street spot. The Med-influenced menu runs from lighter tapas dishes like scallop, prawn and octopus pil pil, and grilled sardines with chorizo and piperade, through to perfectly seared dry-aged steaks, duroc pork chops and monkfish skewers cooked over charcoal. There’s a concise European wine list with lots available by the glass to try. It’s an elegant spot perfect for date night and buzzy enough for a fun group outing. ardorstives.co.uk Silco Bar & Kitchen For stellar sharing plates This fun, casual space which hugs the Downalong side of the harbour is perfect if you fancy a drop-in lunch or perfectly mixed cocktail. Bag a seat outside and watch the boats bobbing as the sun goes down over the harbour. There’s a lovely playful menu of small sharing plates with eclectic global touches. The small kitchen turns out stellar dishes including a puttanesca butter flatbread with white anchovies and crispy capers, and a crisp pork belly, meltingly tender, with a nuoc cham sauce. You can also buy bottles of premixed house cocktails to take away. drinksilco.co.uk Porthmeor Beach Café For unbeatable views This breezy café perched directly over Porthmeor beach has some of the best views in St Ives with multiple areas to choose from, including a dog-friendly terrace, the main restaurant or cosy sea-facing pods. Whichever you choose you’ll be directly over the beach. The menu is a mix of vibrant spice-forward plates like celeriac shawarma with beet hummus and ras el hanout yogurt, or crispy skinned St Ives Bay mackerel with zaalouk (aubergine dip) and fennel and grape salad. It's the perfect spot to grab a spritz made from Cornish rose vermouth and watch the surfers during the day, or to savour a drink at sunset. porthmeor-beach.co.uk The Gurnard’s Head For an excellent pub There’s a reason The Gurnard's Head tops many 'best of West Cornwall' lists. It's not strictly in St Ives (you’ll need a car, taxi or local bus to get there) but absolutely unmissable if you want to try some of the best cooking in the area. The distinctive bright yellow pub sits on the edge of the coastal path and there’s a winding road down to the sea if you fancy a pre- or post-lunch stroll. In the summer the huge garden is great for views across the countryside, but if the weather turns there’s a cosy flagstoned pub room with an open fire, as well as a larger dining room. The menu changes seasonally and makes the most of locally landed fish in dishes like plaice with mussels, capers and seaweed, or wild sea bass with lobster butter. There’s a great selection of wines available by the carafe or glass. If you miss the lunch sitting there’s an all-day bar menu with a superior burger or ploughman's available, alongside a pint from Cornish brewers like Verdant, Firebrand or Skinner's. gurnardshead.co.uk JOHNS For unique bottles This Aladdin’s cave of craft spirits, wines and local beer and cider is worth visiting just to marvel at the sheer volume of different bottles on offer (including its own award-winning Crusty Juggler rum). Hidden away at the back is a cute, compact bar area where you can enjoy a bottle of wine chosen from the shelf or fridge, try the St Ives Brewery beers on taps, or sip an expertly poured Golden Hour martini. johnswines.co.uk St Eia For wine bar chic This chic, intimate wine bar pours rare, low-intervention bottles alongside a short menu of bistro-inspired food. Chat to the knowledgeable team, who will help you pick a glass you’ll love, or buy a bottle to go. steiawines.com More travel inspiration... Best day trips from London by train Brighton guide: where locals eat and drink 14 small towns across the UK every foodie should visit The UK's best pubs with rooms UK boutique hotels for food lovers 10 exciting UK city breaks for food lovers Best restaurants with rooms UK spa hotels for food lovers Best romantic UK hotels Best seaside staycations
We pick the best foodie places to stay in this south-western county, from a stylish farmhouse retreat with its own smokehouse to a jaunty harbourside b&b with outstanding breakfasts
Looking for the best places to stay in Cornwall? After a bed and breakfast on the Cornish coast? Want to find a romantic hotel in Cornwall? From St Ives to Penzance, we've rounded up the best foodie hotels in Cornwall, from seaside bed and breakfasts to Cornish farmhouse retreats, as well as restaurants with rooms to stay in Cornwall. See our guide to the best restaurants in Cornwall for all the best places to eat and drink during your stay. Now discover UK spa hotels for food lovers, the best hotel baths worth travelling for in the UK or our best European hidden gem hotels for more travel inspiration. Best Cornwall hotels for food lovers Pedn Olva, St Ives Doubles from £136, check availability at booking.com or pednolva.co.uk Perched on the granite rocks above the sands of Porthminster Beach, the Pedn Olva has recently undergone a transformation, creating a luxurious space to spend a long, lazy weekend. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer breathtaking views of every angle from the sweep of St Ives Bay out to the open sea and all along the beach. Grab a pint of Mena Dhu stout in the cosy Lookout nook for seal and dolphin spotting or head to one of the open terraces (including a huge roof terrace) for panoramic views. The décor is warm and inviting with loungy mid-century modern chairs, sheepskin throws and reclaimed wood tables. Walls showcase the work of local artists in a nod to St Ives’ colourful art history. Rooms have been given a plush makeover with rich upholstery in mustard and soft blues, and warm wood cladding. There are cloud-like Hypnos beds and Nespresso machines should you want to linger over morning coffee. Bathrooms are generous with rainfall showers and toiletries from Cornish company Land & Water. We stayed in a snug dog-friendly room which had the advantage of its own outside entrance with a route directly down steps to the beach – perfect for sunrise swims and late-night walks. The menus showcase local suppliers with spankingly fresh fish dishes such as grilled half-shell scallops with Café de Paris butter or steamed mussels in Cornish cider alongside pub classics and daily changing specials. Breakfast is a hearty affair with eggs benedict or smashed avo toast, or keep things simple with a full fry-up. Served up until 11am it makes for a leisurely start to the day. Doubles from £200, check availability at booking.com or pednolva.co.uk Havener's Bar & Grill, Fowey Doubles from £273, check availability at booking.com Fowey is a pretty, buzzy harbour town in the south of Cornwall. Set in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty, the town has a rich maritime history and, in season, the harbour is still filled with yachts (there’s also a Royal Regatta each summer). Narrow cobbled streets wind uphill from the quayside and there is a lively independent shopping, eating and drinking scene. Sitting in a prime position right on the quayside is Havener’s Bar and Grill, a restaurant with five stylish bedrooms and an apartment above it. The restaurant itself has a hearty menu with lots of pub classics, traditional desserts and extremely generous portions. There's a well-priced wine list and selection of Cornish beers. We stayed in the Havener’s self-contained, two-bedroom Waterside Apartment (also dog-friendly). It comes with a huge wrap-around balcony overlooking the river and estuary with plenty of room for a table, chairs and loungers. The spacious rooms are cozily furnished and there is the same river view from the large lounge and dining room windows so you can happily read, eat, drink and doze in or out of the sun. The kitchen is really well equipped, too, so impromptu meals are easy to put together. Doubles from £273, check availability at booking.com Trevose Harbour House, St Ives Doubles from £165, check availability at booking.com, mrandmrssmith.com or expedia.co.uk The best bed and breakfast in St Ives... Breakfast is an art form at Trevose Harbour House, in the higgledy-piggledy artistic hub that is St Ives (home of the Tate Modern and the Barbara Hepworth Museum). A jaunty boutique B&B, with six nautical-themed rooms, a smattering of Ercol and harbour views, the focus is firmly on local and organic. Start with a smoothie 'shot of the day' then choose from their version of the continental or a hot dish. The continental is a smorgasbord of homemade bircher muesli, granola parfait, organic yoghurt, fresh fruit, seasonal fruit compote, homemade organic multigrain granola, freshly baked pain au chocolat, pain aux raisins and local organic bread smeared with homemade jams. Along with the full English, cooked options include a hot croissant filled with runny Cornish brie, ham and tomato. Doubles from £165, check availability at booking.com, mrandmrssmith.com or expedia.co.uk Artist Residence, Penzance Doubles from £140, check availability at booking.com, mrandmrssmith.com or expedia.co.uk A coolly colourful 17-bedroom hotel in Penzance’s old quarter with a relaxed vibe (checked blankets, yellow Roberts radios, contemporary artworks) and a retro-chic restaurant and bar, The Cornish Barn. The menu in the restaurant includes meat and fish from its in-house smokehouse, or tuck into tapas-style dishes of deep-fried squid with chilli, lime and salt, and parsnip rösti with caramelised shallots and goat’s cheese. Dessert is rum-infused crème brûlée, hazelnut brittle and homemade banana ice cream. Doubles from £140, check availability at booking.com, mrandmrssmith.com or expedia.co.uk The Greenbank, Falmouth Doubles from £143, check availability at booking.com Perched on Falmouth’s waterside, with its own private pontoon, The Greenbank is a little piece of Cornish history in itself, originally serving as a lodging house for sea captains during the town’s maritime heyday before becoming a full-blown hotel (20th century guests included Florence Nightingale and Wind in the Willows author, Kenneth Grahame, whose most famous book is thought to have been based on letters he wrote while staying there). Super-comfy king size beds, crisp sheets, fluffy robes and a white-tiled bathroom complete with huge walk-in shower and White Company toiletries all added to the luxurious feel, as did the calm and muted colour palette, speckled with little flashes of sea-blue. Breakfast is as equally impressive as the view you get while eating it (the Water’s Edge restaurant runs the whole length of the front of the hotel). If you don’t fancy a Full Cornish you can tuck into smoked haddock and poached eggs, eggs Benedict or porridge with Rodda’s clotted cream. Doubles from £143, check availability at booking.com Coombeshead Farm, Launceston Doubles from £165, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or coombesheadfarm.co.uk There are 66 acres of meadow, copse and wooded riverbank to scour for the perfect picnic spot at Coombeshead Farm. Once the dairy farm for the Trelaske estate, this is the latest venture from British chefs Tom Adams (of London restaurant Pitt Cue) and April Bloomfield (who set up Michelin-starred gastropub The Spotted Pig in the States). A working farm, and guesthouse, it's a pulse-racing addition to Cornwall's culinary scene. There are nine bedrooms (and one adjoining bunk room) in the rambling 18th-century Georgian farmhouse, which squints over at Dartmoor on the horizon. Plus a dining room where Adams and Bloomfield dish up dinner at the 'feasting table' - expect produce from their smokehouse, curing and pickling rooms. For breakfast there's homemade yoghurt, bread, freshly milled oats and grains, preserves, butters, ham, bacon and cheeses to tuck into. Doubles from £165, check availability at mrandmrssmith.com or coombesheadfarm.co.uk Kudhva, Tintagel Doubles from £143, check availability at booking.com or kudhva.com Drive down narrow lanes flanked by towering green hedges on Cornwall’s wild Atlantic coast to discover Kudhva, an off-grid glampsite near Trebarwith Strand. Set up by leatherworker Louise Middleton, this disused quarry has been transformed into a verdant enclave where visitors can stay in tree tents, rigged above ground, or in one of four kudhva – compact wood-and-metal cabins on stilts. In the midst of this bucolic setting is a self-catering glamping site. Expect flushing toilets, solar-powered showers, your own fire pit, a communal kitchen and even an outdoor hot tub, while the rustic surroundings are reflected in the décor – much of the furniture and structures are wooden and handmade, with jars of velvety fern fronds and wildflowers decorating most surfaces. Doubles from £143, check availability at booking.com or kudhva.com Havener’s Bar and Grill, Fowey Doubles from £145, check availability at booking.com Looking for hotels in South Cornwall? Fowey is a pretty, buzzy harbour town. Set in a designated area of outstanding natural beauty, the town has a rich maritime history and, in season, the harbour is still filled with yachts (there’s also a Royal Regatta each summer). Narrow cobbled streets wind uphill from the quayside and there is a lively independent shopping, eating and drinking scene. Sitting in a prime position right on the quayside is Havener’s Bar and Grill, a restaurant with five stylish bedrooms and an apartment above it. The hearty food menu has plenty of pub classics such as fish and chips, steak and burgers but also offers some slightly more refined cooking with lots of local fish and seafood. Doubles from £145, check availability at booking.com The St Tudy Inn, St Tudy Doubles from £150, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk Emily Scott's gastropub The St Tudy Inn in the little Cornish village of the same name is also home to simple, stylish bedrooms, too. Good news for fans of her rustic, seasonal menus, as you can stumble straight up to bed after dinner. Doubles from £150, check availability at booking.com or expedia.co.uk The Scarlet, Mawgan Porth Doubles from £275, check availability at scarlethotel.co.uk Looking for romantic hotels in Cornwall? The only routine at The Scarlet, a hotel perching on the edge of Mawgan Porth, is the regularity of the tide: the cool waters pulling back to reveal soft golden sand and thousands of lead-coloured mussels that cling to the rocks as stubbornly as guests lie on the loungers a few metres above. Rooms, which are spread over five levels, come with their own outdoor space and open-plan bathrooms to ensure the connection with the view is never broken. The goosebump-inducing outdoor pool is naturally filtered with reeds, while the indoor pool is heated by solar panels. Dinner is served in a dramatically quirky three-AA-rosette dining room that makes most sense when the curtains are pulled back to reveal the views. One day you might have Cornish hake with lobster ravioli, cured ham, lobster bisque and cucumber, the next a twice-baked Cornish Crackler cheese soufflé with candied walnut and Devon Cox’s apple salad. Like the hotel as a whole, it’s well considered but far from formal. Doubles from £275, check availability at scarlethotel.co.uk Trewornan Manor, Wadebridge Doubles from £180, check availability at booking.com Luxury B&B Trewornan Manor may date back to the 13th century but its attitude to food is firmly forward thinking. Close to the Camel Estuary, and surrounded by 25 acres of gardens and meadows, the four-bedroom property (Porthilly and Daymer feature freestanding tubs) is fast becoming a gourmet destination. Highlights include an honesty bar stocked with Sharp's Doom Bar, a beer brewed down the road in Rock, and Camel Valley sparkling wine; breakfasts that focus on the best Cornish produce (butcher Philip Warrens in nearby Launceston is one of the suppliers); and a location that’s just a napkin’s throw from Rick Stein's empire in Padstow. Doubles from £180, check availability at booking.com Chapel House, Penzance Doubles from £200, check availability at chapelhousepz.co.uk One of the best bed and breakfasts in Cornwall... Nobody has coined the right term yet for the ‘B&B plus’, according to Susan Stuart, owner of Chapel House in Penzance. Many luxury B&Bs now offer far more than a traditional guesthouse yet don't fall into the boutique hotel category. Chapel House, once the Penzance Arts Club, is certainly one of those. Relishing a new lease of life after an extensive renovation, the stately Georgian building is now light and bright, with six sleek bedrooms and walls hung with striking modern artworks. As well as slap-up communal breakfasts (sizzled cod roe, samphire, smoked bacon and poached egg is a Cornish speciality) Stuart hosts gourmet suppers, long Sunday brunches and lunches, foraging and feasting weekends, guest chef demos, Saturday morning children's cookery classes and has a home-from-home, right-to-roam attitude to the fridge. Doubles from £200, check availability at chapelhousepz.co.uk Haybarton, Tregony Doubles from £120, check availability at haybarton.com or airbnb.com (for The Potager self-catering let) Another fab B&B in Cornwall, the previous winner of Alistair Sawday's 'most praised breakfast award' Haybarton is a farmhouse B&B with just three pretty rooms and a self-catering let The Potager on Cornwall's picturesque Roseland Peninsula. After tumbling out of bed and gazing out over rolling farmland as you run a bath in the roll-top tub, you can wander downstairs to its flagstoned dining room to feast on scrambled eggs (from their own Maran hens), sausages and bacon from the local Kernow Sausage Company, homemade granola baked in the Aga and local artisan breads spread with homemade marmalade and locally produced honey. Doubles from £120, check availability at haybarton.com or airbnb.com (for The Potager self-catering let) More hotel guides Best country house hotels in the UK Best health and wellness retreats Best hotels in London Best UK boutique hotels Best hotels in the Cotswolds Best Cornwall hotels Best hotels in the Lake District Best London hotel bars to visit Best romantic hotels in the UK European hidden gems: hotels off the beaten track Best Paris hotels Best Spanish hotels Best Italian hotels Best restaurants with rooms in the UK Best Amsterdam hotels Best Scottish hotels
Best restaurants in Bath: where locals eat and drink in this Somerset city
From perfect cinnamon buns to seafood displayed in a rolltop bath and fry ups in an antiques shop, a local shares her guide to where to eat, drink, shop and sleep across this Somerset city
Looking for restaurants in Bath? Want to know where to eat in the historical spa town? Local residents, past and current, share their tips for the best restaurants in Bath, along with where to find the best coffee, bakeries and gin bars. Plus, find out the best afternoon tea in Bath here. Check out more UK restaurant and travel inspiration, from city breaks to pubs with rooms and foodie day trips from London by train. Or find our local guides to the best restaurants in Oxford and where to eat in Cornwall. Jump to: Best places to eat and drink in Bath Where to stay in Bath Food shops in Bath Best places to eat and drink in Bath Landrace Bakery and Cafe – for cinnamon buns Every time you return to this unassuming corner of Walcot Street, Landrace is doing something new and brilliant. Most recently, the bakery has expanded into a fully-fledged café, with ample seating and space to linger. The new interior is lovely and bright, and the bakery itself is unparalleled: cinnamon and cardamom buns galore alongside the iconic breads, sold in various other outlets across the wider countryside, because they're just so good. The bakery works in conjunction with Landrace Milling, a portion of land at Westcombe in southern Somerset, where specialty grains are grown and milled. Grab a coffee and a pistachio cornetto, and pause on a window seat to watch the world go by. landrace.co.uk Upstairs at Landrace – for elegant bistro vibes First came the bakery, and then came the excellent restaurant above. Set across two fetching upstairs dining rooms, donned with wine bottles and vibrant posters, this neighbourhood bar and bistro is doing brilliant things, with Chef Rob Sachdev at the helm in the kitchen. Seasonal sharing plates sing of beautiful produce and rustic provenance. Start with a plate (or two) of the cheddar fritters, accompanied by a glass (or two) from the adventurous natural and biodynamic wine list, and then meander through the succinct but perfect array of plates that follow. There’s always a seasonal, handmade pasta or two – get the ragù if it’s there – and make sure to save room for one of the desserts, which champion the bakery’s patisserie skills. landrace.co.uk OAK – for vegetarian dishes Bath’s acclaimed vegetarian restaurant Acorn has evolved into the more relaxed OAK. The cosy Georgian room is fitted with mustard and cream panelled walls, dried Somerset flowers and soft lighting. Huddle up in the little alcove at the back, with window seating boasting views of a perfect hidden nook of Bath ­– the abbey looming majestically over blackbirds picking berries from the trees. Choose the five course meat-free feast to try a variety of new flavours, with the option of small-batch natural wines to match. Highlights include crisp panko-covered arancini with an aubergine centre; chickpeas tossed in a creamy, smoky vegan pine nut sauce with crisp pangritata and greens; and springy pieces of homemade sourdough cavatelli pasta tossed with vibrant heritage tomatoes. On your way out, peruse the selection of Somerset products, including artisan pottery, lockdown baby Hárth chocolate truffles and pretty bottles of natural wine. oakrestaurant.co.uk Thai Balcony – for authentic Thai food Open for more than two decades now, Thai Balcony is a stalwart of Bath cuisine, so-called because of its narrow, flower-filled balcony, overlooking King’s Mead Square. Climb the stairs up to the gilded interior and take a seat at the window or out on the balcony if you’re lucky enough to nab one of the tables for two out here. The food is superb and varied, fine Thai cuisine: glorious curries (the Gaeng Kua Goong with pineapple and prawns is fantastic) and the pad thais are much-loved, but don’t forget to order a portion or three of sticky rice, as well. A true Bath classic and an old faithful amongst the ever-changing restaurant scene. thaibalcony.vdit.co.uk Taylor’s Bagels – for top notch bagels This neighbourhood bagel spot has become so deservedly popular that it’s popped up in three locations in Bath so far, and more recently migrated to Keynsham as well. Originally a boutique café, it switched to bagels, and the results speak for themselves. People flock from all around to get their hands on these freshly-made, New York style bagels, with a brilliant array of fillings. In the mornings, expect breakfast items in abundance, and at lunch, try the New Yorker (pastrami, sauerkraut, pickles, cheddar) or the Bath Bagel (beef brisket, pickles, cheddar and mustard mayo.) With great coffee as well, these friendly cafés are a must-visit on a trip to Bath. taylorsbagels.com Beckford Bottle Shop & Bistro – for wine Stumble across this wine-lovers’ emporium and you'll be delighted to discover that it also boasts a bistro with a Michelin Bib Gourmand as well! Friendly staff will help you find new wines in the shop, which you can then take next door to the restaurant to enjoy with a corkage fee. The menu features sharing small plates, charcuterie and cheese - all designed to be enjoyed alongside a glass or two. Dishes celebrate the bounty of Somerset produce, resulting in a considered and quietly-excellent array, with a bit of fun thrown in, too. The bistro interiors are cosy and charming, perfect for whiling away an hour or two eating great food and admiring the hubbub of the top end of the city from a window seat - but you can also sit in the wine shop itself, surrounded by bottles and in the midst of it all. beckfordbottleshop.com Beckford Canteen – for modern British dining Also from the team behind Beckford, this old Georgian greenhouse, now a modern British restaurant, sits on a cobbled mews street in the top half of the city and is a true asset to the food scene in Bath. The space is beautiful, bright and airy with elegant touches, like the iconic wall of Majolica plates. The food here is confident and comforting: snacks to start, such as crab potato rosti followed by seasonal stars of asparagus with coddled eggs and anchovies, and for mains, perfectly-cooked meat and fish dishes with a comforting side of mash. On Sundays, its famed for legendary roasts and confit potatoes. Cooking focuses on seasonal and local produce, with meat from Walter Rose Butchers and produce and vegetables from The Community Farm Bristol. The wine list centres around the food, with a wide variety available, and the Bottle Shop just up the street if nothing tickles your fancy. beckfordcanteen.com Fat Boys Cafe – for a fry-up in an antique shop A hop and a skip from Bath Spa train station is Fat Boys Cafe: recently an antiques shop and now an eclectic but remarkably good breakfast caff. Bacon baps to go are sublime: buttery brioche buns with perfectly cooked rashers, but if you have time to sit inside – amongst the antique paraphernalia and humorous wall art – the full English and breakfast stacks are worth making time for. Fat Boys is the perfect marriage of greasy spoon and English country house: an extremely good butty on a Spode blue and white plate. The Scallop Shell – for upmarket fish and chips This simple seafood restaurant is unpretentious and artily rough around the edges – the day’s catch is piled high in a rolltop bath snagged off eBay, and there are light fittings fashioned from colanders, lobster pots and fishing nets. Starters are unfussy plates of the freshest shellfish available on the day, while the mains range from hake in crisp batter to grilled skate, all with proper 'chippie' chips and homemade tartare sauce served in a pretty scallop shell. If you're staying in the west of the city look out, too, for The Oyster Shell, the restaurant's younger sibling based on Moorland Road. thescallopshell.co.uk Colonna and Small's – for coffee Head to this contemporary coffee shop and roaster for a serious espresso. The brews, all double shots, change weekly, there are tasting notes for each one (including how the flavour changes when adding milk), and the in-house baristas are all experts. The Gigesa Grade 1 Washed, an Ethiopian coffee with promise of peachy sweetness, hints of melon and bergamot. colonnaandsmalls.co.uk Pintxo de Bath – for tapas This Basque-style tapas bar with a pretty garden and a dedicated sherry menu is tucked away in Bath’s theatre district. Order sharing plates of pan con tomate y jamón along with tinned sardines served with bread and aioli before moving onto albóndigas (meatballs in a spicy tomato sauce), gambas al ajillo and fried padrón peppers. A succinct dessert menu offers warm chocolate and almond cake as well as vanilla ice cream, both of which can be ordered individually or together, with a shot of Pedro Ximenez sherry on the side. Choose your sherry of choice from the dedicated menu and make the most of any sunshine in the leafy sherry garden out back. pintxobath.co.uk Noya's Kitchen – for Vietnamese After moving from Vietnam to England at a young age with her family, Noya Pawlyn has become one of the most loved foodies in Bath and has recently transformed her popular Vietnamese supper club into a restaurant. As well as serving informal but hearty sharing dinners in the evening, Noya’s Kitchen also opens for lunch, Tuesday to Saturday, offering a thali-style menu, presented as a tray os small dishes that diners eat clockwise, starting with an appetiser such as fresh summer rolls with punchy dipping sauce or a squidgy pork bun, followed by small portions of Noya’s favourite Vietnamese stews and broths, and finally a miniature dessert. Noyaskitchen.co.uk Yak Yeti Yak – for Nepalese food Bath's long-standing Nepalese restaurant, with its quirky decor, cushioned seating area and friendly staff, is a great option for families and groups. The traditional menu includes Nepalese classics such as delicately spiced, fun-to-dip momos and curries, served with rice, orange dal and homemade chutneys. yakyetiyak.co.uk The Dark Horse – for cocktails A local and seasonal ethos is the central tenet of cult Bath bar The Dark Horse. It draws a grown-up crowd with its dark basement setting, traditional styling (brawny wooden furniture, button-back sofas and rioja-coloured walls), table service and ultra-local drinks list. Alongside beers and ciders from the Southwest, and English wines and liqueurs are cocktails made with juices pressed to order and homemade syrups, cordials and bitters (often made not just with seasonal ingredients, but locally foraged ones). This experimental approach means there are a few misses – we weren’t wild about our Twelfth Night (Tullamore Dew whiskey, Cocchi Torino, Somerset Pomona and coffee) – but the gamble usually pays off. Dear Prudence (Sipsmith gin with strawberry and lavender syrup, fresh lime and orange bitters) was a triumph. darkhorsebar.co.uk Berdoulat – for foodie souvenirs Over 50 spices from the jar, shelves of small batch wines and a bakery concession can all be found at this impeccably restored grade II listed food emporium. The shop has been a labour of love for Patrick and Nuri, who have uncovered the building’s past to reveal cheesemonger’s receipts and vaults that now nurture plants as an on-site fernery. The couple have curated and crafted their own pieces to sit alongside original apothecary-style furnishings. Order a loose-leaf tea and fresh cinnamon bun or madeleine from Frome’s Rye Bakery concession and head up to the gallery where cookbooks sit alongside candles and aprons for sale. Look out for supper clubs and sophisticated foodie events, including London’s Honey & Co brunch on 9 September. berdoulat.co.uk Elder – for wild game and sophisticated Sunday roasts A series of intimate, green-panelled dining rooms make up Bath’s new restaurant from wild game chef, Mike Robinson. Dark wood floors, framed hunting paintings and terracotta-coloured leather banquettes add a lavish cosiness to the converted Georgian terrace that also houses the city’s boutique Indigo Hotel. Dinners kick off with a complimentary rosemary and sherry-infused venison tea served with crusty, warm granary bread. Highlights of the menu include venison tartare on a squidgy brown butter crumpet, cod cheeks in a creamy guanciale sauce with puffed rice and pea purée, and an elegant black bream fillet with crisp capers and Jersey Royals. Visit on a Sunday to tuck into a sophisticated roast of perfectly pink beef, a dinky copper dish of the crunchiest golden roasties and a Yorkshire pudding filled with caramelised onions and white sauce. theelder.co.uk Kingsmead Street Bottle – for craft beers Step off lively Kingsmead Square into one of Bath’s more contemporary establishments. Scandi interiors include a concrete bar, a few window tables and funky illustrations hand-squiggled onto the wall. Rotating beer taps offer Cornwall’s Verdant Brewing Co, Bath’s own Electric Bear Brewing Co and hoppy Black IPA from North Wales’ Polly’s Brew Co. There’s a fridge of beers by the bottle and plenty of natural wines to take away. If you’re staying in, pair your brews with a Bath-based cheeseboard. The line-up includes nutty, semi-hard Wyfe of Bath and creamy brie-style Bath soft cheese alongside a bespoke chutney made with cider, soft berries and fresh apple. palmerstbottle.co.uk Swoon Gelato – for ice cream Bristol's artisan gelato shop has a second brand in Bath, serving seasonal gelatos and Swoon on a Sticks (think artisan Magnum). Guest flavours include cremino, a heady whirl of vanilla, chocolate and coffee but regular varieties include that children’s holy trinity of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla. swoononaspoon.co.uk Olé Tapas – for Spanish food A tiny, corner tapas bar with charming, Spanish staff, Olé is tucked in above Paxton & Whitfield cheesemongers in Bath. Settle in with a tabla mixta – jamon de bellota, spicy chorizo rounds, soft salami, pink slices of tender cured pork loin, triangles of manchego and goats’ cheese, the obligatory quince paste and bread sticks. Then turn it up a notch with fiery paprika-dusted slices of pulpo a la gallega (Galician octopus), tempura-battered, deep-fried aubergine sticks drizzled with dark honey from Malaga, and ensalada de tomato (the ripest raf tomatoes with aggressive minced raw garlic, earthy dried oregano, and the best Spanish olive oil). Don’t forget drinks as the booze is just as well-considered: think dry manzanilla sherries, white tempranillo riojas and Spanish craft beers (try El Boqueron, made from seawater). Book a table or turn up late (it’s one of the few places in Bath where you can grab a table after 9pm) and eat and drink until you (nearly) fall off the barstools. oletapas.co.uk Mokoko – for coffee There are two elements that set Mokoko apart. One is the coffee, which is all single origin and roasted in-house (as well as the usual flat whites and cappuccinos you can choose between aeropress, chemex and syphon filter coffees). The other is its cakes, which are freshly baked at the Bristol bakery, change regularly and usually include a vegan choice or two. Current picks include the cherry cheesecake cruffin and banana and peanut butter cake. mokokocoffee.com Tea House Emporium – for loose-leaf tea If tea is more your, er, cup of tea, you’re also well catered for in Bath. The Tea House Emporium is great for stocking up on loose-leaf teas, as well as pots, tins and infusers. teahouseemporium.co.uk Where to stay in and near Bath The Royal Crescent Hotel Few visitors to Bath see beyond the façade of the magnificent Royal Crescent, the city’s most impressive landmark. Fewer guess that No 16 extends into beautiful hotel gardens with lavender path, a haven for birds and butterflies where afternoon tea, cocktails and light lunches are taken. Chef Martin Blake balances simplicity with on-trend touches. Montagu’s Mews’ evening tasting menu starts with tiny canapés of Bath Blue cheese and avocado mousse with cucumber and borage. Then shokupan, a soft Japanese-style milk bread with Somerset’s Ivy Farm butter and smoked roe studded with salmon ikura. Hollandaise for beef tartare is spiked with Bath Ale and IP8 (beer) vinegar. A forced rhubarb dessert is softened with olive oil and vanilla. The comprehensive wine list includes confident choices such as a barrel-aged assyrtiko. The hotel’s five-star spa includes a heated pool with sauna and steam, tranquil treatment rooms and a small garden where you can relax after a swim, still in your robe if you like. Rooms are built for comfort and luxury, some with terraces and views on to the gardens or over the sweeping lawns of the Crescent. Fireplaces in bedrooms may be filled with decorative pinecones, modern art sits alongside vintage portraits and busts, and everywhere the outside is brought in with plants and floral displays. Rooms from £435 per night, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com Homewood Set in 20 acres of rolling gardens and woodland just outside Bath, Homewood is a boutique country house hotel that gives you the option to easily explore the country or city. The honey-coloured stone building is framed by landscaped grounds with an outdoor terrace overlooking the well-tended gardens and the Somerset hills. The heated outdoor pool and whirlpool are the perfect place to relax after a day exploring and you can order drinks and light snacks straight to your sun lounger. It's well worth prioritising a weekend where you can book into La Taberna, set in a vibrant orangery you are treated to an extensive Sunday lunch cooked over open flames. The meal starts with a glass of champagne and a private tour of the stunning fruit and vegetable gardens, the menu makes the most of their homegrown products and you can expect flame-grilled cote de bouef served with garden vegetables, new potatoes, cauliflower cheese and a rich bone marrow gravy. The table is set with freshly-cut flowers and it’s a social affair with guests sat around one long but lavishly decorated table. Children are welcomed with the same warmth as all their guests, special treats include a complimentary pick and mix sweet bar and dedicated play spaces, however the overall feel is calm and luxurious so it’s perfect for an adult-only weekend too. From £230 her night including breakfast, check availability at homewoodbath.co.uk Hotel Indigo A honey-hued Georgian terrace in the heart of Bath is home to this 166-room hotel that nods to the city’s past. Depending on your choice of room, individual quirks include exposed sand stone, murals that reach all corners and funky wallpaper. Smaller details add extra charm – manuscripts and maps on the walls, old-school telephones on side tables and velvet headboards that frame comfy Hypnos beds. Bathrooms offer lavish touches, including vibrant foliage-adorned wallpaper, walk-in rainforest showers and a selection of Bramley products. Aside from its location, the hotel’s biggest pull is the ground floor restaurant. Before dinner, prop up the bar on a plush red leather stool with a Kamm & Sons English spritz or a barrel-aged negroni. Pad through The Elder’s cosy rooms to tuck into wild game dishes and lavish Sunday roasts (more information above). bath.hotelindigo.com From £115 per night, including breakfast, check availability at booking.com. Eight Just a few cobbled steps away from big-hitting local attractions such as Bath Abbey and the Roman Baths, this hotel’s two beautiful bow windows give passers-by a glimpse into this recently revamped and restored townhouse on North Parade Passage. Rooms are decked out in a palette of chic, neutral greys with colour pop accents – burnt orange in our superior double – on velvet furnishings and thoughtful illustrative artwork. There are a variety of tea and coffee pods for the Magimix drinks machines, as well as homemade shortbread in a Kilner jar for dunking (though UHT milk is a disappointing surprise; there are no in-room fridges). There’s an unexpectedly cool bar below the hotel for its residents. It makes the most of its medieval structure, with cavernous original fireplaces and stone stairways to nowhere. Decked out in shades of opulent dark blue and emerald, set off with the odd metallic shimmer from gently flickering lanterns and collections of statement mirrors, it feels like the perfect ‘secret’ spot to hunker down after dark. From £141 per night, including breakfast; check availability at booking.com. The Bath Priory At first glance, everything in this honey-stoned country house hotel on the fringes of Bath is pretty much as it’s been for decades, from the ticking clocks and carefully plumped sofas in the library to the starched white tablecloths and synchronised cloche flourishes in the dining room. But appearances can deceive. In the kitchen, Michael Nizzero's style is modern classical French (no sous-vide cooking here) but with a delicate touch and clean flavours. His star-studded CV includes not only the three-Michelin-starred Waterside Inn at Bray where he worked alongside Michel and Alain Roux, but the Hostellerie La Briqueterie in France (where he won a star while executive chef) and most recently The Ritz. From £219 per night, check availability at booking.com. Timbrell’s Yard, Bradford on Avon Doubles from £88 per night, check availability at booking.com In a converted Grade II-listed building, tucked away by the river near the iconic Town Bridge and Lock Up, Timbrell’s Yard provides the perfect hideout for a gastro pub style weekend getaway. With a well-stocked bar buffeted by smartly upholstered sofas and wooden tables, plus a large restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, you need only leave Timbrell’s Yard to stroll up through the town’s honey-stone houses to cafes, shops and delis, or to stride out along the banks of the River Avon into the Wiltshire countryside. Check availability at booking.com Hare & Hounds This stone-built, dog-friendly inn is only a mile from Bath city centre, but nevertheless the Hare & Hounds is surrounded by beautiful countryside and extensive gardens. From the terrace, there are sweeping 10-mile views across the city towards Solsbury Hill, an Iron Age hill fort immortalised in song by Peter Gabriel. Perhaps the best views in the city (along with those of the Packhorse Inn, a community-run pub on the southern slopes of the city with a fabulously set beer garden). The Hare & Hounds garden comes into its own in the summer, with its large lawn, picnic benches and children’s play area. It all makes for a lovely spot to enjoy a pint of Somerset-brewed Butcombe ale and simple dishes such as beer-battered fish and chips, or mash and beef braised in red wine. hareandhoundsbath.com Best food shops in Bath If you’re self-catering in Bath, make a beeline for some of Bath’s best independent food and drink stores – among them The Fine Cheese Co. and Paxton & Whitfield for cheese, and Wolf Wine and Independent Spirit for booze. Head along Walcot Street to Didi Cakes and pick up something from its vast range of cupcakes (peanut butter, Black Forest and passionfruit cheesecake among them), a slice of vegan banana bread or a pear and almond tart to take away and eat in nearby Hedgemead Park. For more conventional baked goods, Bath’s most famous bakery is arguably the Bertinet Bakery (which also has a nearby cookery school in Bath). It's known for its traditionally made breads – sourdoughs, ciabattas, baguettes and focaccias – but if you want a sugar hit, look out for their superior twist on a Bath bun, essentially a sugar-topped sweet roll. For foodie souvenirs, make your way to Mr B’s Emporium and Topping & Co. for cookbooks, Magalleria for obscure indie food magazines, and Rossiters for cookware. Bath is also home to various markets, including Bath Farmers Market, which takes place at Green Park Station every Saturday morning and draws some of the region’s best small produce traders. You can pick up a wedge of Westcombe Dairy’s tangy Somerset Cheddar or try a pint of Dick Willows’ proper West Country cider (Green Park Station). On the third Sunday of the month between March and October there's also the Independent Bath Market for high quality baked goods, cheeses, charcuterie, preserves and pickles. 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Creative cruffins, lively pizza spots and coral-pink rose gin and tonics are the highlights in this artsy coastal town
Looking for Penzance restaurants? Here are our favourite restaurants in the Cornish town. Although Penzance may lack the cachet of neighbouring St Ives and Padstow, it has a rootsy, sea-blown charm that feels gutsier than many of Cornwall’s harbour towns. Its streets and shopping arcades are ramshackle and bohemian, and the place is bathed in that same soft, wispy light that has inspired artists for centuries. Drawn by its no-fuss atmosphere and supportive community, artisans have moved in, seeking an affordable, unpretentious place to develop their products. For more travel inspiration, check out our guide to the best Cornwall hotels for food lovers and the best restaurants in Cornwall. Jump to: Best places to eat and drink in Penzance Where to stay in Penzance Best places to eat and drink in Penzance Loafs This neighbourhood bakery, found in the heart of Penzance, is a one-stop shop for all things baked, from hearty sausage rolls and sandwiches, to creative cruffins and all the classics in-between. Speciality coffee is on offer to complement your pastry, made using beans from the brilliant Square Mile Coffee Roasters. The black-tiled exterior and fun branding shows it doesn't take itself too seriously, but when it comes to bread and croissants, it's not messing around. instagram.com/loafsbakery/ Barbican Bistro Barbican Bistro is a family affair, run by local brothers Jack and Jay Liddicoat. The duo pride themselves on championing suppliers from the area, including fish from their dad Shane, who delivers it straight off the boat from Newlyn. The charming historic building overlooks Penzance Harbour and has a menu of small plates to share – highlights include crab croquettes with brown crab mayo and lemon sole fillets with wild mushrooms and garlic. barbicanbistro.com Pizza Plz Found on Market Jew Street in the very centre of town, Pizza Plz serves Neapolitan-inspired pizza and Italian bar snacks. The lively corner spot offers a few sit-in stools, but most choose to takeaway their order. The menu features all the familiar favourites alongside a few seasonal specials, like the popular ‘The Pleeze Burger’ pizza. A small drinks menu includes Italian and local Cornish beers, and devoted fans can pick up some quirky Pizza Plz merch. pizzaplz.co.uk 45 Queen Street Tucked away on (as the name suggests) 45 Queen Street, this friendly spot is a neighbourhood bar, kitchen, deli and shop that's open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, but also regularly used for events. Owned and run by couple Hannah and Sam, the business has evolved since they took over the once-abandoned warehouse in 2017. Now the venue is beautiful and bustling, serving wholesome seasonal plates and a drinks list features cocktails using their own Tinkture rose gin. 45queenst.com Polgoon Vineyard Polgoon is a vineyard and orchard just outside Penzance that offers tours and wine tastings on a 24-acre estate. Owners Kim and John Coulson battle against the Cornish climate to produce up to 30,000 bottles of wines a year, as well as a range of ciders and juices. Sit under the dappled shade of the site’s vine-wrapped courtyard café and sip chilled bacchus and eat a chunky wedge of crab sandwich. Inheriting the land with a house, the family at first struggled to know what to do with it. They opted for a vineyard, hand-planted 3,000 vines, paid their children 5p for each snail they collected and, four years later, picked their first harvest. The result is on sale in the vineyard’s shop, along with local crisps and ciders, seaweeds and salts, teas and chocolates, ice creams, honey, beer, relishes and preserves. polgoon.com Penzance Farmer’s Market For fresh produce, Penzance Farmers’ Market is the place. Held every Friday in St John’s Hall, its gingham-covered tables are laden with fruit and vegetables, just-baked breads, cakes, Cornish cheeses and Wild Smoked’s products. penzancefarmersmarket.wordpress.com Where to stay in Penzance Artist Residence hotel A coolly colourful 17-bedroom hotel in Penzance’s old quarter, this hotel has a relaxed vibe (checked blankets, yellow Roberts radios, contemporary artworks) and a retro-chic restaurant and bar, The Cornish Barn. The menu includes meat and fish from its in-house smokehouse and tapas-style dishes of deep-fried squid with chilli, lime and salt, and parsnip rösti with caramelised shallots and goat’s cheese. Dessert includes rum-infused crème brûlée, hazelnut brittle and homemade banana ice cream. artistresidencecornwall.co.uk Doubles from £143, check availability at booking.com or mrandmrssmith.com Chapel House Chapel House is a graceful, light-filled Georgian home in Penzance’s Old Quarter, where white walls are hung with landscape paintings by students at nearby Newlyn School of Art and where antique furniture sits alongside stylish Nordic pieces. The six rooms all have sea views, painted white floors and vibrant modern artworks. The huge, stone-flagged, kitchen diner in the basement is the scene of owner Susan’s regular weekend suppers, and lengthy brunches. Susan champions local producers, rarely straying far from Penzance to buy ingredients. Try the breakfast speciality: cod’s roe, smoked bacon, samphire and a poached egg. It’s a cheap, nutritious dish and it’s easy to see how it became a favourite with fishermen. Check rates and availability at chapelhousepz.co.uk More travel inspiration... Best restaurants in Brighton Best restaurants in the Cotswolds Best restaurants in Northumberland Best restaurants in Whitstable 14 small towns across the UK every foodie should visit The UK's best pubs with rooms UK boutique hotels for food lovers 10 exciting UK city breaks for food lovers Best restaurants with rooms UK spa hotels for food lovers Best romantic UK hotels Best seaside staycations 13 day trips from London by train
Best restaurants in Frome, Somerset: where locals eat and drink
Totter along the cobbles of this Somerset market town and you’ll stumble across a trove of indie food shops, cafés and stalls serving local cheeses, ciders and dumplings
Looking for places to eat in Frome? Read our expert guide for the best places to eat in Frome, great places to stay in Frome, and the best bars and pubs in this Somerset town. Discover more UK foodie guides with our roundup of the best restaurants in Bath, best restaurants in Nottingham and best restaurants in Cornwall. Best places to eat and drink in Frome Best street food in Frome – At the Station Behind its historic architecture, Frome is a town packed with foodie character and modern entrepreneurial spirit, well connected to the area’s farming landscape. The Station is an excellent compilation, bringing an eclectic mixture of independent food and drink businesses under one roof just back from the railway. Its placement is easily accessible by public transport and within walking distance from the town centre. On summer evenings it's a free-flowing space for outdoor eating and music with an indoor gallery at its centre. Pre-order a cheeseboard from The Cheese Lord for pairing with new-wave artisanal wines. For something more filling, opt for a seasonally topped wood-fire pizza from Rye Bakery, a South Indian inspired feast from Lungi Babas or the weekly changing silly sausage hot dog from Owen’s Sausages & Hams. Dietary requirements like gluten-free options are catered for. You’re guaranteed to leave well fed, watered and full of family-friendly merriment. discoverfrome.co.uk/meet-the-recent-arrivals-the-station/ Best place for chocolate in Frome – Choc et al This family-run gourmet chocolate shop is on Cheap Street, one of the quaintest spots in Frome (there’s even a little stream cut into the street’s flagstone floor). Choc et al stocks a range of carefully produced local chocolates, including toasted pistachio and cinnamon milk chocolate from Seven Hills in Bath and peanut and caramel chocolate salami sticks from Wiltshire’s Coco Chemistry. Stop by in the summer for a soft-serve ice cream made with Ivy House Farm organic Jersey milk – it comes drizzled with melted chocolate, or bejewelled with sprinkles. In the cooler months it’s all about Choc et Al’s real hot chocolate, or there are thick banana milkshakes to enjoy (with a dairy-free option for vegans). Best restaurant in Frome – Bistro Lotte At the top of pretty Catherine Street, Bistro Lotte is an unpretentious bistro with bedrooms to boot. Expect classic French dishes (charcuterie platters, moules frites, coq au vin and boeuf bourguignon – locally sourced meat comes from butcher J Cayford next door) as well as a few surprises such as aubergine and potato croquettes. Best bar in Frome – Palmer Street Bottle At bottle shop, cheese store and tap bar, Palmer Street Bottle, you can eat and drink in, or take away. The bar has a selection of craft beers and ciders, as well as wines and spirits. Try a Somerset rarebit (made with local cheddar) with a bottle of the house brew, Bear Cub IPA. Best market in Frome – The Frome Independent During The Frome Independent, an indie market that runs each month from March to December, streets are closed off to make way for antiques, crafts, food stalls and families dancing on the ‘village green’. Graze on dosas from Dosa Tom, Ah-Ma’s dumplings or an epic waffle from The Bubble Wafflery. Best dessert café in Frome – Café La Strada At the end of medieval Cheap Street, which has a stream trickling down its middle, Café La Strada’s main selling point is its ice cream and sorbet counter. Made fresh in-house using organic Ivy House Farm milk from nearby Beckington, flavours are a mix of regular (pistachio, rich chocolate) and seasonal (jasmine and honey). Best pub in Frome – The Three Swans For a pint of Ashton Press cider and a homemade scotch egg or pork pie, head to The Three Swans, a 17th-century pub in the centre of the town with a cosy, sociable atmosphere. Its Sunday lunches are epic. Best brunch in Frome – The River House café Despite an impressive selection of cakes (shout out to the fresh chai and pear doughnuts), brunch is what The River House café does best. Try the french toast with goat’s cheese and figs, or the vegan brekkie with crispy coconut ‘bacon’, marinated tofu, wilted greens, mushrooms, potato, avocado and homemade beans. Best breakfast bowl, poké and juice bar in Frome – Nook Run by Millie Clifford and Jake Andrew, who met while working at Bruton restaurant At The Chapel, Nook was dreamt up on the beach in Byron Bay. What Frome needed, the couple mused, was decent, healthy takeaway food that was affordable and quick. The locals agree. Whether queuing up for a sit-in cold-pressed juice (try the green one – a refreshing slick of kale, apple, celery, cucumber and mint) or standing in line for a smoothie and a gluten-free beetroot and cacao brownie to takeaway, this appropriately named café (it’s tiny) is unswervingly busy. The menu is short but neat, with breakfast bowls served from 8am to 4pm (acai, bircher muesli, house granola or cacao and nut butter) and poké bowls served from noon to 4pm; choose one base (rice, noodles or citrus kale salad), one main addition (salmon, tuna, chicken, tofu or beetroot), one sauce (the eight flavours include sriracha mayo and ponzu) and one topping (spicy peanut, nori and sesame or crispy onions). In winter there are ramen-style noddle bowls too. We tried the tuna poké bowl with nutty brown sushi rice, zingy ponzu dressing, a smattering of toasted peanuts and black sesame seeds, some expertly diced mango, a curl or two of shaved cucumber and a smidge of soy. It was the real deal, the flavours subtly vibrant, the presentation artfully precise. Throw in a handful of enthusiastic young staff, a zeitgeisty provision of vegan and veggie options and on-message eco awareness and you’ve got the perfect recipe for Frome’s missing foodie link. @nooktheshop Best bakery in Frome – Rye Bakery Inside a restored church, Rye Bakery is one of the most family-friendly spots in town. Enjoy an americano and a slice of the legendary vegan chocolate cake while the kids explore the indoor playground. Take away a loaf of artisan bread, then return for a pizza or a venison flatbread with harissa, Hurdlebrook yogurt and pickled red cabbage. Where to stay in Frome Babington House, Somerset The original cool country house hotel, Babington, was one of the very first Soho House Group properties to open. Tucked away down an avenue of trees outside Frome (check out our foodie guide to the best places to eat and drink in Frome here), in the Somerset countryside, the honey-stone 18th century manor house is part members’ club, part hotel (it’s open to all but there are reduced rates for members). All of the hotel’s 33 rooms are atmospheric and beautifully, if femininely, styled. For groups of friends, the old gatekeeper’s lodge, at the end of the main drive, is a self-contained, three-bedroom cottage. In all the rooms, the detail is the impressive thing: full-length mirrors come as standard,, chargers are provided for laptops and phones, hot water bottles are supplied for chillier nights, full-size Cowshed toiletries in the bathrooms and homemade chocolate chip cookies in the minibar. Entertainment is in plentiful supply. Within the extensive grounds, you’ll find a gym, two swimming pools (one indoors, under a beautiful timber-trussed ceiling, the other a sleek outdoor number fringed by a giant L-shaped green-and-white striped lounger), tennis courts, a football pitch, croquet lawn, cricket pitch, beautiful sage-green, leather-seated bikes to borrow, a cinema and a sauna, hammam and steam rooms. Overlooking the extensive kitchen garden there’s also a full-service Cowshed spa (book a marhalika massage, an intense but deeply relaxing and unusual treatment that blends Swedish and Thai methods – think sports massage mixed with acupressure). For dinner, book a window table in the main restaurant, the Orangery, and enjoy sweeping views of the lawn and the lake through towering Georgian windows while you eat. If you want a more casual supper, head to the bar to snack on spiced cauliflower fritters and Scotch eggs or sit down to imaginative salads (Castlemead chicken with spiced chickpeas and harissa yoghurt), wood-fired pizzas and pub favourites. The sprawling breakfast buffet is not to be missed, and nor is the complimentary afternoon tea spread out in the deli each afternoon – impossible to resist. Check rates and availability at mrandmrssmith.com HOW TO GET TO FROME Return rail fares from London to Frome cost from £26.60 (nationalrail.co.uk). TRUST OLIVE Kate Hackworthy is a Frome-based cookery writer and blogger. Her debut cookbook, Veggie Desserts and Cakes (£14.99, Pavilion Books) is out now. Follow her on @kateveggiedesserts and at veggiedesserts.co.uk.
Get your burger fix courtesy of Britain’s finest patty purveyors, from Korean brisket burgers in the North West, to beef short rib cheeseburgers in the capital
Looking for the best burger restaurants across the UK? Want to know where to find the best gourmet burgers? Read on for our restaurant guide, or check out our burger recipes here... Best burger restaurants in London… Buster's, Brixton A stone’s throw from Brixton station is potentially the best new burger in London. You’ll find it at Buster’s, effectively a hole in the wall joint, bar a few small tables, serving up delicious wagyu beef and fried chicken burgers. The London restaurant scene is full of spots trying to claim they do ‘simple things, executed perfectly’ but Buster’s is a spot that is actually nailing it. The wagyu cheeseburger is made up of tender meat, seasoned perfectly and cooked to a juicy medium. The green peppercorn dijonaise adds a welcome acidity, and the potato roll it is all sandwiched between is soft and bouncy. The chicken burger is equally excellent, crispy, juicy and served with plenty of pickles. The IPA cheese sauce is aerated and rich, perfect for dipping lots of hot, crispy fries in. We finished off the meal with a chocolate mousse, which was light but decadent. If you’re looking for a great burger south of the river, Buster’s is where it’s at. busterslondon.co.uk Supra Burger, Queen's Park Housed as a permanent pop-up in the cosy rotisserie restaurant Cocotte, Supra does smashed burgers and it does them well. The burger menu is short and the five burgers on offer are a variation on double stacked smashed cheeseburger, to which you can add bacon or salad, or change up the sauce to make it a Supra, truffle or barbecue burger. The burgers are generously portioned but without being too big to eat. There’s attention to detail in the preparation, along with the use of high-quality ingredients, resulting in burgers that are juicy, flavourful and smashed to perfection. The fries are crisp, golden and fresh from the fryer, and a side of chicken tenders were succulent from what we guessed must have been a wet brine. As well as a choice of six sauces (the burnt chilli was our favourite), there’s a short list of desserts. We tried the Mont Blanc, which was a tall sundae of sweetened chestnut purée, vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and almonds. There’s a fair few eateries on this stretch of leafy Queen's Park and Supra is now the go-to for burgers. supra-burger.com MEATLiquor, Clapham November marks 10 years since the first MEATliquor restaurant launched. Their origins from a burger van in Peckham, to a pop-up above an abandoned pub in New Cross, couldn' be further from the latest venture — and biggest yet — in Clapham's Old Town. The huge space has two bars, a heated outdoor dining area with TVs and a large projector and photo booth inside. Everything about MEATliquor is full-on — from the graffiti-led design and the music played, to the flavours on the menu, a mix of American diner specials, all with a MEATliquor twist. Burger aficionados will point to the Dead Hippie: a French's-mustard-fried double patty with onions, cheese, lettuce and pickles all within a soft bun that soaks up the good stuff. Buffalo chicken wings are a match for any of those found in the US and the loaded fries on offer are a meal within themselves. There are a range of vegetarian and vegan options — from the Tempeh Tantrum patty to the Black Bean Chilli Dog. The drinks list is a mix of craft beers and cocktails, and that's before you hit the 'Poke For Jäger' button on your table. meatliquor.com Tucka Burger, Shoreditch Andy Gardener and Lachy Brown met at school in Australia, and both moved to London to pursue careers in accountancy and consulting. Lachy says: “We quickly realised our passion lay elsewhere, and so in July 2018 we turned to our burger truck dream.” The beef is a high-fat blend of chuck, brisket and bone marrow, which has been dry-aged for 35 days. Try the signature Tom Tucka American cheeseburger, or the vegetarian What the Tuck (beef is substituted for grilled halloumi). “Our burgers are incredibly juicy and messy,” says Lachy. tuckaburger.co.uk Hawksmoor, London This upmarket steakhouse chain also serves a mean burger – notably the £17.50 beef short rib cheeseburger with kimchi, which was launched in 2010 when the Seven Dials restaurant opened. Inspired by a trip to Seoul, it features Hawksmoor’s own kimchi, the recipe for which you can find in the Hawksmoor at Home cookbook. thehawksmoor.com Bleecker, London What started as a street-food truck by former corporate lawyer Zan Kaufman now has three sites in Bloomberg, Victoria and Old Spitalfields Market. Bleecker serves six burgers with a range of fries, including the “angry” version with hot sauce and blue cheese sauce. The patties are made with native-breed beef, and brand director Liam O’Keefe says the secret blend they’ve created helps the butcher use the whole animal. “We believe we have the best-tasting beef burger possible,” he says. bleecker.co.uk Black Bear Burger, E1 (Shoreditch) This Box Park Shoreditch operation keeps things simple with three classic burger options. Stew Down, who opened Black Bear alongside his wife Liz, says: “We don’t mess around with gimmicks – everything in our burgers is there for one reason: flavour.” Beef comes from grass-fed South West native breeds (Stew’s family are beef farmers in Devon), and the most popular burger is the Black Bear: dry-aged beef, American cheese, bacon, onion jam and garlic mayo in a super-light seeded bun. It’s the balance of flavours that sets these burgers apart – Stew says that they’re keen to avoid overpowering sauces, incorrect seasoning and unnecessary ingredients. blackbearburger.com The Wigmore, W1 (Oxford Cirus) An upmarket pub just off Regent Street and Oxford Circus, The Wigmore serves a mean cheeseburger with grilled ox tongue. It was created by head chef James Hawley, who says the idea came from enjoying ox tongue and English mustard rolls when he was a kid. The Wigmore burger also features a caramelised onion brioche bun, crispy shallots and the same melted three-cheese mix used in the pub’s signature toasties. the-wigmore.co.uk Best burger restaurants across the UK… Bunsen, Belfast Keeping it simple and using high-quality ingredients (such as Black Aberdeen Angus beef minced on site every morning, and homemade soft Amish dinner rolls) is what sets Belfast’s Bunsen apart from competitors. It’s a straightforward choice between classic hamburger or cheeseburger, the latter of which includes a special blend of comté and monterey jack. bunsen.ie Steak & Honour, Cambridge Steak & Honour (which also has mobile burger vans across Cambridge) serves three types of burger: classic, cheese and a veggie shroom. The meat patties are made with 100% hand-minced chuck beef from cattle that graze East Anglian pastures and water meadows. Nothing is added except Maldon salt as they sizzle, and Dovecote Bakery created the brioche bun recipe for them. Order a side of three-cheese mac ’n’ cheese, too, which comes sliced and grilled. steakandhonour.co.uk Patty & Bun, Brighton Eight Patty & Bun branches have opened in London and Brighton over the past seven years. It’s known for impeccable sourcing – beef from HG Walter, bespoke buns from Bread Ahead, cheese from Neal’s Yard and Kupros Dairy – and bestsellers include the Lambshank Redemption: a lamb patty with coriander and chilli, buttermilk baby courgettes, pickled aubergine, cumin aïoli and feta. pattyandbun.co.uk Hills, Brecon A mile outside the town and overlooking the Brecon Beacons, the glass-fronted Hills restaurant is a destination that attracts thousands of diners every month. Owain and Emily Hill showcase Welsh produce in their burgers, with signature options including a chips and gravy cheeseburger, sweet and sour chicken burger, and pulled pork with hoisin and soy sauce burger. Hills uses aged PGI Welsh beef from local butcher Paddy Sweeney, and cooks its burgers using the ‘smashed’ method, creating an incredible crust and flavour. Each burger comes with two 3.5oz smashed patties and a blend of monterey jack and American cheese as standard. hillsbrecon.co.uk Blas Burgerworks, St Ives, Cornwall “Not fast, just fabulous” is the motto at Blas Burgerworks, the tiny restaurant and takeaway close to St Ives harbour. Now into its 14th year, it has become something of a local institution thanks to an unwavering commitment to provenance and sourcing. Beef comes from nearby Trevaskis Farm, Cornish potatoes are used for the hand-cut chips, and all the sauces are made on the premises. Blas Burgerworks also makes a mean vegetarian organic black bean burger, and occasionally serves a special mackerel burger using fish landed in the bay around the corner. blasburgerworks.co.uk Libertine Burger, Leamington Spa Charles Harris of Libertine Burger says that the main reason his patties stand out is the quality of the meat. It’s a mix of double-ground chuck, brisket and flank from 35-day dry-aged Angus beef, supplied by renowned butcher, Aubrey Allen. Hand-smashing the patties to order on a really hot grill lends a great crust. The Warwickshire punters also love the buttermilk fried chicken burger. libertineburger.com Squeezed, Bristol He might be cooking in a tiny shipping container on Bristol’s harbourside but Squeezed founder Alex Hayes was still crowned burger chef of the year at the National Burger Awards 2019. Signatures include the Beetlejuice (double beef patty, smoked bacon, cheese, black garlic, squid-ink aïoli and gochujang ketchup) and the Reverse Cowgirl (beef patty, smoked bacon, peanut chipotle BBQ and charred scallion soured cream). Alex says: “You can taste every element, as well as the overall flavour profile.” bristolsqueezed.co.uk Fat Hippo, Newcastle, Durham and Sheffield “Get ready to sink your teeth into something juicy,” is one tagline at the Fat Hippo, which started life in Newcastle and has since added Durham, Jesmond and Sheffield branches to its empire. The idea is indulgence, messy fingers and a full belly. The Bubba Gump burger, for example, includes a double patty, cheese, popcorn shrimp, smoked bacon and pickleback slaw. fathippo.co.uk The Beefy Boys, Hereford The Beefy Boys are four childhood friends who have always loved cooking burgers at garden BBQs. They’re regular competitors at worldwide burger championships (their next challenge in October takes them to Dallas, Texas) but, following a series of pop-ups across Hereford, the crew now has a restaurant in the city. Co-founder Murf says: “The Beefy Boys are the definition of a drunken BBQ that’s got seriously out of hand... so much so that we now own a restaurant, a food truck and an events business.” Murf puts their success down to local Hereford beef (100% chuck and brisket), toasting the bun with bacon fat, butter or aged beef fat, and seasoning. “We also steam our burgers, a tip we picked up from American diners. You spray water onto the hot plate, then steam the burgers under a cloche – it heats the bun up and melts the cheese, making the whole thing come together in a cacophony of cheesy, meaty goodness.” thebeefyboys.com Free State Kitchen, Liverpool “We serve straightforward American classics,” says Kate Hughes of Liverpool’s Free State Kitchen, whose bestseller after six years of business is still the cheeseburger (served in a locally baked brioche bun). The core menu may stay the same, but Free State Kitchen likes to use its specials board to mix things up on a regular basis. Expect treats such as the Korean brisket burger, made with locally produced kimchi, bulgogi-style beef and a crispy fried egg. freestatekitchen.co.uk Slap & Pickle, Leeds James Tabor and Zoe Perret run Slap & Pickle at Assembly Underground, a street-food hub located in the basement of a Grade-II building in Leeds city centre. The burgers are made from 100% grass-fed Yorkshire beef, and showcase a signature blend of chuck, short rib and clod. James says: “We can serve every item on our menu in meaty, veggie or vegan incarnations, and we make all of it ourselves. We don’t buy ‘science-lab fake meats’, because they’re all horrible.” slapandpickle.co.uk Big Boys, Folkestone Brothers Gareth Attwell and Guy Meurice launched Big Boys in 2014, and have made it to the finals of the National Burger Awards twice since then. Chef Gareth worked in top-end restaurants for 16 years, including spells with Marcus Wareing. The burgers are made with local rare-breed beef (matured for 28 days) and French brioche buns (or even mac ’n’ cheese ‘buns’, pictured). Big Boys are well known for their specials – try the Fat Elvis for its peanut butter, raspberry jelly and bacon jam. bigboysburgers.co.uk El Perro Negro, Glasgow Nick Watkins started El Perro Negro as a kitchen takeover pop-up, but it became such a hit with Glasgow burger fans that it was a permanent restaurant by 2018 (and winner at the National Burger Awards 2019). Using beef from small local farms, specials include the Top Dog, with bone marrow and roquefort butter, bacon and black truffle mayo, and the Black Dog, which adds black pudding to the mix. Nick says: “We don’t attempt to reinvent the wheel, we just use great beef, great bread and great ingredients. Our short rib and marrow patty gives a super juicy burger, with a really intense bovine flavour. The beef should be the star of the show. Anything that goes on the patty is there to complement the beef, not drown it out.” @ElPerroNegroGLA Magu, Bath Magu founder Leon Dunnett makes his own sauces and serves fantastic smashed beef patties in bespoke buns. But his Bath diner has also gained a formidable reputation for the veggie burger with Somerset-made halloumi, roasted Mediterranean vegetables, pickled red onion and mint yogurt. magudiner.com Meat:Stack, Newcastle Following pop-ups around Newcastle, Meat:Stack found a permanent home in the city’s Grainger Market. Its American cheeseburgers are the stuff of legend, especially the Cease and Desist (made with rare-breed dry-aged beef, smoked bacon, mascarpone and black garlic honey). “We are obsessive about simplicity and clarity of flavour,” says co-founder Tom Westman. The beef is cooked on a searing hot grill, then steamed, and you should order a portion of beef dripping fries on the side. meat-stack.com Honest Burgers, across the UK With more than 30 sites across the UK, Honest Burgers has a point of difference from other chains – it’s heavily invested in its own butchery, with each restaurant making burgers from scratch. Co-founder Tom Barton says: “From day one we’ve made the majority of our menu in-house, starting with chips, relish, pickles and sauces. By having our own butchery, we now know exactly where our beef comes from. We also love working with nearby suppliers, whether it’s for a local burger (every branch of Honest has one) or a local brewery.” honestburgers.co.uk Hoof, Cardiff Sibling business to Cardiff’s Dusty Knuckle Pizza, Hoof has a permanent residency at the city’s Sticky Fingers street-food market in the Brewery Quarter. It serves a 100% Welsh beef featherblade patty with Teifi cheese, pickles, cultured cream and sweet chilli herb sauce. One of the secrets of their success, according to owner Phil Lewis, is the fact award-winning Hay-on-Wye baker Alex Gooch provides the buns. “Alex’s organic challah buns are slightly spongy and a bit crusty. They hold together perfectly and are a great marriage with our beef patties, especially when grilled with dripping.” @hoofcdf Original Patty Men, Birmingham “Our tag line is ‘Purveyors of Filth’ and we do our best to live up to that,” says Thomas Maher, director of Birmingham’s Original Patty Men. Five burgers are on the menu, including the Pineapple Express (aged longhorn beef patty, maple-coated bacon, lettuce, roquito chilli pepper, fresh tomato, cheddar and pineapple hot sauce). Thomas says: “Our suppliers list is something we’re incredibly proud of, and the majority supply Michelin-starred restaurants across the country. Our style of cooking is just a bit different to theirs!” originalpattymen.com Words by Mark Taylor Photographs by Justin D Esouza, David Griffen, Ed Sowerby
Totnes, Devon foodie guide: where locals eat and drink
The mung bean- and homemade yoghurt-loving reputation of the locals is being ripped up by an influx of young chefs more interested in craft beers, artisan cheeses and contemporary osteria-style cooking
Looking for Totnes restaurants? Here are our favourite restaurants in the south Devon town, plus where to get the best pizza, wine and artisan cheeses. The Bull Inn Geetie Singh-Watson was awarded with an MBE after opening the UK’s first organic gastropub, The Duke of Cambridge, in north London in 1998. Come autumn 2019, Geetie will open The Bull Inn, a Grade-II organic pub with nine bedrooms, in Totnes. The setting couldn’t be more fitting. Totnes is one of the UK’s greenest towns, with a high street made up of independent and eco-friendly businesses, including the UK’s first zero-waste shop, just around the corner from The Bull Inn. Brought up on a self-sufficient commune in the shadow of the Malvern Hills, Geetie has felt deeply in touch with the land from an early age. Just as at The Duke of Cambridge, The Bull will be organic and run with minimum environmental impact. Water will be warmed by solar panels and heat recaptured from the kitchen, furniture will be reclaimed, organic linens will come from local firm Greenfibres and mattresses for the bedrooms will be handmade (using Dartmoor sheep’s wool) by Exeter-based Naturalmat. Interiors will largely be left in a natural, stripped-back state, with lime plaster and exposed stone walls. As for the food, chef James Dodd will be cooking veg-heavy meat and fish dishes. Think tender grilled monkfish with braised white beans, fennel and oregano, or roast local venison with bright salt-baked beets. Curator Kitchen In a clean and bright first-floor space, Ancona-born Matteo Lamaro creates seasonal Italian dishes in the Curator Kitchen, a modern osteria he launched in 2015. Amid decor that’s part rustic Italian and part pared-down Scandi (large windows, painted floorboards and menus written on blackboards) Lamaro serves monthly-rotating menus that are heavy on produce from the Totnes area, as well as Matteo’s home in Le Marche, where he has built up a network of artisan producers - his ‘Italian Food Heroes’. Typical dishes include slow-cooked lamb ragu with orange zest served on freshly-rolled fettucini; red mullet and agrodolce lentils jewelled with soaked raisins, toasted spelt and oven-roasted tomatoes; and warming Italian panettone bread and butter pudding with orange caramel sauce and vanilla gelato. The wine list is pretty special too: Matteo is the only business in the UK to serve Col di Corte wines from Le Marche, including refreshing Verdicchio Superiore and Verdicchio Clasico. Check out our full review of Curator Kitchen here The Curator Café If you haven’t got room for a more leisurely meal, grab a coffee and cake at The Curator Café, Lamaro’s more casual sister business downstairs. Flat whites, cappuccinos and macchiatos are expertly made with an Adonis coffee machine (using Italian wood-roast coffee from family-run firm, Fazenda UK) and nut-flower and polenta cakes, with seasonal fruit toppings, are a step above the norm. italianfoodheroes.com The Totnes Brewing Co. With a staggering range of over 100 craft beers, ales and ciders (from the local area and beyond) this lively drinking den has become an unsurprisingly popular gathering point in the town. Most drinks come in 1/3 pints, so you can taste your way through Thistly Cross traditional cider after Glastonbury’s American Pale after Bristol Beer Factory’s Seven without overdoing it. Settle into a booth with a few board games and a pint or two of whatever is on tap that day. There's a beer garden out the back that's popular with locals, and plenty of open mic nights and monthly vinyl nights when punters can bring their own vinyl to play and dance along to. barrelhousetotnes.co.uk Roly's Fudge This Totnes institution has been making crumbly artisan fudge for nearly three decades so they know what they’re doing when it comes to the sweet stuff. Huge copper pans are used to make Roly’s favourite flavours - lashings of Devon butter goes in to traditional vanilla clotted cream, rum ‘n’ raisin is spiked with rich, dark rum for a luxurious treat, and lemon meringue makes a tangy surprise. Buy a slab to snack on, or pretty bags of fudge cubes as presents. rolysfudge.co.uk Ben's farm shop At this organic grocer you can buy fresh produce direct from Totnes’ high street. Award-winning organic pies make great takeaway dinners to heat up at home – try a traditional beef pasty, homity pie or ham and leek tarts, all handmade in the farm shop kitchen. Add butternut squash hummus with harissa, mixed olives and cured meats to the spread. Or, in season, pick up bergamot lemons, blood oranges and Seville oranges along with jam jars to make your own marmalade. bensfarmshop.co.uk The Riverford Field Kitchen If you have a bit more time, drive 10 minutes up the road to Riverford for the farm’s one-sitting feasting lunches around large shared tables. Organic veg is at the heart of each feast, made expert use of in dishes such as mixed leaves with butternut squash, feta and pecans; celeriac, onion and white bean pie; and chicken and pancetta stew with braised fennel and purple sprouting broccoli. Fish Fridays sees Riverford team up with Cornish fisherman Chris Bean to serve catch of the day fish with organic vegetable dishes. riverford.co.uk/restaurant Sharpham Estate Take a walk over the hills to the nearby wine estate to try classic English wines with intense fruit flavours made from vines grown on steep slopes that overlook the River Dart. Pair with unpasteurised English cheeses made in the former coachyard creamery from Jersey cattle milk and vegetarian rennet (we like the Sharpham Rustic). The tasting tour gives a great insight into English winemaking, and includes a picturesque river walk and a boozy lunch to finish. There is an on-site restaurant called The Cellar Door with plenty of outdoor seating where you can enjoy fresh fish and seasonal small plates. Check out our favourite English vineyards here Anchorstone Café If you don’t want to take a tour, head straight to Sharpham’s café instead. A daily-changing menu features dishes like tomato and mascarpone soup, Brixham mussels and ham hock terrine and all can be enjoyed alongside stunning views overlooking the vineyards and the River Dart. sharpham.com/cafe Nkuku Café From the company’s base in an uber-cool barn conversion, Nkuku sells its range of ethical, handmade homewares online. What many customers don’t realize as they’re buying its beautiful ceramic cereal bowls or wooden serving platters is that Nkuku also has a shop and café at its Devon HQ. A calming, earthy, stripped-back space, it’s the perfect setting for artisan, wood-roasted coffee from the nearby Curator Café, homemade cakes and brownies and deli boards laid with locally sourced cheeses and cured meats. Its sunny, south-facing courtyard is a great spot to while away an afternoon. And watch this space for upcoming evening food events… nkuku.com Looking for a place to stay near Totnes? Find a holiday cottage here, so you can enjoy your local supplies in homemade dinners. Written by Alex Crossley First published January 2016, updated August 2019
Koffmann and Mr White’s, Bath: restaurant review
Does a regular diner reach the same conclusions about a restaurant as a food pro, who may get special treatment if recognised?* Critic Kate Authers and reader Sarah du Feu compare notes on Pierre Koffmann and Marco Pierre White’s joint venture
About Koffmann & Mr White’s, Bath The duo behind Bath’s latest hotel restaurant need little introduction but here’s a foodie refresher. Pierre Koffmann has been on the British restaurant scene for the best part of 40 years. It was at Chelsea-based La Tante Claire that he reached the heady heights of three Michelin stars, a feat his former employee, Marco Pierre White, was to later repeat at his own eponymous restaurant in Hyde Park. Now the much-lauded chefs have rekindled their professional relationship, this time as restaurateurs, in Koffmann & Mr White’s, a pared-back French-English brasserie inside the Abbey Hotel. Minutes from the city’s train station, the restaurant has a menu of French and English classics, from shepherd’s pie and steak au poivre to sherry trifle and pain perdu. There’s other familiar names to look out for, too – from Bath-based baker Richard Bertinet’s sourdough, to Cotswold adoptee and former Blur bassist Alex James’s cheeseboard. Head to the hotel’s ArtBar for after-dinner drinks. abbeyhotelbath.co.uk The pro restaurant reviewer Bath-based journalist and entrepreneur Kate Authers is olive’s West Country correspondent and has been reviewing restaurants in the local area for more than a decade. @kateauthers The punter restaurant reviewer Sarah du Feu lives in South Yorkshire and teaches printmaking at Leeds Beckett University. Her favourite dining experience was the tasting menu at The Black Swan at Oldstead. Our pro’s Koffmann & Mr White’s, Bath restaurant review… At Koffmann & Mr White’s there are immediate glimpses of both culinary greats’ heritage stamped all over the space. It’s decked out in historic muted colours, with an original Georgian floor and lovely old artworks lining the walls. Flickering candelabras add to the romantic vibe; globe lights, taupe leather banquettes and marble tables make the space feel fancy yet relaxed, in classic Parisian brasserie style. Service is friendly, though gets off to a chaotic start, and our own waitress doesn’t seem especially enamoured to be there. *I wasn’t recognised. The menu reads a little like a greatest hits list – minus Pierre’s famous stuffed pig’s trotter – and it all seems incredibly affordable, for a collaboration between two three-star chefs. Not that you’ll find them in the kitchen day to day, of course. Starters are a definite win. The English farmhouse salad comprises soft ham hock paired with crisp romaine, golden croutons, generous amounts of gruyère, piquant homemade salad cream and plenty of nostalgia. French onion soup, sweet with cider, salty and wonderfully moreish, comes topped with more burnished gruyère and a local Bertinet sourdough crouton. Each spoon delivers mountains of melting, stringy cheese, and a hidden golden egg yolk is the perfect smile-inducing treasure. Our mains are hit and miss. The ratio of filling to mash on the shepherd’s pie feels a little mean and lacks seasoning, though the accompanying peas à la Française are buttery and delicious. Fillet steak has a dark, charry exterior and a meltingly soft and ruddy heart, but it’s a mistake to douse it with the accompanying heavy-handed poivre sauce. Luckily, the pinot noir is dangerously drinkable, the vine tomatoes sweet and flavourful, and proper beef-fat chips are as crisp and fluffy as you like. To finish we shared a soft, champagne-poached pear, a bit too laced with honeyed sweetness but rescued by a light crème vanilla with masterful wobble. THE BOTTOM LINE The food is joyous in parts but in others slightly misses the mark. It’s early days, so a few cracks to smooth over are understandable and it feels like the team here haven’t quite hit their stride yet. I’d go back for the onion soup alone and with an extra soupçon of Messrs Koffmann and White’s culinary magic, it could be an obvious go-to for Bath. Total bill for two, excluding service: £97.42 Food: 7/10 Service: 6/10 Vibe: 8/10 TOTAL: 21/30 Our punter’s Koffmann & Mr White’s, Bath restaurant review… We were a party of four with a small baby and a vegan to boot. There were no vegan dishes on the online menu but a quick phone call assured us that all would be well. On arrival we were greeted by friendly staff and shown to a table with enough space to accommodate the little one. It would appear that they had created a vegan menu especially for our party, which was a lovely touch. The restaurant has a Parisian café feel to it with dark interiors, an eclectic mix of art on the walls and jazz playing. It was buzzing, even at 6.30pm, but with enough staff to feel smooth and slick. The wine list was extensive and varied. The menu has a French-meets-English feel. Our selection of starters included an English farmhouse salad of ham hock, hen’s egg and homemade salad cream. The ham hock was dry and bland, and the alluring promise of the made-from-scratch salad cream was in reality a token gesture of something that could have come out of a bottle. The brandade of Scottish salmon, fennel and white wine jelly was also underwhelming. The fish was pleasant but the dish as a whole lacked seasoning. A vegan starter of soft quinoa with marinated tomatoes and asparagus with a tomato sauce vierge was the best of the bunch, with a nice balance of textures and fresh flavours. For mains, braised ox cheek in red wine à l’ancienne was tender and fell apart beautifully, but the sauce lacked depth and had a slightly off-putting fatty taste. The fillet steak should have been medium-rare but was definitely more on the medium-plus side. Creamy polenta with wild mushrooms and baby spinach was well seasoned, with bite from the vegetables. Highlights came in the form of desserts. The pain perdu with custard and toasted almonds was light and creamy, with just the right amount of sweetness and a welcome hint of citrus in the custard. Tender champagne-poached pears came with crème vanilla and a sweet syrup. THE BOTTOM LINE This is a restaurant with a great atmosphere, impeccable service and a really reasonably priced menu. If only the food could match the ambience it would be great – instead it’s just good. Total bill for four, excluding service: £187.70 Food: 6/10 Service: 10/10 Vibe: 9/10 TOTAL: 25/30 Koffmann & Mr White’s Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) rating: 5.5 The selection of classic dishes on the menu at Koffmann & Mr White’s focuses for the most part on British ingredients. While the selection of vegetable-based dishes is not huge, pretty much all of the veg is from these shores. There is a wide variety of meat dishes to choose from, most of them from animals raised free-range and the braised ox cheek dish is a good example of nose to tail cooking, giving diners the chance to enjoy a lesser used cut and ensuring all parts of the animal are eaten. It would be good to see a wider variety of sustainable seafood on offer, stretching the selection beyond salmon and sardines (the latter can be hard to find from plentiful stocks). There is English wine on the menu and the kitchen team make visits to their suppliers which is always a good sign. There are also plans in place for working with local schools and to establish an apprenticeship scheme. With packaging a hot issue right now, diners will be pleased to know that suppliers have to use reusable boxes or take back and reuse the packaging.
Padstow, Cornwall foodie guide: where locals eat and drink
Check out our favourite restaurants, cafes, bars and foodie spots in Padstow, Cornwall, including plenty of fresh fish and seafood
Looking for Padstow restaurants? Few stretches of British coast harbour more culinary talent than the Atlantic-bashed area around Padstow, where Ainsworth and Rick Stein reside have their seafood restaurants. Here's our pick... No 6 Paul Ainsworth There are only a handful of restaurants we’ve been to where we’ve wanted to book a return visit upon first bite. Chef Paul Ainsworth’s pin-sharp No 6, located in a tiny Georgian townhouse in Padstow, is one of them. The morsel that did it? A plump, deep-fried Porthilly oyster served with charcoal mayonnaise and chunks of soul-satisfying sourdough. Despite the hype around it, No 6 avoids being stuffy. Ainsworth, who trained under Gordon Ramsay and won TV fame through Great British Menu, has the playfulness and boyish energy of a labrador puppy. The décor is just as lively, with outrageously bright Cole & Son Miami wallpaper (bring your shades), and windows on to the kitchen’s theatricality. The food is equally free of fussiness, stripped of cheffy canapés and tasting menus in favour of à la carte dishes such as a Jacob’s ladder ragu with spaghetti; raw seabream served on a slaw of sand shrimp with tuna-rich katsuobushi mayonnaise; and tournedos Rossini made with chicken instead of the usual steak. The latter – a stuffed chicken breast topped with morels and a cold parfait of livers from duck, goose and chicken – is laced with a rich madeira sauce, its stock derived from an entire chicken. number6inpadstow.co.uk Caffè Rojano, Padstow Are we in Cornwall or on the sun-baked Med? Neapolitan-style pizza is one draw at Paul Ainsworth’s Caffè Rojano. Elsewhere, its menu, capably executed by chef Mike Probert, ranges from baby squid with romesco mayo or pasta with pork shoulder, chilli and Balearic sobrassada sausage, to an epic hot dog with truffled mayo, fontina cheese, sweet Cévennes onions and remoulade. Mains from £13; paul-ainsworth.co.uk Prawn on the Lawn A few cobbled streets from No 6, Padstow's Prawn on the Lawn offers tapas-style fish plates (crab som tam, whole mackerel with ’nduja and fennel, Porthilly mussels with clams and manzanilla) in white-tiled, bistro-style surroundings. prawnonthelawn.com The Seafood Restaurant When Rick Stein opened The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow back in 1975, he couldn’t have possibly imagined it would still be fully booked in 2019 and part of what has become a restaurant empire and global brand. Stein may no longer be behind the stoves but his long-serving head chef Stephane Delourme still recreates classic dishes such as bouillabaisse of turbot, cod, sea bass, mussels and langoustines, or roast tronçon of wild turbot with hollandaise for those lucky enough to get a table. rickstein.com Craftworks Above Padstow town, Craftworks produces pop-up nacho and taco suppers (think Cornish beef brisket with shredded Little Gem, taco slaw, salsa, soured cream and red onion pickles) from its food truck at Trerethern Farm. You sit on straw bales to eat while gazing over the fields of Padstow Kitchen Garden (where much of your supper comes from) and the cornfields that flank the Camel Estuary (padstowkitchengarden.co.uk). craftworkskitchen.com Trevibban Mill Vineyard Narrow country lanes from Padstow tunneling through beech trees lead to Trevibban Mill, a vineyard and apple orchard that produces ciders and wines, and houses a wood-and-glass restaurant run by Andy Appleton, previously head chef at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall. As at Fifteen, Appleton offers a creative interpretation of Italian cooking, including Middle Eastern ingredients such as harissa that he freely admits would have Italians spluttering over their spaghetti. But it works. Lunch kicks off with deep-fried sage leaves wrapped around anchovy fillets, followed by wild garlic agnolotti filled with fermented leeks and ricotta. The rose harissa fish stew (Trevibban’s must-eat main) and homemade squid ink linguine with Cornish scallops and ’nduja pangrattato are equally delicious. And of course it all begs to be accompanied by wines produced just a cork’s pop away (try the sparkling pink brut). trevibbanmill.com, appletonsatthevineyard.com Rick Stein's Cookery School Rick Stein has been credited with putting Padstow on the map (and creating bottle-neck traffic jams during the summer hols). Book into his Seafood School now to beat the queues and choose the best classes from the school’s new programme which includes everything from cooking with kids to becoming a chocolate expert, or simply keep it to what Stein is famous for. The Original Fish & Shellfish course, the school’s most popular, has new menus for Rick Stein’s Seafood school this summer, including some exciting Asian flavours, while its new skills workshops take in everything from fish filleting to Far-Eastern steaming. Among the new One Dish evening courses you’ll find Madras Fish Curry. Learn how to cook Rick’s perfect hot and sour southern Indian curry as seen in his travels on the subcontinent. Words by Clare Hargreaves and Mark Taylor Photographs by Clare Hargreaves Continue your foodie roadtrip in Cornwall with our best places to eat and drink near Padstow here...
Win return flights to the beautiful Isles of Scilly
Make this the year you connect to the Isles of Scilly, the UK destination that feels like an exotic escape. Isles of Scilly Travel is offering one lucky reader the chance to win a pair of return Skybus flights to this unique archipelago.
***This competition has now closed*** Lying just 28 miles off the coast of Cornwall, Scilly is the first place summer arrives in England – and the last place it leaves ­– and is a truly unspoiled paradise that offers a welcome sanctuary. Its five inhabited islands of St Mary’s, St Martin’s, Bryher, Tresco and St Agnes all offer crystal-clear turquoise seas and white sandy beaches, and you can easily hop between the islands by tripper boat. It’s easy to discover Scilly with Skybus flights from Exeter, Newquay and Land’s End reaching the islands in less than an hour. Alternatively, you can opt for a relaxing sail from Penzance aboard the iconic Scillonian III passenger ferry. Enter the competition and discover for yourself why people who visit the Isles of Scilly come back time and again. The prize offers return flights for two to the Isles of Scilly with Skybus, departing from your choice of Exeter, Newquay or Land’s End airport. Travel to and from the point of departure and airport car parking is not included. For more information about Isles of Scilly Travel, and to discover how you can #ConnectScilly, visit islesofscilly-travel.co.uk/connect or call 01736 334 220. To enter, simply answer the following question. Terms & conditions Not to be used in conjunction with any current bookings or discounts. Excludes travel and accommodation on bank holiday weekends and school holidays. Travel to be taken in March, April, May, September or October, and bookings are subject to availability on requested dates. Deadline for competition entry on 8 March 2018. Winners will be selected at random after that date and no cash alternative will be offered. Click here for full T&Cs
Langford Fivehead, Somerset: restaurant with rooms review
Read our expert review of this farm-to-table restaurant with rooms in the West Country countryside. Expect classic French cooking techniques using local food and luxurious bedrooms, ideal for a romantic break
We love a weekend getaway (check out our favourite bed and breakfasts for couples here), especially when there's great food involved, too. We check out Langford Fivehead in the Somerset countryside. Here’s our review of the farm-to-table restaurant and luxurious bedrooms… A gorgeous pre-Tudor manor, on the Somerset Levels, Langford Fivehead oozes history from every one of its flint- and fudge-coloured stones. Inside are vast Ham-stone fireplaces, four-poster beds and an ancient staircase of oak and elm. But if all of this smacks of stuffy country house hotel, it’s anything but. Thanks to Olly and Rebecca Jackson, the dynamic couple who run it (he in the kitchen, she front of house), Langford Fivehead is friendly rather than fusty, and intimate and indulgent rather than intimidating. And contemporary touches, such as the swanky bathrooms and artworks by local artists, mean it pleases young urban-based foodies and local retirees alike. This is very definitely a relaxed restaurant with rooms (six of them) and not a hotel. Rebecca is a natural and diligent hostess with a knack for making you feel instantly at home, while Olly is so chilled he’s happy for you to watch him cook if you wish. The food Having previously manned the stoves at Suffolk’s Crown and Castle and Cornwall’s Trelowarren Estate, Olly understands plot-to-plate eating. Here, the couple have put their seven acres of grounds to productive use so much of the vegetables and fruit come fresh from the kitchen gardens and orchard. But while ingredients are local, Olly’s techniques are firmly classical French, so expect braises, sauces and confits rather than techie tomfoolery. Dinner is available Tuesday to Saturday, lunch Wednesday to Friday, and guests eat in one of two intimate dining rooms (one a library housing Olly’s amazing collection of cookery books), choosing from a menu that’s pleasingly concise with three choices per course. Olly’s cooking is confident, creative and beautifully presented. The highlight of my dinner is a dish of pan-fried Dorset hake fillet with garden peas, pancetta, and home-grown hispi cabbage - a play on petits pois a la francaise - around which dinky potato towers stand to attention. It’s all parked on a bath of beurre blanc that’s rich and buttery yet also citrusy and light. Carnivorous dishes generally juxtapose a prime and a cheap cut, the meat sourced from Bonners in nearby Ilminster. Olly is a wow with desserts too – I try both the home-grown strawberry soufflé with strawberry sorbet, and the smooth dark chocolate delice with honeycomb, and it’s impossible to choose between them (the chocolate fondant with salted caramel ice cream is another firm menu fixture). If you want to be close to the action, choose the Kitchen Table option and watch your five-course meal being cooked from your table in the heart of the kitchen. The drink Navigate your way around the drinks list while enjoying pre-prandials and canapes by the fire or, if it’s fine, on the terrace. Most of the soft drinks, beers and ciders are local, as are many of the spirits, including Newton House gin, and Somerset Cider brandy crafted up the road by Julian Temperley. I go with a Funkin Bramble, a syrupy yet pleasingly punchy blend of Newton House gin and blackberry liqueur. The wine list, by contrast, is unashamedly French – to match the food – and refreshingly, arranged by price rather than country of origin. It opens at £20 and top-end wines are particularly well priced – a bottle of Volnay Premier Cru, for instance, will set you back £50, a fraction of what you’d pay in London. You can buy most of the wines by the glass, which is great if you want to test-drive some new ones. The bedrooms The six en-suite rooms are traditionally furnished, with heavy curtains and antique furniture, but there are contemporary touches too, such as the Ruark digital radios and iPod docks. Honeymooners make a beeline for Nathaniel Barnard (named after the local chap who bought the house in 1649 – spot his name graffitied into the fireplace), with its super-king four-poster, roll-top bath, Jacuzzi shower and ornate plasterwork ceiling. I also like Sybilla de Gundvill (named after the property’s first owner) which, although smaller and shower-only, has fabulously ancient elm-wood paneling. There are no TVs – which makes it extra peaceful – but if you need a telly fix there’s a burgundy-walled snug with a television downstairs. The breakfast I kick off with local apple juice and Olly’s homemade granola (nice and cinnamony) with yoghurt and mixed berries. Porridge, toast and croissants are on offer too. Hot made-to-order dishes include Full English (including Somerset sausages made by The Sausage Shed), home-cured salmon with scrambled eggs, and American-style pancakes with maple syrup. Double room at Langford Fivehead start from £195, accommodation, 3-course dinner and full English breakfast langfordfivehead.co.uk Words | Clare Hargreaves Photographs | Clare Hargreaves
Introducing British chef and restaurateur, Tim Spedding, whose prestigious career has been bubbling away in London before his move to Cornwall this spring
Interview conducted by Adam Coghlan In February this year, Tim Spedding and his girlfriend, Louise Rødkjær Jørgensen, spent four days in Cornwall. It’s something they’ve made a habit of over the last 12 months. Sometimes it’s for pleasure; on this occasion it was for business. During the visit they viewed 16 different properties – the first stage of their planned relocation to the Southwest this spring. The pair have an acute appreciation of hospitality – their chef and front-of-house partnership is just one pillar of the memorable experience they provide. “Louise has always wanted somewhere cosy and beautifully styled – that’s her dream,” he tells me. His dream is to be a part of that (working title ‘Louisiana’). Other than a sensational residency on two induction hobs at P. Franco in Clapton last year, Tim’s career as a chef has not been all about his being the front-man. Now they’re at liberty to realise their idyll: “We’ve had this vision of a place in the country where we can grow our own veg, have a [real] relationship with suppliers, live near the coast, go surfing,” he says, smiling. The fact that people are calling Cornwall the ‘San Sebastián of England’ is convenient from a marketing perspective. Tim is more than au fait with suppliers Kernow Sashimi, Warren’s Butchers and Keveral Farm, as well as chef Tom Adams at Coombeshead Farm. But his connection to the county dates back to a summer holiday, aged 17, at Porthminster Beach Café in St Ives where he first cooked professionally. After that, when at catering college, he was posted for summer work experience to The Headland Hotel in Newquay. His parents had to drive there to bring him back to Slough; he’d caught the surfing bug, loved it there, and appears always to have had one eye on going back. He went to university in Plymouth, and left as student of the year with a scholarship to what was then Michael Caines’ Gidleigh Park. It’s tempting to assume that the good life in Cornwall is a convenient way of getting out of the restaurant rat race, while, at the same time, avoiding the risks of opening a restaurant in London. But Tim is quick to demur. “It would be much easier and more sensible to open a restaurant in London,” he says. People believe there’s less competition outside the city but it only seems that way because there are fewer restaurants – there are also far fewer diners. “But I’ve never had a desire to have a restaurant in London,” he adds. Tim made his name as sous chef at The Clove Club – the one-time supper club that crowd-funded itself to permanence in Shoreditch Town Hall in 2013. Just before Spedding left last year, it had entered the World’s 50 best restaurants list as the highest new entry at number 26. He says, sheepishly, “It was one of the main things we wanted to achieve and it seemed like a good time to move on when we got into the top 50.” If it was Isaac McHale’s restaurant, then, for a certain amount of time, it could be argued that the kitchen was as much Tim’s as it was Isaac’s. But that was the “very inclusive” way in which Isaac ran the place. Tim remembers thinking, “‘I don’t need to be in this meeting.’ But it’s empowering – and giving ownership [to the team] means they respond and do a better job,” he says. Tim met Isaac at The Ledbury in Notting Hill, where the latter was a development chef. I find it hard to imagine Tim tolerating – for three years, with hardly any holiday (his choice) – the day-to-day of kitchen life at The Ledbury. It’s a restaurant that’s neither old- nor new-school, at once smart and table-clothed but also modern in its approach. There exists a hangover of the alpha brutality of a now distant restaurant era – the one through which Gordon Ramsay swore his way to global superstardom. It seems at odds with Tim’s soft-spoken politeness and placid demeanour. But there is steel behind his decorum. There has to be. He accepts that The Ledbury was tough, but adds, “It was one of the best restaurants in the country, and we changed the menu every day – there was nowhere else I wanted to work in London.” He, like everyone else who stayed there, thrived on the passion and drive of Brett Graham, the head chef; Tim describes him as “among the very best.” It’s hard to fully understand the demands placed on chefs who are tasked with maintaining a restaurant’s two Michelin stars, and meeting the expectations of the kind of diner that attracts, when the menu changes so often. Tim relished it: the most important lesson he has taken from his time at The Ledbury, and one he took with him to The Clove Club, “Was to treat the restaurant as your own – to give 100%,” he says. At the end of 2012, between leaving The Ledbury and starting at The Clove Club, Tim used his accumulated holiday to stage in Copenhagen and Paris. He spent a total of six weeks in Relæ, Radio and Septime. It was important, after having spent so long in the same place, to “learn that there was more than one way to skin a cat,” he says. Relæ, as one of the first eye-catching Noma offspring, interested him “in their ability to do things other restaurants couldn’t” because of the ecosystem of their own locale. What would, for example, in most restaurants, have been waste, would go to sister restaurant Manfred’s across the road. It meant Relæ could be ruthlessly pure in its prep, unbound by the traditional constraints of kitchen thrift. Tim is as much an avid learner as he is a grafter, and I sense he was always working towards something: methodically availing himself of the things he felt he needed to do and understand. The day after we met, he was going to fly to Nepal to participate in a 10-day hike for Action Against Hunger. His affection for being free is real, too. I get the impression many chefs do not love cooking; they may love food, love the alchemy, love the pressure and the buzz. But the demands of turning out exactly the same dish time-after-time in a pro kitchen don’t necessarily make it the best place in which to nurture a love of cooking. I suspect Tim does love cooking and hopes to be reacquainted with why he does when he gets to Cornwall. “I’m looking forward to having the space to do my own thing, and to build for the future,” he says. louisiana-inn.com TIM IN SHORT: Favourite drink: Mauro Vergano Vermouth Bianco Favourite dish: Whatever Louise cooks Most memorable meal: Last summer, a group of us stayed in a house on a hill in Umbria. We stocked up on wine from a local vineyard and cooked feasts each night, BBQ suckling pig, fried potatoes with rosemary and salads of wild herbs. Chef you most admire: Brett Graham Guilty pleasure: Mangal Ocakbasi TIM'S MINI-GUIDE TO CORNWALL Coombeshead Farm, Lewannick Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac Portminster Beach Cafe, St. Ives The Star & Garter, Falmouth Philip Warren Butchers (for the pasty), Launceston Words | Adam Coghlan Photographs | Joe Woodhouse and Sam Hendel
Woky Ko, Wapping Wharf, Bristol: restaurant review
This pint-sized eatery serves top-notch, street-food-inspired dishes – whipped up by a MasterChef finalist, no less
In a nutshell Woky Ko is one of many new, remarkably small restaurants and bars housed in CARGO, a converted shipping container part of the Wapping Wharf housing development on Bristol’s harbourside. The menu is made up of flavours you'll recognise, but all have been cleverly lifted or shaken up a little. These are dishes that could easily be greasy or heavy, but, instead, taste fresh and lively. Who’s cooking You might recognise Woky Ko’s creator and head chef, Larkin Cen: he made it to the final of MasterChef in 2013. After his success on the show, Larkin quit his job as a solicitor to start his own foodie business. Following his first venture (Hokkei, a takeaway delivery service), Larkin began working at the five-star Celtic Manor Resort in Wales. He took time to refine the ideas that Hokkei was originally based on, and Woky Ko was born. What's cooking Plates arrive as and when they’re ready – swiftly, and in quick succession. Larkin pops out from behind the pass to have a chat, and talk us through the menu. He tells us how, after MasterChef, he felt there was an expectation that fine-dining should be his next move. But that wasn’t what excited him: having grown up in a Chinese takeaway in Wales, and fallen in love with the hustle and bustle of Hong Kong’s eateries, Larkin wanted to create food that was more personal to him. So the dishes at Woky Ko offer everything street food stands for: they’re fast, flavoursome and accessible, and are made with obvious care too. Plus, the whole menu is pleasingly healthy - there’s no MSG, and all ingredients are responsibly sourced. What’s the room like/atmosphere The space seems impossibly small from the outside – more cupboard than restaurant. But it still manages to feel cosy and companionable. Due to the unusual size of the place, all the wooden, minimalist furniture is bespoke. The open kitchen takes up a third of Woky Ko’s space, which leaves room for around 20 covers. It’s easy to forget that the open kitchen is right beside us, impressively quiet as it is. Instead, we relax to ephemeral, electronic indie tunes as we admire the custom woodwork and the pretty parasols that cover the ceiling. The just-right lighting, friendly buzz and intimate surrounds make this spot perfect for a date night. Menu must-orders and misfires Larkin’s been bold, and opted to feature just one pudding on his menu. Lucky, then, that it’s a corker. The salted caramel ice cream bao is tiny but mighty: the warm, deep-fried bun is sugar-topped, donut-like, and stuffed with coconut ice cream and rich salted caramel. The melting ice cream and sticky sauce make for a fun, and very messy, mouthful. Other stand-out dishes include the crispy duck rice noodle salad, where vibrant orange zings through the rich, decadently fatty meat. Seabass tartare is a dish of delicious contrasts, too. Cut fresh from the bone, the sushi-grade fish is gently infused with citrus flavour, thanks to a lime marinade. The soft slips taste even more tender alongside chilli and crunchy daikon slivers. The verdict The kooky space, the soul-warming menu, the charming proprietor and staff: it may be small, but Woky Ko sure is perfectly formed. We reckon the central, harbourside location and reasonable prices will make it easy to become a regular here (sharing plates average around a fiver and baos are around £4, while noodle and rice bowls are between £7.95 - £9.95). Woky Ko, Unit 7, CARGO, Wapping Wharf, Gaol Ferry Steps, Bristol BS16WP www.woky.co Words by Rosie Sharratt November 2016
Tudor Farmhouse, Clearwell, Forest of Dean: hotel and restaurant review
We head to the beautiful Forest of Dean for 24 hours at chic rural retreat, Tudor Farmhouse, a historic boutique hotel which effortlessly mixes laid-back luxury with seasonal, people-pleasing food that’s sourced within a 20-mile radius
Tudor Farmhouse in a nutshell A historic boutique hotel which effortlessly mixes laid-back luxury with seasonal, people-pleasing food that’s sourced within a 20-mile radius. The vibe Found in the postcard-pretty village of Clearwell, Tudor Farmhouse’s gently weathered brick façade, clad in climbing creepers, had us sold before we’d even crunched our way across the drive. With 20 farmhouse-luxe-style rooms, the hotel is made up of a handful of buildings – some of which date back to the 16th century – set around a leafy courtyard garden and surrounded by 14 acres of meadow. Which room should I book at Tudor Farmhouse? The beauty of a restaurant with rooms is that you only have to wend your way up two original Tudor staircases to roll into bed. The Roost – at the top of the oldest part of the farmhouse and pecking order – is one of three spacious suites which features everything from a roll-top bath to monsoon shower and beautiful old beams in the seating area. There are thoughtful touches such as artisan china cups, homemade biscuits and Cotteswold Dairy milk to go with your Nespresso. And with a ‘your stay, your way’ policy, there’ll be no raised eyebrows should you wish to eat cheese, dessert or breakfast in your supremely comfy bed. The food and drink Seasonal, foraged ingredients are at the heart of the menu, which chef Joseph Williams looks after. Choose between a la carte or a seven-course tasting menu – on the former you can feast on the likes of twice-baked double Gloucester souffle with beer pickled onions, pork belly with pickled pear or potato gnocchi pepped up with braised black cabbage, while the latter highlights star dishes from the main menu with a few exclusive dishes added. Breakfast We chose to explore the breakfast buffet with its six types of Ragmans Lane Farm apple juice and array of pastries, fruit and yoghurt and settled on softly scrambled local eggs and Severn & Wye smoked salmon on buttered crumpets in the conservatory. It’s not hard to relax at the family-run Tudor Farmhouse, the only downside is that you won’t want to leave. What else can foodies do? When in the area, don’t miss the nearby Parva Farm Vineyard (parvafarm.com), where the rolling Welsh hills could be mistaken for Tuscany on a sunny day. Make sure you walk to the top to make the most of the views across the valley before stopping in at the shop for a tasting of its spicy Welsh mead and award-winning wines. Is it family friendly? Children under six can stay for free, while suites are spacious enough for a family of four with a double bed and sofa-bed. olive tip If you’re after a mid-afternoon snack, tuck into hearty sarnies (roast beef and horseradish, Wye Valley Honey glazed ham and wholegrain mustard mayonnaise or maybe single Gloucester and homemade chutney) or go more refined with finger sandwiches, warm scones and homemade cakes at afternoon tea. All hotels have been chosen and reviewed independently by our editorial team. This page contains affiliate links and we may receive a small commission for purchases made, but this comes at no extra cost to you and helps us to continue providing top-quality content for our loyal readers. Doubles from £159 per night, check availability at booking.com tudorfarmhousehotel.co.uk Words by Kate Authers
The Churchill Arms, The Cotswolds: pub with rooms review
Read our review of The Churchill Arms, a cosy Gloucestershire pub with cooking much more refined than the rustic setting suggests – plus two bedrooms to retreat to at the end of a long meal
Next discover the best restaurants in the Cotswolds. Set the SatNav and, whichever way you approach The Churchill Arms in Paxford, you’ll travel along winding roads, lined with thatched cottages, through sleepy Cotswold villages. Your destination is equally quaint - a honey-hued pub dating back to the 17th century but re-opened after a sympathetic refurbishment earlier this year. You’re made to feel at home as soon as you step through the door of this family-friendly hostelry. Stand with the traditional inglenook fireplace on your right and choose from the bar, on your left, or a cosy dining room on your right (reached across a flagstone floor). The food The pub’s owner and head chef, Nick Deverell-Smith, is a local boy and grew up eating here with his family. But while he is clearly passionate about this pub, Deverell-Smith also brings the kind of depth to his cooking that can only be won through stints in Michelin-starred kitchens (in his case, Marcus Wareing’s, Marco Pierre White’s and, most influentially, Eric Chavot’s of Brasserie Chavot). Using local suppliers is important to the team here, which sources everything except fish from within a 10-mile radius. Refined dishes such as smoked haddock soufflé with a creamy chive velouté, pan-fried sea bream with crab beignets and seasonal greens, and smoked duck with textures of artichoke sit alongside elevated pub classics such as fish and chips, ham and leek pie and pork T-bone with apple, sage and shard-like crackling. If you’re really hungry (and a little ambitious), the mammoth (450g) sirloin steak on the bone, sourced locally from Todenham Farm, is a must-order. For dessert, opt for the rich dark chocolate tart with orange sorbet or on-trend caramelised roast pineapple with rice pudding, rum panna cotta and a mango sorbet. Cheese is always a good way to get the measure on a place and the board at The Churchill Arms is impressive; on our visit a local selection of St Eadburgha, St Egwin, Oxford blue and a soft and creamy goats curd was accompanied with a homemade chutney. The drink A Freehouse, operating alongside principal supplier Wells & Young, The Churchill Arms also serves beers and ales from three local, independent breweries, including the Purity brewery company. These are regularly rotated but the pub always aims to include a session ale, a gold ale and a brown ale and even their own brew in the mix. If beer’s not your thing, the impressive wine list spans all the big hitters alongside some more unusual, well-priced bottles such as a nutty pinot blanc d’Alsace. Fancy something a little stronger? The Cotswolds Distillery is right on the doorstep, so it’d be rude not to indulge in a G&T with gin made with botanicals including Cotswolds lavender, bay leaf and grapefruit. The rooms Book into one of the pubs two, simply furnished, bedrooms and you’ll find walls painted in muted, chalky colours, original beams, hardwood floors and soft, white cotton sheets. Sit and take in the view over rolling fields from the cushioned window seats or relax in the bath after a long walk. The Churchill Arms might have all the charm of a sleepy Cotswold pub, but there are modern comforts, too: TVs, espresso machines (brownie points for the fresh local milk in the mini-bar) and free wifi. The breakfast With only two rooms breakfast is a peaceful start to the day; there’s no buffet and all dishes are made to order. Choices are kept simple with a range of eggs cooked to your liking or a Churchill Arms full English. The latter includes a few surprises, such as a sausage that tasted slightly boozy (it was good). Teamed with toast and jam, fresh juices and endless offerings of coffee, take it as given that you won’t leave hungry. Don’t miss Make sure you pack your wellies. There are some beautiful walks in the surrounding area and the friendly staff will happily help you plan a day out. Chipping Campden is a 10-minute drive (or three-mile walk) away, with shops, tearooms, bakeries and country pubs a-plenty (Stratford on Avon’s about double that distance if you’re looking for a longer day’s tripping). And the Cotswolds Distillery is a must-visit – book a tour or enjoy a tasting session in the shop. Double rooms at The Churchill Arms start from £120 per night, including breakfast (churchillarms.co). Written by Nicki Smith, October 2016
Chris Staines’ Supper Club, The Igloo, Bath: restaurant review
Chris Staines is a former Michelin-starred chef and Asian flavour fanatic; we take him up on an invite to share in his culinary passions and dine with him, in extraordinary surrounds
It’s not every day you get to eat in an igloo, complete with a stark white arched ceiling, ice-block-effect bar and Northern Lights-inspired lighting. In the vaults beneath the Abbey Hotel in Bath, where executive chef Chris Staines presides over the kitchen in its much-revered Allium restaurant, a new event space is now being put to similarly good use as the venue for Chris’s monthly supper club. Chris opened Allium back in 2012, fresh from seven-years as head chef of the Michelin-starred Foliage at the Mandarin Oriental, before which he worked under Marco Pierre White at his three-Michelin-starred Oak Room. He has, he says, always been a fan of Asian cooking, and attributes his love of Eastern-inspired flavours to an event he did with David Thompson, widely touted as “the world’s best Thai chef”, who earlier this year was given a lifetime achievement by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants for changing the face and reputation of Thai food globally. The great thing about the supper club, apart from the friendly communal vibe and family-style dining, is that Chris gets to cook the food he’s really passionate about, something that’s not always apparent on the menus proffered upstairs at Allium. And while Chris has never been a seeker of the limelight, he also gets to talk about the cuisine he loves, and the bin-end wines he’s carefully chosen to go with each course. Sharing starters such as cucur udang (crisp, juicy prawn fritters originally introduced to Chris by his good friend, MasterChef champ and Bath local, Ping Coombes) were served with Sriracha mayo, while soft, pillowy pork and prawn dumplings came with a salty, spiky soy and chilli sauce for dipping. The Asian noodle salad was the star of the show. The simple, yet totally addictive mix of rice vermicelli noodles with green papaya, baby gem and fist loads of coriander, Thai basil, mint, peanuts for crunch and a nam jim dressing of fish sauce, lime juice, soy, palm sugar and chilli, was so good that digging in for thirds came as a natural reflex. It’s also safe to say, that when dining with Chris, that initial fear of there not being enough food, passes quickly. The main course, which saw us all lining up for a simply-served plateful of steamed sea bream and sticky rice, was only marginally less successful. What it lacked in finesse, though, it more than made up for in incredible flavour, with the preserved and salted umeboshi plums packing serious twang, lifting the delicate fish with its clean-tasting ginger and soy dressing and greens, to smile-inducing culinary heights. Oenophiles will be very happy too, as Chris’s palate and ability to pair wines with his food, has always been a massive strength. As such, there’s everything from classics such as a Waipara Springs riesling and Paul Cluver gewurtztraminer, to the odd wild card, such as a chilled Escarpment pinot noir served with the fish. Dessert, a light coconut panna cotta, which came with requisite wobble-factor and a brilliantly fresh lychee sorbet, strawberries and honeycomb rubble, was the perfect end note to an incredible meal. Expect the luck-of-the-draw element with who you get to sit next to at one of Chris’ supperclubs – bloggers, keen foodies, Allium virgins, Chris Staines’ super-fans and just those looking for an intriguing new experience or night out. It’s a dinner party with a difference, with awesome Asian food and a few celebrity chef collaborations in the pipeline. It’s also a steal at just £22 per person (excluding drinks), which means you can – and you probably should – make it an every-month occurrence. The Igloo, Abbey Hotel, North Parade, Bath abbeyhotelbath.co.uk Words by Kate Authers First published August 2016
Read our review of Corkage, the wine bar, small plates venue and bottle shop in Bath. Big flavours, jewel-like salads and outstanding wines by the glass are putting this new opening on the local culinary map
Like vegan dining - or the pizza slice emoji - Corkage started out in a niche fashion, appreciated only by a few foodie insiders, but has suddenly rocketed into the mainstream. Six months on from its opening (originally just as a pop-up) this wine bar, bottle shop and small plates venue in Bath is being talked about at every dinner party, drinks bash or school gate across town. Unsurprisingly it has also just gone permanent, its owners Marty Grant (of Bath’s Gascoyne Place) and Richard Knighting (previously of the city’s Marlborough Tavern) having signed a 10-year lease. With a blink-and-you-would-walk-right-past-it setting, in what was previously an (unrelated) wine shop on the city’s Walcot Street, Corkage is appealingly fuss-free. Scaffolding poles help prop up wrap-around timber boards and a row of simple wooden tables sits beneath sail-like linen sheets billowing across the ceiling. The overall effect is part ski bar, part Parisian bar à vins. Small and intimate, with 50 covers at an absolute push, it doesn’t take much to get a buzz going here. And while our recent Saturday night visit was perfectly civilised, despite bottoms being packed into every inch of space going (if you’re planning a romantic night out, try to book the one table set on its own by a window at the back of the bar), we didn’t have quite as good a time as on our previous three visits here, each of which had been on quieter, Wednesday, evenings. Food-wise there’s a small but imaginative menu of around 15 small-plate dishes, each costing between £3.50 and £8. Some dishes stay on for a few weeks (by popular demand the crab toast has remained on since the start), others change within the space of a single service and there are usually four of five tweaks each week. While the food is good (often great, in fact), it’s designed to accompany the wines rather than as the starting point of the venue. There are no printed menus or wine lists, just one small blackboard that’s shipped, personally, around each table and gives only hints at what each dish might involve (‘spuds’, ‘cavolo nero’, ‘tomato’, ‘caponata’). With wine, you’re in Marty’s hands (or those of Jonathan Kemp, another local wine nut who runs a wine-tasting business at weekends but moonlights at Corkage during the week). That is, unless your eyesight is particularly good, or you’re brazen enough to peer at the labels dangling from each bottle behind the counter, reading the prices scribbled onto them. An element of trust is involved here that some diners won’t like. On that busy Saturday night the formula only felt moderately successful. We had a long wait for the blackboard to reach us that wouldn’t have happened if we’d been given a printed menu. And with Marty busy at other tables and Jonathan not working that evening we were left in less expert hands, where we might rather have made a choice ourselves from a list. On a quieter night, however, the charm of the set-up really shines. Having someone describe each dish to you feels helpful rather than intrusive – and there aren’t so many dishes, or so many cheffy tricks, that you can’t remember what is in each one. Served on an Instagram-friendly collection of mismatched china, the six dishes we ordered ranged from so-so (the ‘tomato’, lightly curried and baked, and served with toasted bruschetta, had been outstanding the last time we’d ordered it but on this visit it lacked the depth of flavour we’d remembered, and while a jewel-like salad of ‘lentils’ served with new-season asparagus, a raspberry vinaigrette, grilled halloumi and toasted seeds looked pretty it was too chilled and uptight to let its components sing) to great (an order of ‘chicken ‘ras’ was our dish of the night – a pillow of warm, richly seasoned white beans beneath a chicken thigh marinated in ras el hanout and cooked until it was perfectly peach-like inside but crisp as Tom Hiddleston’s consonants on top). Big flavours were also in evidence with a dish of roast, cumin-dusted cauliflower, its crisp, burnished edges a lovely contrast to the sweetness of the vegetable (though the tahini yoghurt dressing it came with was, again, slightly too cold, leaving it as a delicious but solid topping rather than an unctuous drizzle). Octopus marinated in pinot noir and served on a lemon-infused hummus was another hit, the smokiness of the hummus the perfect foil for the octopus’ tender tentacles. And worth the trip alone was a gorgeous salad of cavolo nero flecked with creamy feta, crunchy toasted almonds and beautifully fresh, sweet pear. At this point we ran out of space, our stomachs finally as full as our eyes, but on other visits we’ve enjoyed expertly cookedpork belly with beetroot-dyed giant couscous, and next time we’re definitely trying the brisket with red cabbage slaw and the bream with broad beans and pickled lemon dressing. Food here is only part of the story, however. There may also be a carefully chosen selection of craft beers and artisan tipples (any evening that doesn’t now end with a Somerset Pomona or an organic rhubarb vodka is a wasted one in our book) but the real impetus behind Corkage’s launch was a desire to show punters that there was more to be tasted than the usual sauvignon blancs and riojas – and many small, independent wine growers to discover. Without being stuck to a list Corkage changes its stock regularly, and offers a wide range of bottles at reasonable prices. Of the 70 bottles on the shelves at any one time around 45 are directly imported from small European estates and, with 48 of the 70 wines available by the glass, there are also six different ways to drink most of them – a 50ml glass, a 125ml glass, a 175ml glass, a 250ml glass, a 500ml carafe or a bottle. With the smallest glasses starting at just £1 to £2.50 it’s a great way to spend an evening trying really nice wines for a few pounds. Tasting flights of six wines are also on offer and, if you eat in, you get an extra discount on bottles to go from the on-site shop. In fact, ordering a bottle to go with your meal is almost a waste here. What’s great about the wine is that you can taste everything before you order it, even if you’re only ordering a glass. We loved our Wednesday night visits, when Jonathan was on hand to talk us through our likes and dislikes and made some standout suggestions (a coffee-ish Montepulciano was such a hit that we returned a few days after our first visit to buy a bottle). Try a few different wines in small glasses and you leave feeling informed rather than simply inebriated. The element of trust is crucial to Corkage’s success. We’ve never specifically stated our budget on any of our visits but they’ve never suggested a really expensive wine without telling us and the bill has never been an unpleasant surprise. Which is probably because, while Corkage isn’t perfect on busy weekends, it’s a heart-and-soul, human kind of place in a city that has more than its fair share of chain restaurants. It’s not pretending to be something it’s not. It’s not trying to show off. It’s simply two men with a passion for wine and food putting their energy into creating a place where other people can share and enjoy those things as much as they do. Written by Rhiannon Batten, June 2016 Photos by Victoria Yates and Corkage Main image courtesy Mike McNally mikebmcnally@hotmail.com You might also like Where to eat and drink in Bath Les Sources de Caudalie: hotel review and vineyard tour Top five European hotels for wine lovers Best English vineyard breaks Best-ever French recipes
Feather down glamping site at east shilvinghampton farm: review
Read our review of East Shilvinghampton Farm, a working farm close to the Dorset coast that produces its own beef and pork, and is home to a Feather Down glamping site
First started in the Netherlands 12 years ago but now established in several other countries, including the UK, Feather Down’s recipe for glamping holidays on family-owned farms has drawn a loyal following among certain middle class British families (if you’re a Boden shopper you’re almost certain to have heard of the Feather Down brand, if not have visited one of its locations). Which is no great surprise. Essentially luxury camping, with all the benefits of sleeping (and one-pot eating) close to nature but none of the hardships of – and much less packing than – a regular camping trip, it has helped put a stop to many a family argument over whether or not a camping holiday would be blissful or hellish. Putting the experience to the test ourselves, we made our way to East Shilvinghampton Farm, five miles from Weymouth along Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. We might not have been conflicted about whether or not we wanted to go camping but we did find ourselves swept up in one family dispute early on: how to describe our accommodation. With its proper beds (one double, one bunk and one nest-like cabin bed), flushing toilet, running supply of cold water and wood-burning stove this wasn’t what you’d traditionally call a tent. But then, with its canvas sides and roof and lack of hot water or central heating it definitely wasn’t a standard holiday cottage either. In the end we stole an American phrase and settled on tabin (tented cabin). One of eight such tabins spread out within a field at East Shilvinghampton Farm, the styling of each was impressive. Few of us want to go on a rural break and stay somewhere that looks as though it’s been teleported straight from suburbia and the Feather Down tabins certainly don’t do that. In keeping with its farm setting the décor in ours was rustic in a kind of pioneer-chic kind of way. With chunky wooden furniture, mismatched dining chairs and shelves made from crates, the overall effect was consciously quirky and homespun (especially where the dining table was concerned – apparently Feather Down always saws one leg off each table and replaces it with a slightly different one for a truly cobbled-together look). The fact that ours was the only car in the car park that wasn’t a shiny black 4x4 suggests how contrived this is but, then, don’t all the best holidays allow us to wallow in a bit of romantic licence? With two under-fives in tow, we appreciated the extra comforts, though I wish I hadn’t swallowed the ‘not really camping’ line quite as wholeheartedly as I did and had packed a few extra layers (when our fire flickered out late on a clear-skied night the temperature plummeted). And I was glad we’d packed our own camping stove for early morning coffees (it would have been a long wait, without it, while we got the fire going to heat a stove-top kettle on the wood-burner). In general, though, we felt that our tabin got the balance right between roughing it and self-indulgence. Having plenty of headroom and indoor space would have been a godsend if it had rained. And, while we weren’t in a deluxe tabin (those come with verandahs and private showers), having a private toilet was truly a luxury in the night, although we were quite happy to walk over the field to the shower block in the morning. There were other, unexpected, benefits of taking an almost off-grid holiday. Without electricity in the tabins (there was a socket for emergency charging in the farm’s honesty shop) everyone was forced to switch off. The children didn’t ask to watch a DVD or play a game on the iPad all weekend, happy instead to kick a ball around, ride bikes and play hide and seek. One area where we did indulge (no surprise here), however, was with the food. This is a real focus of the Feather Down experience and, while all the locations offer pizza ovens (guests can pre-order their favourite toppings and cook them during weekly pizza nights) and DIY stews to cook over the fire, East Shilvinghampton offers much more for foodie visitors. Its owners, Martin and Joby Bartlett, raise their own beef and pork and, with a background in catering, Joby is happy to make delicious home-cooked meals for guests. On our first evening we pre-ordered a cottage pie and Martin delivered it to our tent at an agreed time, fresh from the family’s Aga. Rich and peppery with a meaty sweetness and a buttery potato topping, it was up there with our best-ever cottage pies (though that might also have had something to do with not having to make it ourselves, and with eating it outside as the sun set over the rolling green Dorset countryside and the soft hooting of owls began). The farm is in a lovely patch of Dorset, close to the thatched cottages and tea gardens of Abbotsbury, and to iconic Chesil Beach, but if you’d rather stay put there’s plenty to do on site. At 5pm every Saturday, for instance, Martin leads interested guests on a tour of the farm. We joined him in warm sunshine as he gave an enthusiastic and informative rundown on operations at East Shilvinghampton. While the children were encouraged to climb tractors and bottle-feed hungry goats and lambs (apart from the tour, most of the farm is out-of-bounds to guests to make sure there are no mishaps), the adults enjoyed a bit of soft-sell on the family’s home-reared meat (apparently beef burgers made with the farm’s beef are the biggest selling item on the menu at the local pub, the Kings Arms in neighbouring Portesham). Not that we needed much encouragement. The site’s honesty shop contains a fridge stocked with steaks, meatballs, pork sausages and bacon produced on the farm and we stocked up several times during our stay. The Bartletts are commendably keen on supporting other local producers and the shop also stretched to local milk, butter and eggs, Dorset Blue Vinney and Dorset Red cheeses and Purbeck ice cream, as well as Dorset Coffee Co. coffee, Dorset Tea, Moore’s Dorset knob biscuits and craft beers from the Dorset Brewery Co. On our final night we ordered one of Feather Down’s signature farmers’ stews. This time Martin arrived bearing a crate of raw ingredients, extra firewood and a recipe and set us to work on our own supper, a boozy beef, potato and veg casserole to be cooked outside over an open fire in what looked suspiciously like the magic porridge pot. Cooking the stew is a three-hour event but on a sunny evening in mid-May that was hardly a chore. Surrounded by cow parsley and the smell of sun-baked hay we got to work chopping veg and opening a bottle of wine and spent the interim giving our supper the occasional stir as swallows swooped and dived overhead and we tried to distinguish between the happy squeals of baby goats in a neighbouring paddock and those of our children. At one point we realised that the recipe didn’t quite match the ingredients and asked Martin for further instruction. “Joby just throws everything in together and it always works,” he shrugged. The same could be said of our weekend. Throw people together with the right mix of wildlife, fresh air and simple home cooking and they’re sure to leave happy. Feather Down stays cost from £275 for six people for a four-night midweek break, featherdown.co.uk Written by Rhiannon Batten, June 2016 Images provided by Richard Hammond/Greentraveller You might also like The best places to eat & drink in Dorset in 2016 The best small-scale food producers in the UK Six new British cheeses everyone should try Best-ever brunch recipes The best wines to drink with burgers
The Queens Arms, Corton Denham: pub with rooms review
Read our review of hidden Dorset gem The Queens Arms – a pub with rooms that gets the balance just right
Head north from well-heeled Sherborne, in north west Dorset, through a labyrinth of country lanes and, just as you become convinced that you’re lost, you’ll come to the tiny village of Corton Denham and The Queen’s Arms. From its pretty honey-coloured stone and flagstone floors to its welcoming atmosphere, sunny garden and ‘muddy paws welcome’ policy, it’s everything a country pub should be. The food: Chef Dan Richards (previously of the River Cottage in nearby Axminster) recently joined The Queens Arms and heads up a kitchen that focuses on local, seasonal ingredients. There’s a map on the back of the succinct menu showing where they’ve sourced their produce and it includes their own smallholding and a kitchen garden; in keeping with the community spirit, the team is also known to accept fruit and veg from regulars’ gardens in exchange for dinner. This level of care really shows on the plate – they’re uncomplicated dishes but everything, even the simplest boiled new potato, is bursting with flavour. Stylish starters, like delicate goat’s curd and candied walnut with earthy beetroot, and silky smooth duck liver parfait with a crunch of hazelnut are both great ways to kick off. Mains include pub classics, like beer-battered fish and hand-cut chips and ground rib burger, as well as more refined dishes like succulent, perfectly pink rack of spring lamb and braised shoulder with charred hispi cabbage, dauphinoise potatoes and red wine jus. The absolute must-order though, is the braised beef, mushroom and ale pie. With its flaky pastry and rich, tender meat, it’s one of the best pies we’ve ever had. Desserts such as orange and cardamom panna cotta with coconut and almond sponge and blood orange sorbet, and Somerset cider brandy and pear parfait with ginger cake and honeycomb both hit the spot but don’t reach the same heights as the starters or mains. The cakes were both the stars of these desserts though, making us wish we’d arrived in time for afternoon tea. The drinks: The Queens Arms makes its own beer in collaboration with award-winning Dorset brewery Gyle 59, and they’ve recently launched a new season brew, ‘Legless Liz’, in celebration of the Queen’s 90th birthday. With a punch of citrus and classic floral hops, it’s the perfect beer for summer sessions – despite foodie credentials, this is still a pub you can have a pint in. If beer isn’t your thing, there’s an extensive gin collection and a refined wine list. Be warned, though. It’s almost impossible to resist the pork pies and black pudding scotch eggs perched on the bar as you order. The bedrooms: There are eight cosy, individually decorated, bedrooms here. With muted tones on the walls and solid wood furniture each strikes the perfect balance between country cottage charm and modern chic. There are magazines and Tea Pigs teas on coffee tables and fluffy towels and L’Occitane products in the bathrooms. Beds are marshmallow-soft and you’re awoken by the gentle bleating of sheep in neighbouring fields as you look across the rolling hills. Book room six on the ground floor if you’re bringing a four-legged friend. The breakfast: There’s a buffet of cereal and pastries but don’t miss the opportunity for a more substantial breakfast, particularly if you’ve got a day of walking ahead. They nail the classics here – eggs royale is served with perfectly poached eggs and tangy hollandaise, or order eggs ‘any which way’ on toast with Gloucester Old Spot bacon. Don’t miss: With its historic Abbey, independent shops and must-visit delis selling all manner of local produce, Sherborne makes a great day trip from The Queens Arms. If you’re looking to take in the countryside, though, grab one of the maps in your room detailing the best local walks. Let the team know and they’ll put together a picnic of sandwiches, soft drinks and those pork pies to take with you. Double rooms at The Queens Arms start from £85 b&b (thequeensarms.com). Written by Sarah Kingsbury May 2016 You might also like The UK's best gastro pubs with rooms The Ship Inn, Elie: pub with rooms review Hannah's b&b, Winchester: review
Read our review of Comins Tea House, in Bath, the tea equivalent of an artisan coffee shop. Expect single estate teas and a food menu designed to match the teas
Think of a typical English tearoom and you probably think of floral china teapots, gilt-edged, triple-tiered cake stands and tablecloths draped over tightly packed tables-for-two. The new Comins Tea House, in Bath, is nothing of the sort. The pared-down décor here is light and airy with white walls, clean lines and simple blonde wood. Maps of tea estates, beautifully illustrated with tea-based inks, hang on one wall and a long banquette beneath them is peppered with tables inset with little gutters (to tip your dregs into before you start a second cup), the bench below carved with circular dimples designed to hold flasks of hot water and save space on the tables. The concept is clearly a labour of love for owners Rob and Michelle Comins. Rob, formerly a primary school teacher and property developer, and Michelle, previously in marketing for a pharmaceutical company, had their lightbulb moment on a holiday in India. Michelle had always been passionate about tea but Rob hadn’t drunk it until he was 29, put off for life (so he thought) by early sips of stewed teabag tea. On that fateful trip to India, however, they happened to visit a tea estate and Michelle’s interest took a serious turn. Even Rob became hooked, the delicate black tea he tasted in Darjeeling miles away from the stewed cuppas he’d tried as a teen. On subsequent travels, Michelle started scheduling visits to tea plantations into their plans and gradually an idea was hatched; they would import tea from the estates they visited and see if they could make a business selling it online in the UK. “We bought the smallest amounts we could at first, thinking that if the website failed, the worst that would happen was that we’d be left with kilos of delicious tea to drink ourselves over the next 10 years,” says Rob. Of course, the stockpile in the Comins’ house never materialised. They started the website in 2011 and the business was successful enough for Michelle to leave her job. In 2013, the couple opened a tea house in their hometown, Dorset’s Sturminster Newton. Three years later and with many of Sturminster’s citizens having made the transition from “white with two sugars” to cups of pale amber Dong Ding (yes, that really is a tea) and nutty green Houjicha, the Comins have just opened their second branch, in Bath. As with their first café, the latest Comins Tea House shows great attention to detail, from the lampshades that hang above the main counter (they’re made from stencilled tea sacks salvaged from Makaibari, the first tea estate the couple visited) to the tea bowls each brew is served in (delicate porcelain cups, they’re custom-made by potter Rachel Dormor). Sustenance-wise the focus at Comins Tea House is equally contemporary, and carefully curated. The menu of teas, and accompanying food, have all been chosen for their quality and suitability (you won’t find catering company carrot cake here, or industrial packs of teabags). All the food is either made from scratch on site, or by a network of local makers, and tea appears prominently as a cooking ingredient (matcha ice cream, Assam tea bread, Darjeeling-laced caramel shortbread). In the future there are plans to offer tea-based cocktails, too. But the focus, of course, is on teas. Sit at one of Comins Tea House’s tables and one of the first things you notice is a quiet little chirrup of alarms going off around you as different customer’s infusions are ready; depending on which tea you order you might have a little clay teapot or a lidded bowl to infuse it in but every tea comes with a recommended brewing time – and little timers to help you get it right. That might sound complicated but it’s actually very simple. There are no herbal teas, no blended teas, no flavoured teas, just a list of 30 or so single estate teas ranging in price from £2.50 to £8 per pot. The leaves can be steeped several times so it’s good value. It’s also a revelation. There are few instances when something makes you look at an everyday staple in a new light but this is one of them. Teas here are as different from your everyday cuppa as a cold-brew coffee is from a cup of Nescafé. Which is exactly what Comins Tea House is trying to demonstrate. Rob cites Colonna & Small’s, Bath’s most geeky independent coffee house, as an inspiration for what they’d like to offer tea-lovers and it’s a good comparison. There are even plans to provide trainspotter-style tick cards so that regulars can mark up – and make notes against - the teas they’ve tried. Once you’ve had a tea here, you understand why. Even green tea is nothing like the bitter, soupy, sludge you might have tried elsewhere. Instead it is delicate and light, a mesmerizingly pale shade of green. For a nation of tea drinkers, it’s time we started being a bit more choosy about our cuppas, and Comins is a great place to start. The food is equally impressive. We went at lunchtime and tried a mix of dishes - pork gyoza with ginger, cabbage and spring onion were a lesson in how to do dumplings – plump and fresh with soy and sriracha to dip into – while a coronation chicken tartine, served on a wooden board with a little side salad of minty cucumber and tomato, was lighter than it sounds, with chopped spinach in the mix and deliciously thin-sliced seeded bread. At around a fiver each, they were just the right size. The full menu wasn’t up and running when we visited but should be by the time you read this; look out for set lunch menus including tea, gyoza and matcha ice cream or tea, momo and mango kulfi, and breakfasts of Sri Lankan hoppers (pegged to be a huge food trend this year) or matcha granola with blueberries. Afternoon tea is also likely to be big here and, in the interests of a thorough review we selflessly ate our way through some of the sweeter items, including the Darjeeling-infused caramel shortbread and matcha ice cream. The shortbread was a hit, the right mix of crunch and goo with just the tiniest hint of citrus. The matcha ice cream was also good, deliciously smooth and rich if a little hard (it wasn’t on sale when we visited as Rob was still working on the recipe but he’ll no doubt have it cracked by now). But one of the standout menu choices was the simplest – Hokkaido milk bread with cinnamon butter. The bread was lovely. Made to order by a Japanese baker in Dorset, it was gently toasted and crunchy on the outside but mallow-soft inside, and the cinnamon butter was so treacly it was like spooning honey. The combination reminded us of that local must-try, the Bath bun. The last one we’d eaten had been served with a little pot of cinnamon butter. But, like many things on the menu here, Comins’ version was more contemporary, and just that little bit better. Comins Tea House 34 Monmouth Street Bath BA1 2AN cominsteahouse.co.uk Written by Rhiannon Batten, March 2016 You might also like Five of the best teahouses in the UK Bath weekend break guide The best afternoon teas in London The Scallop Shell, Bath: review Everything you need to know about kombucha Le Bistrot Pierre, Bath: review
The Cary Arms, Devon: hotel and restaurant review
Read our review of The Cary Arms in Babbacombe, an idyllic blue-and-white inn set on a beautiful Devonshire beach
Babbacombe is the kind of place that Agatha Christie would have sent a recuperating character to: there’s Devonshire sunshine, an uninterrupted horizon, blue seas and a charming beach made private by the shelter of a steep, tree-lined cliff. There’s even an art deco funicular railway (originally built in 1926), which links the beach to Babbacombe’s pretty clifftop green. Sleep The Cary Arms must be the most tranquil place for a pint in Devon. Happily sat inside the curve of Babbacombe bay, right next to Oddicombe beach, the view from the inn stretches to Portland Bill in Dorset and takes in the pink-soil cliffs of the English Riviera and an old pier where both seals and locals like to fish. The building dates back to the 1800s and its design embraces the view tastefully. Outside is a series of tiered terraces separated by pristine rock gardens, all with beautiful views of the bay (there’s no such thing as a bad table); and inside the inn is all log fire cosiness, with most tables pointing seawards and shiny brass ship paraphernalia throughout. Bedrooms (some dog-friendly) have that fresh coastal feel. If there are more of you, rent one of the adjoining blue-and-white fisherman’s cottages that come with log fires, spacious rooms and fancy bathrooms with slipper baths facing the sea. New for summer 2016 is a row of luxury beach huts, with nothing but a sparkling English Channel in front of them. Eat If there’s a restaurant along this stretch of coast that enjoys better views than The Cary Arms, we’re yet to find it. The panorama changes with where you sit – tables inside the conservatory and the round ‘captain’s table’ outside (pictured below) are particularly lovely. For breakfast, try grilled kippers or the Devon full English; for lunch it’s all about the succulent local white crab meat and lemon mayonnaise bloomer. Dinner centres around fish – pick one of the chef specials for the freshest catch, such as delicately poached John Dory with basil pesto and seasonal vegetables, or Lyme Bay lobster. The wine list is plentiful and each week the De Savary family (who own the inn) choose the house white and red. Do No trip to the English Riviera is complete without a ride on the Babbacombe funicular. Starting from The Cary Arms, mosey along Oddicombe beach via a wooden walkway to reach the railway (look out for crabs skirting the rock pools below) and catch your ride for £2 per person – “it feels like being on a roller coaster!” as one little girl in our cabin squealed. Double rooms at The Cary Arms start from £195, b&b (caryarms.co.uk). More info: visitdevon.co.uk Written by Charlotte Morgan, March 2016
Timbrell's Yard, Bradford on Avon: hotel and restaurant review
Check out our review of Timbrell's Yard in Bradford on Avon for stylish and contemporary rooms, modern gastropub food and a calming weekend getaway
Timbrell’s Yard, in Bradford-on-Avon, is part of a quiet revolution luring food-lovers away from tourist-packed Bath to the Georgian spa town’s more peaceful (but equally charming) neighbour. In a recently converted Grade II-listed building, tucked away by the river near the iconic Town Bridge and Lock Up, Timbrell’s Yard provides the perfect hideout for a gastropub style weekend getaway. With a well-stocked bar buffeted by smartly upholstered sofas and wooden tables, plus a large restaurant serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, you need only leave Timbrell’s Yard to stroll up through the town’s honey-stone houses to cafes, shops and delis, or to stride out along the banks of the River Avon into the Wiltshire countryside. If wet weather interrupts plans, perch on a window seat in one of the hotel’s mezzanine bedrooms and be hypnotised by the river sleepily drifting past in front of Holy Trinity church. These three light and bright rooms are the epitome of Scandi cool - listen to the retro Pure radio while your companion reclines on a contemporary wicker chair plumped up with soft merino wool cushions. These are calming spaces, and a clever transformation of what was previously a gym – Clipper tea and fresh coffee sit in a snug alcove below the light wooden stairs that lead up to the rooms’ mezzanine levels. Pop art and exposed bedside lighting frame large white beds, with huge TVs hooked on the wall opposite for lazy mornings watching TV. Skylights ensure the mezzanine areas are well lit, but electronic blackout blinds do the trick when it’s time for lights out. And local Bramley toiletries add luxury to the black and grey-tiled rain showers in the en-suite bathrooms. For a retreat that’s a little more luxurious, there are larger, and equally stylish, rooms in the older part of the hotel. Room 106 is our pick, dominated by a super-king Manhattan-style platform bed and furnished with a subtle combination of contemporary grey textiles, unique antique furnishings, exposed beams, white-washed stone walls, wooden paneling and a freestanding roll-top bath (with uninterrupted views of the River Avon). Thanks to executive chef Tom Blake, previously of River Cottage, and head chef Ricky Ford, previously of Gary Rhodes & The Museum Inn, an expertly prepared dinner awaits you at the bottom of the stairs in Timbrell’s Yard’s main restaurant. Start with a British Bath Gin or a Honeys Midford cider to accompany top notch bar snacks - ham hock bonbons are smoky béchamel croquettes studded with meaty chunks of ham served with a punchy apple slaw, and truffle aioli lifts creamy cauliflower croquettes. Gloucester Old Spot pork scratching wheels dipped into apple sauce add a satisfying crunch to the platter. Hearty mains include roast breast of chicken on a bed of chorizo and springy Sardinian fregola pasta with grilled Bromham purple sprouting broccoli, and slow-roast Gloucester Old Spot pork belly wrapped in fennel and sea salt crackling with creamy mash, whole roast carrots and slow roast shallots bathed in gravy. Desserts are just as generous, and we opt for rich chocolate and salt caramel tart – locally produced Cocoa Loco chocolate ganache with a layer of caramel topped with honeycomb and thick Ivy House cream. Go all out and order an extra scoop of house-churned ice cream made with Blackmore Vale milk. If you can find room, spread local West Country cheeses (smoked Dorset red, Bath soft, Westcombe Cheddar) onto homemade crackers and chutney. Spend the rest of your time exploring local foodie spots – the ancient and wonky Bridge Tearooms is still (just about) standing after serving cream teas since the 17th century, while the town is also home to an independent wine merchant and a specialist cheese shop. Also new within the last year or so is The Bunch of Grapes, a stylish bar, café, shop and restaurant with a pretty oriel window, an unusual ceramic fireplace and an impressive collection of vintage cocktail glasses. Its owners lived in southwest France for several years and they’ve brought with them an expert knowledge of handcrafted wines and wood-oven cooked pissaladieres alongside a small plates menu (think roast aubergine tartine with sweet red pepper and goat curd) and French-influenced Sunday lunches. The wine bar is buzzing. However, if you’d prefer to simply relax and cut yourself off from the outside world for the weekend, the contemporary yet cosy bar area at Timbrell’s Yard has plenty to lure you back with - prop yourself up on a stylish red leather stool with a local ale, or sink into a sofa next to the fire with a Southampton-roasted Mozzo coffee and the cake of the day. timbrellsyard.com Written by Alex Crossley First published March 2016 You may also like... Bath weekend break guide: the best places to eat, drink and stay The Scallop Shell, Bath: restaurant review Bristol weekend break guide: the best places to eat, drink and stay
Abode, Exeter: hotel and restaurant review
We review England’s oldest hotel, in Devon, where Michael Caines oversees a menu that takes pride in its West Country roots
First built as an Assembly Rooms, in 1769, what is now Abode Exeter but was for many years the Royal Clarence Hotel claims to be the ‘first’ hotel in England; a 1770 advert for it is the first recorded use of the word hôtel on these shores. Thankfully, despite a recent revamp, many of the building’s period fittings remain in place (stained glass, lavishly monogrammed wood and metalwork and a spectacular lift, complete with internal concertina doors, among them). The modern fittings are less successful, their contract-furniture veneer jarring against such a genteel backdrop, but there are compelling reasons to stay at this 53-room hotel, as recent guest David Cameron would attest to. Firstly there’s that heritage (it’s also said to play occasional host to the ghost of Walter Raleigh, whose father’s house once stood on the same site). Then there’s the dramatic location, with many of the rooms looking directly onto the city’s cathedral across the green (even if you’re not staying here, book in for afternoon tea in the Cathedral Lounge, pictured below, and you can enjoy the same panorama). But the main attraction is the hotel’s kitchen. The food Under the direction of local boy turned star chef, Michael Caines, and head chef, Alex Gibbs, the hotel’s 2 AA rosette restaurant (top image) turns out immaculately prepared, seasonal, modern food, much of it sourced from the West Country. Go à la carte for dishes such as roasted quail with quail egg, herb purée and quail jus; terrine of confit duck liver and leg with rhubarb and toasted brioche; and stone bass with Thai puree, stir-fried mangetout and shitaki lemongrass foam. Or, opt for one of two tasting menus (the more elaborate of the two can only be ordered by the whole table). There’s also a dedicated, and sensibly cheaper, vegetarian menu and, at lunchtimes, a bargain two-course menu. Desserts are classic crowd-pleasers: chocolate fondant with pistachio ice cream, passionfruit crème brulée and pear bavarois with spiced ice cream. As with parts of the rest of the hotel the one false step here is the design. With tables that look as though they belong in a chain coffee shop and paintings of fruit and veg as cheesy as an M&S food ad there’s little atmosphere. It’s an unfathomable waste of that period setting. Presentation, too, feels oddly dated, with wobbly glass plates and napkins placed on laps. That flawless food, however, and personable service, means it’s a busy spot. Go now if you want to try Michael Caines' menus without the Michelin price tag; the recent announcement that he is leaving the Brownsword Group to open his own country house hotel and restaurant in Lympstone means that, from spring 2016, his association with the Abode hotels will end and his Gidleigh Park replacement, Michael Wignall, will be overseeing menus in the Abode hotels - not exactly a step down but a change nonetheless. (If you’re not after a three-course dinner, the food and drink line-up also stretches to a Champagne Bar, Café Bar and Grill and a pub, The Well House Tavern.) The drink As with the food, the focus with beers and soft drinks is on local, with a good range of guest ales and ciders from the South West (try the Devon Mist cloudy cider). The wine list is equally well thought-out; our glasses of Ridgeview sparkling wine and bottle of crisp 2013 Baronne du Cléray Muscadet Sevre et Maine went down very quickly. The bedrooms Brownsword is a hotel group of two halves. On one side is a collection of stately old country house hotels (albeit some of them, like the Bath Priory, within urban surroundings) and, on the other, a handful of more affordable city hotels that come under the Abode label, including this one. Here, like that two-part branding, the styling feels like a split personality; Travelodge-style headboards and multi-panel bathrooms have been slotted into a building ripe with period beauty; rather than a glossy trout pout, we wanted to see the beautiful old wrinkles brought to life more sympathetically. Beyond those first impressions, however, rooms are comfortable and practical, with great beds, powerful showers and, if you’re lucky, a view of the cathedral when you pull back your curtains in the morning. The breakfast A small but classy buffet includes all the usual suspects, from fresh pains au chocolats and fruit salads to cold cuts, yoghurts and prunes steeped in Earl Grey. Raspberry and banana smoothies served in little milk bottles, with candy-striped straws, were a nice addition. For a more substantial start to the day, there’s a menu of made-to-order dishes, from porridge and a full English to kippers and Eggs Benedict. The bill: Double rooms at ABode Exeter start from £99, b&b (abodeexeter.co.uk). More info: visitdevon.co.uk Words: Rhiannon Batten First published: November 2015 You might also like The Bath Priory Hotel: kitchen tour and interview with chef Sam Moody On the rails: Mitch Tonks new GWR Pullman train menu The UK’s best restaurants of 2015 Café Ode, Devon: a culinary poem to sustainable dining The best English vineyards to visit in 2015