A lovely place we stumbled upon, which is a cafe by day and unpretentious bistro on weekend evenings. A group of us were very well treated despite our being such a large group and being a bit late.
Those of us who could manage it had three
courses for £13, and we all agreed on the excellent quality and value for money.
A pub up the road was charging similar prices for a much less exciting menu, and didn't serve food in the evenings! Cafe Nosh is unlicensed but there's an off licence just across the road. Highly recommended.
Hebden Court, off one of the main roads in the centre of Bakewell.
Leave Nice and travel east five kilometres to the delightful town of Villefranche-sur-Mer with its deep natural harbour and wonderful selection of seafood restaurants.
Note the splendid Baroque church at the top of the hill and wind your way down the medieval streets to the amazing chapel by the sea, lavishly decorated by Jean Cocteau and dedicated to fishermen in the area who initially refused to enter because of the flamboyant naked male angels painted on the walls.
If you like Cocteau's work, travel onwards to Menton to a very camply decorated registry office and a wonderful museum, containing a huge Cocteau collection.
The best Indian restaurant. Fantastic food and the clientele is primarily Indian or of Indian descent. Not often you see that.
The Westands Mall opposite Uchumi supermarket
Tiny little restaurant with great food and lots of veggie options. Good wine list and pleasant service. How they can produce so much from a miniscule kitchen is miraculous
Saltwater Cafe
Fish Steet
St.Ives
A typical Argentinian parilla. Order the bif de chorizo, which is basically a sirloin (nothing to do with the sausage!). You'll get one big enough for two; order potatoes (papas) any way you like (natural - boiled; fritas- chips). Bottle of Malbec or a Qulimes beer.
Follow with a helados (ice cream) and coffee. In June it set me back 40 pesos - including tip.
Definitely no fancy stuff here, this is a local restaurant full of portenos. Although tourists do know about it. Fantastico, I thought!
Stroll down the street to Bar Seddon afterwards. In fact, San Telmo is full of interesting bars, cafes and restaurants.
Avenida Defensa 858, San Telmo.
Subte: Independencia
Google map: tinyurl.com/kt38yq
Started in Nov 2003, Susan McLeary's walking food tours of Wellington, Greytown and Martinborough are a tasty experience, whether you're a gourmet or just a foodie on tour.
On the Wellington Walking Gourmet tour, we sampled minced lamb kaftas and had a behind-the-scenes look at the kitchens in Meat on Tory, and took a choc taste test at Schoc Chocolate Therapy (the Earl Grey with dark choc was a pleasant surprise).
We tasted freshly-roasted flat white coffees at Mojo Coffee Cartel - coffee is big business in Wellington - enjoyed the variety of produce at Moore Wilson Fresh's food hall, and rounded the four-hour tour off with an excellent lunch at one of Wellington's best eateries, Logan-Brown.
Excellent value at $210 (just £70) per head.
Susan McLeary, Zest Food Tours, PO Box 6030, Wellington 6141, New Zealand, 0064 4 801 9198, www.zestfoodtours.co.nz
About an hour south of Mombasa is Diani beach, with the usual white sand, clear water and palm trees.
Forty Thieves bar/restaurant is a popular haunt that opens right on to the beach and at night is an amazing place to sit and watch the ocean.
Food is good, particularly the crab. There is music later in the evenings and a pool table but there are quiet corners and comfy sofas to sit back on and enjoy where you are. Locals and tourists alike go there which tells you something.
Sad to hear from one reader that Lamu is 'a tip'. It was a long time ago, but I spent ten weeks there (out of five months in Africa) in the winter of '88-'89 and it was incredible.
I rented a house called Daramani in the old town - located down a maze of alleys, with an incredible carved wooden door and steps up to a roof terrace with views of the town and the ocean. One of those places that you wouldn't know was there.
Daily walks to the beach at Shela and the terrace of the Peponi hotel were wonderful, evenings spent at Petley's bar in town, or one of the many restaurants. You got there by bus on a dirt road from Malindi - I hear they have paved it since - followed by a dhow trip across the channel, although there were very expensive flights to a nearby island which only weekend visitors really used. Getting there, which took most of a day from Mombasa, was half the fun.
I also spent an evening at another rented house called Dareni, which was one of the most beautiful places I saw there. Definitely check to see if either of these places are still available for rent - it's worth it if you are staying a while. However, if the town has become an eyesore that is very sad indeed.
This cafe in Mohandeseen area has very good Egyptian food. The atmosphere is warm and decor upbeat and attractive.
You MUST meet the owner, Mahmoud. He is very colourful and has a great sense of humour. He makes you feel like a long lost brother. Enjoy!
#40 Kahn Younes Demesk St. which is off Shebab St. 1 block from Radio Shack
A chic and, in terms of British prices, good value restaurant on the banks of the Vltava where you can watch the passing tourist boats and the crowds on Charles Bridge. There are plenty of river-view tables. Specialises in fish but also has other dishes and limited vegetarian menu. Approx £50 for 3 course meal with drinks.
200m from the Manesuv Most bridge on the Kampa side.
Villeneuve lez Avignon really should be visited by anyone intending to spend more than a day in Avignon. Some 10 minutes' drive to the other side of the Rhone is this superbly preserved late medieval village with great views across to the Palais des Papes.
Apart from the Chartreuse, fort, abbey gardens and village square, there's a great restaurant in a hotel next to the church. Very good food in menus costing around 70€.The sommelier is happy to recommend wines at anything from 20€ up.
Le Prieuré, 7 pl du Chapitre, Villeneuve des Avignon. 04 90 15 90 15
Surely the best restaurant in Avignon. A couple of set menus at around 65€, including the famous tomatoes in every course, plus a 'surprise' menu for around 115€ - one of the highest quality meals I've ever eaten. An ideal place for a very special meal.
Christian Etienne, 10 rue de Mons, Avignon. 04 90 86 16 50.
An excellent restaurant, in a very upmarket hotel. High quality food, with two set menus apart from the à la carte.
Beware: the 33€ menu is only available at lunch (and then not on what has been charmingly mistranslated as 'off days', ie public holidays). Otherwise, the menu costs 105€, but is well worth the price.
A delightful garden for eating outside, looking at the back of the Palais des Papes. Must book.
La Mirande, 4 place de la Mirande, Avignon. 04 90 14 20 20.
Great food, lovely service, charming village. French husband and English wife own and run this little restaurant (he is the chef - with 25 years experience behind him, she is front of house) tucked away in the southern tip of Normandy. Now listed in numerous guides and getting more and more popular.
A great little restaurant with fantastic views and great ambience, as well as good food! Less well-known (and less expensive!) than its big brother on Porthminster but up there with it.
Porthgwidden Beach
St.Ives
Cornwall
Decorated with an extravaganza of white subway tiles, this Lower East Side haunt snuggled up against the Rivington Hotel is a funky hybrid - think old skool diner meets Islington gastropub.
A great place for brunch, lunch or dinner, traditional dishes like stewed lamb meatballs and Schiller's steak frites hit the right notes.
131 Rivington St at Norfolk St Subway: Subway: F to Delancey St; J, M, Z to Delancey–Essex Sts Mon–Wed 11am–1am; Thu 11am–2am; Fri 11am–3am; Sat 10am–3am; Sun 10am–1am.
Great place for brunch before taking a tour of the Lower East boutiques. Fish tacos and buttermilk biscuits left me wanting more!
4 Clinton St between Houston and Stanton Sts, Subway: Subway: F to Delancey St; J, M, Z to Delancey–Essex Sts, Mon–Fri 8am–11pm; Sat 10am–4pm, 6–11pm; Sun 10am–4pm.
Fantastic restaurant overlooking Cardigan Bay. Top quality freshly-cooked food all sourced locally and presented with style and innovation.
Cardigan Bay fresh lobster simply steamed and served with clarified butter, homemade bread and a fantastic bottle of New Zealand Sauvingnon Blanc is an absolute delight.
The Cambria
Marine Terrace
Aberystwyth
SY23 2AZ
01970 626366
We joined a tour with Hanoi Street Foods which was a great introduction to the local grub and took us places we wouldn't have dared go ourselves.
When we got more confident we sampled the local 'bia hois' where a glass of beer is available for less than 10p!
Also recommended is Highway4 restaurant where we were either ultra-confident or drunk on their rice wine and tucked into local scorpions, bugs, ostrich and crocodile!
Livingston is a little town, a little like Jamaica. A very peaceful place, there is a big inter-cultural mix, you find the Garifunas, Quetchi, Ladinos and Coolis.
The people are very friendly and the place is relaxing. The nights are warm and there are partys on every street, in the day you can visit the most beautiful river in Central America "Rio Dulce" you can't miss the tour with Exotic Travel Agency who I travelled with and recomend to everyone.