Baltic – getting colder!

I used to love Baltic, good tasty Eastern European food and a great selection of flavoured vodkas, plus they had a Jazz singer on Sunday evenings to add some atmosphere (its a big room so it needs it!). My last visit was disappointing, let down very badly by the service, although on the plus side they knew it and gave us both some free vodka’s. The food is not as good as it used to be, but still of a reasonable standard. The vodka list has shrunk and the bar now seems to focus more on cocktails.

I would also say this is more of a winter venue due to the type of food they serve.

 

 

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The Ivy – A list or Z list?

Celebrity hang out? I am not convinced. I have been here twice now and if you do spot anyone familiar, it is pretty much a Z lister. Then again I have not really been there on the popular nights. It was so hard to get a table, we just took what we could get.  To guarantee a table, you may have to book 3 months in advance.

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The venue is not pretentious, it’s actually very cosy, a bit of a refuge from all the hustle and bustle of theatre land. The food is surprisingly simple and Italian in influence. It is not cheap, but neither is it rip off prices. I particularly enjoyed the honeycomb ice cream desert.

They layout of tables is very good for people watching, no facing the wall for the Gents in this venue. On one visit, we were entertained by the chap at the next table (who had obviously just got back from a holiday in Spain) repeatedly shouting ¡HOLA! to get the waiters attention, the amusing part was when his girlfriend got up to go to the loo, and did not return!

 

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The Waterside Inn – old fashioned comfort

I found the food at  The Waterside Inn in Bray to be quite conventional, fairly typical french haute cuisine. I have to admit I expected a lot more from a 3 star Michelin – I suspect at least 1 star applied to the location.

It was also a bit of a struggle to find a reasonably priced bottle of Champagne – the wine list was a bit daunting. That said it was a lovely day out. The Waterside Inn is a very comfortable venue. We made our selves at home, spending hours out on the terrace after lunch drinking brandy that was older than we were, and indulging in a little too much PX.

Here is a short video about The Waterside Inn:-

 

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Wish list – So many Restaurants to visit!

I am building up a wish list of restaurants that I really should make an effort to visit at some point in the future:-

Barcelona

Bath

Copenhagen

  • Noma – maybe, although not so keen on the idea of live ants.

Cheltenham

Edinburgh

Hong Kong

Kent

Lake District

London

Manchester

New York

Nottingham

Paris

San Sebastian

If any of our readers have recommendations, feel free to add them as comments.

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The Chop House – good old spot

The Bar in the Chop House in Butlers Wharf is a really civilised venue for breakfast, it is especially lovely on a sunny day when you can sit outside and watch the boats on the river, taking in the stunning views of Tower bridge.  The menu is excellent, I would especially recommend the Gloucester Old Spot sausages. It is best to reserve a table for breakfast as this is a very popular venue.

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Marks out of 10

Food 6.5

Service 5

Location 7

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El Celler De Can Roca – numbers do lie!

The S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list rates El Celler De Can Roca as number 5, not that the place is bad, far from it. It is just that I haven’t been to all the best restaurants in the world yet, and this one already is not in my top 5.  Actually I should have know better than trust this list, as last year I visited number 11 L’Astrance in Paris, again not bad – but not really worth in my view the acolades it receives. Plus this year Restaurant Gordon Ramsay – Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea did not even make the top 100, and that is most definately in my top 10.

El Celler De Can Roca is out in the suburbs of Girona, so about 1 hour on the train from Barcelona, then a 10-15 minute taxi ride.  It is a very stylish venue, and they had some nice touches, the one I especially approved off, was the complimentary Cava and water (not that we did not really pay for it in the bill – as El Celler De Can Roca is not cheap). This is a much nicer approach than staff pushing you to buy a glass of overpriced Champagne before your meal (one of my pet hates).

An easier alternative in the Roca Brothers empire, is to just stay in Barcelona and go to their restaurant at Hotel Omm , Moo.

UPDATE: March 2010 – El Celler De Can Roca, was awarded its third Michelin star this year.

UPDATE: April 2010 –  El Celler De Can Roca is now at number 4 on the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list.

UPDATE: April 2013 –  El Celler De Can Roca is now number 1 on the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list.

 

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