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If anyone feels like having a pleasant evening with candlelight and intimate ambiance, try 1917 Blinis & Vodkas. They have a good assortment of smoked fish (salmon, tuna, herring, etc) on top of freshly baked blinis and a choice of 30 different kinds of vodka from Estonia, Russia, Poland, France, Argentina, etc. And the location is perfect: next to the Teatro Real (Madrid's Opera House).
Calle de la Independencia 1, 911 429 800, Opera metro station, bar1917.com
Right opposite the excellent Café Gollem (a lovely, cosy little bar where you can sample up to 200 Belgian beers) is one of the best beer shops in Holland. Selling about 500 beers from all over the world and specialising in beers from small independent brewers, it's an absolute treasure trove for the beer lover. You can buy Westvleteren there (which is reputedly the best beer in the world and extremely hard to come by), as well as some truly stunning Scandinavian and American beers. Try the Norwegian Porters and Imperial Stouts. Highly recommended.
And once you've bought some for later, why not pop into Café Gollem to try a couple on tap and maybe a Kaasplank (literally a plank with cheese & bread on it). Very satisfying. There's also a second branch of Café Gollem right by the Albert Cuyp Market in the Pijp district.
crackedkettle.nl/store/
www.cafegollem.nl/default_EN.asp
www.cafegollem.nl/bierkeuken/default_EN.asp
Both The Cracked Kettle and Café Gollem are on Raamsteeg, a small alley between Spuistraat and the Singel canal. The other Gollem is on Daniel Stalpertstraat, round the corner from the Albert Cuyp Market and the Heineken brewery
The Pav is Trinity College Dublin's only drinking hole at the moment, and as the summer approaches is really the only one needed. The bar itself is horrid.
I'm recommending it on the strength that it is the best place to drink outside in central Dublin, legally.
On a Thursday and more so on a Friday there will be literally thousands of people, students, office slaves and more, sitting in the sun drinking. Drinks can be bought at the bar- 4 cans of larger for €8 - or more often brought in. Sometimes there's cricket on, and you can laze and look at that, or the stunning Berkley Library full of studying students, all wishing they were down on the grass next to you.
Other activities might include an impromptu kick about, impromptu sing-a-long, frisbee game, streaker and other studenty type activities.
Food and other drinks available and there's a very limited selection of beers and stouts on tap, but buying drink in there seems against the whole spirit of the thing.
The Pavilion Bar,
Trinity College Dublin,
It's the yellowish building facing on to the cricket pitch.
A great option in Sao Paulo if you want to meet new friends, have excellent appetisers and hamburgers, and play snooker while enjoying live music is the Canucks, located in the Vila Olimpia region. It is a fantastic place and English is spoken (www.canuckspub.com).
Rua Gomes de Carvalho 1666 phone 55-11-3463-5240
www.canuckspub.com
A monthly market (held every first Sunday) which takes place either inside or outside the Milgi bar on City Road (an eclectric bar/bistro with video art, squashy sofas, chandeliers and a good line in cocktails and homemade pop).
It's a bit of a hotchpotch of jumble, young designers, live music, DJs, the odd random performance artist, maybe a BBQ, maybe some nice hot soup...
It's genuinely really great for hand printed tees and pumps, jewellery, second-hand books, vinyl, vintage-rummaging, people-watching, cake-eating, cocktail-drinking... And sometimes it happens at night too, which can be very, very good.
Milgi, 213 City Road, Cardiff, www.myspace.com/northcotelanemarket
The old square in Patan is beautiful. The museum is tranquil and a nice place for food. There are many cafes on the rooftops around the square for drinks/meals in the evening.
www.world-heritage-tour.org/asia/south-asia/nepal/kathmandu/patan/map.html
A great wine bar at Casa da Guia near Cascais, with simple delicious food and, of course, very good wine. Fantastic views of the Atlantic Ocean. Well worth a visit.
This is a bar that I would dearly love to have just down the road at home!
Small, cosy and intimate, playing great music from Joy Division, The Smiths, Bowie, The Sex Pistols, etc.. An indie mecca for music.
Friendly bar staff, cheap prices and never that concerned about closing! I left there at gone 2am and there was no sign of people leaving, in fact others were still coming in!
Do yourself a favour and discover this little gem!
This is a really good bar in Southwark, great for an after work drink and not too expensive for where it is! (good chips too)
Wonderful journey around an eclectic bunch of bars with people from around the world. Super way to meet people in Basel early in the week when otherwise not a lot is happening.
Poeme is one of Bucharest's best restaurants, actually located in the Carol Parc Hotel.
International cuisine, excellent service, but moreover an excellent 'de luxe' atmosphere.
www.carolparchotel.ro
+40-21-3363377
Fantastically ornate First Republic-style cafe just off the main square (to the left of the town hall, across the road from the Hotel Praha). The decor inside is straight out of pre-War Vienna.
Off Benes Namesti
Brîndusa is a fair way out of the centre, although not that far from the Civic Centre and 'House of the People', but it is worth seeking out if you are looking for a wholly authentic Bucharest culinary and drinking experience with no pretentious tourist frills or added kitsch. This is the real Bucharest, in the raw. A little further up the street, tucked away between Str. Vasile Topliceanu and Str. Motoc, you will find La Pietris, a rough and ready though highly picturesque beer garden and summertime hangout. Don't mind Rex the bar dog - he's very friendly.
Str. Elev Popovici Nicolae, on the corner with Str. Novaci, just off Str. Mihail Sebastian, the main road linking Calea Rahovei and Str. 13 Septembrie
Umami is a unique experience, based on the philosophy of Japanese cuisine of natural, seasonal ingredients, accentuated by the substance and tradition of French cuisine. With an international flavour, Umami offers the very best in modern Japanese cuisine and interior design.
The bar is well stocked with the finest booze known to mankind and excellent cocktails.
St. Kongensgade 59
1264 København K
Tlf. +45 33 38 75 00
mail@restaurantumami.dk
We stayed over at La Casa Azul which is right in front of the central market and we found this lovely new Gastronomik tapas bar/restaurant called Tapa2.
We were amazed at what we got - five courses of pure delight, all served with different drinks to wet the palette.
The owner Eduardo Phillips Blanco (you would be surprised to find out he is English, with that name) and head chef Michael Baering not only provided and served some of the best food we have ever eaten but also entertained us.
Our meal cost us 35 euros each and that was with all drink included, they do a deal with three tapas dishes and a bottle of vino for 15 euros most nights though.
Find them off the beaten track, near La Lonja, not the best setting but the restaurant is cool and funky and it hasn't copped on with the Spanish yet.
Carda6, Barrio del Carmen, Valencia
+34 663 875 903
www.tapa2gastronomik.es (not up and running yet)
Great environment. Excellent Cava selection. Even though there might be a queue the line moves quickly - we were out the door and it took us less than 20 minutes to sit down (can't book). I preferred it to the sister restaurant - the flagship Commerce 24 (too sterile for me).
tapaC24
diputacio, 269
08007 barcelona
Fantastic bar and restaurant: whether it's the fabulous food, chatting with the great owners and bar staff, having a beer in the treehouse or a swing in the hammocks - you won't want to leave!
right on Sihanoukville Beach
It is a high quality, excellent restaurant, one of the best within the National Park.
in the village square of Broughton-in-Furness,
www.beswicks.co.uk/
An amazing pub that is owned and run by a priest, with an interior that has probably not been touched for 40 years or more. Great real ales and unique atmosphere makes this a place not to be missed.
1, The Moor, Falmouth, Cornwall, TR11 3QA
If you're in Devon get into Totnes and enjoy the river Dart, Vire Island, the Town Museum, the Costume Museum in Bogan house. Then, if it's Friday or Saturday, you can enjoy the town market too. After that go on right up through the Narrows to the top of town and you'll find the Bay Horse Inn - lovely food, real beer, a warm atmosphere with a nice garden at the back - and local folk music on Tuesday nights, very good jazz evenings - at no extra charge! You can stay the night there too. A great place to be on your holiday!
The Bay Horse is in Cistern Street, by the Rotherfold, at the end of The Narrows, on your right going uphill.
Totnes station is on the main Paddington to Plymouth line. The whole town is within easy walking distance of the station.
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