- eating
- (6421)
-
Invited out for a dinner with friends yesterday, and WOW, what a place. I overheard another table mention it had just been awarded 2 AA stars and that it was only 1 of 3 restaurants to have them.
Have to say I wasn't surprised. The food was excellent and the overall venue is just magic.
Every time we go to Santa Rosa we always dine at LoCoco’s. The reason? Simple: it’s the best Italian restaurant we’ve been to outside Italy. They offer fresh pasta, fish and meat dishes cooked in a traditional way. The fettucine al cinghiale (wild boar fettucine) is superb. Linguine alle vongole (clam linguine); pasta shells stuffed with spinach and ricotta; penne con salsiccia are but a few of their dishes. But before you can enjoy a trip to culinary Italy, you’re brought a breadbasket with several slices of gorgeous bread and a little bowl of either olive oil or green olive tapenade. So whilst you’re looking at the menu and trying to decide what to indulge yourself with, you can start dipping those thick slices into a bit of Italy.
The service is also unbeatable and all the waiters are charming in the Italian way. They’ll give you a list of special dishes of the day and will help you make your choice if you’re a bit stuck or overwhelmed.
Try to leave a bit of room in your stomach, for the desserts at LoCoco’s are a must. The tiramisù is a favourite, but they’ve also got cannoli and profiterol just to name a couple.
The only drawback at LoCoco’s, we find, is that it fills very fast and it’s usually packed. So we suggest booking in advance and, if possible, early in the week or at mid-week, but try to avoid Friday or Saturday evenings as the staff are so busy that you may have to wait a bit too long for your food.
NB: There are other LoCoco’s in the US but they are not related to LoCoco’s Cucina Rustica, Santa Rosa.
LoCoco’s Cucina Rustica
Historic Railroad Square
117 Fourth Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95401
Phone: (707) 523 2227
Fax: (707) 523 2902
Disappointed that Sabor do Brasil has closed, as I love Brazillian food and hoped to visit it on a visit from Lancashire, but I discovered Brazillian café, Pizzico, 289 Regents Park Road N3 3JY near Finchley Central Station (formerly an Italian deli/café recently taken over by a Brazillian who cooks like an angel).
I have heard it said that it is better than Sabor used to be, and the prices are really good too. So if, like me, anyone is disappointed to lose Sabor, I recommend they try Pizzico.
289 Regents Park Road, N3 3JY
Tel: 020 8371 1999
Some of the best homemade ice cream I've ever tasted, served by the makers in an atmosphere that's friendly and warm. Go there for the ice cream, stay for the chat and come away with a desire to return. I recommend the raspberry cup... If anyone wants to buy me one, I'll explain why!
Conti's cafe, Harford Square, Lampeter, Dyfed
The peak of ice cream perfection ... in the Peak District. The vans do the rounds of Derbyshire honeypots, and there's a posh ice cream parlour in posh Bakewell. Try the Bakewell pudding flavour.
An Italian restaurant and ice cream parlour.
The best ice cream in London if not the UK, stroll off Primrose Hill and towards Camden town and there it is. Amazing flavour and amazing sundaes. Can't beat it.
Chalk Farm Road, towards Camden Town from Chalk Farm station on the left hand side as you walk south.
The creamiest, cholcolatiest, ice cream in the world.
Best bought from Grunter's Cafe in East Prawle.
It's a little known fact that Slavic countries do fabulous ice cream, especially eaten in sub zero winters!
Bratislava's friendly, pedestrianised Old Town is packed with places to find superb ice cream, made with real fruit and no artifical additives, from stalls on historic squares to little hole-in-the-wall spots. Try varieties like lemon,strawberry, apple, hazelnut, coffee, After Eight, Bounty, cappuccino, vanilla, nougat and one that looks like bright carrot gelato but is, apparently, vitaminova!
Two great ice cream bars are at:
Kafe Laguna
Laurinska & Ursulinska corner
Open daily 10am-midnight
Ice Bar Luculus
Hviezdoslavovo namestie 19
Open Mon-Fri 9am-10pm
Sat-Sun 10am-10pm
No Contest... If it's still there. I fondly remember munching this stuff as a bairn...
Super creamy white ice cream made in Southend.
The seafront
Excellent ice creams in the seaside village of Parkgate on the Wirral. The strange thing is the sea has now gone, it's no longer a busy port and due to the Dee tides it only comes up to the sea wall a couple of times a year. Excellent views to the mountains of north Wales.
On the Parade, in the centre of town, just on the edge of the Wirral.
Tel: 0151 336 1274
A tiny family-run ice cream factory in Macclesfield, Cheshire. Choose a cornet of one of umpteen flavours in the shop, and eat it on the bench outside, peering through the windows at their collection of ice cream vehicle memorabilia. Or take home a tub! Or one of their fantastic ice cream cakes!
Award-winning Treacle Town, with a rich flavour and little marshmallows is particularly good, as are their seasonal fruit flavours and the Christmas Pudding ice cream which appears in winter.
74 Newton Street, Macclesfield, SK11 6RJ, 01625 424391
Simply the best tasting ice-cream in the world!!
Produced by a small dedicated family firm who really know how to make natural ice cream.
Norwich, on a barrow in London Street and in restaurants/cafes/shops in Norfolk.
www.ronaldo-ices.co.uk/
Amazing vegetarian restaurant which serves innovative and interesting food, has a good wine list, and the staff are very friendly too.
17-18 Prince Albert Street, The Lanes
www.foodforfriends.com/
The best ice cream ever is to be found served at the Captain's Table in Woodbridge. Pascal, the chef/owner, churns out his own, and will also sell by the tub. It's unfair to single out the honeycomb and lemon curd flavours because the others are all so good too!
Runner-up is Suffolk Meadow Ice cream, sold at various outlets, farm shops and farmers markets in Suffolk - it's made on a farm in Rendham and sold by members of the family (say hello to George - the most cheerful ice cream seller I've ever met!).
Honourable mention to the ice cream parlour at Aldeburgh - the only problem is that its 60 flavours make choosing a nightmare.
The Captain's Table, Quay Street, Woodbridge.
captainstable.co.uk/
Suffolk Meadow ice cream - available throughout Suffolk.
Aldeburgh ice cream parlour, High Street, Aldeburgh.
Seriously good ice cream made from sheep's milk from their own herd and fruit from local growers. Buy a cone and eat it sitting on the grass in the "honesty" bookshop under the castle.
9 High Town, Hay-on-Wye
Tel: 01981 550716 www.shepherdsicecream.co.uk
Part of me is loathe to share this tip - it's my restaurant. No trip to Madrid is complete without lunch here for this former Madrid resident.
A local neighbourhood restaurant, sandwiched between the traditional madrileno working class district of Lavapies and Plaza Santa Ana.
Don't be put off by the long menu translated into English and German as I initially was. If you arrive on a Monday or Thursday lunchtime the queues of Madrilenos, business men in suits to builders in boilersuits, waiting for their cocido and paella specials will convince you it's not a tourist trap.
The service is at times brusque. I ate here at least once a week for a year and only during my last week in Madrid did the waiters show me any familiarity - and I lived next door.
The food is simple but good. There are a selection of menus at various prices to suit any budget.
The atmosphere is pure Madrid. TV blaring in the corner, twice as many tables crammed in as should really fit and shouted conversations echoing off the tiled walls and wooden floor. You do not come here for a relaxing lunch. But all the same don't come here if you are pushed for time. You can be out the door in 40mins having eaten a 3 course meal or waiting for your dessert 2 hours later.
Try the pollo al ajillo. Or the grilled asparagus. or the fried aubergines. or just about anything!
Enjoy.
C/Amor de Dios
M. Anton Martin.
I know it's a naff choice but honestly the ice cream there is worth the visit. These Italian guys run it and you can request a flavour you want in advance and they'll prepare it for you. Last time I went I tried blood orange sorbet which was amazing!
Harrod's, London. Knightsbridge Tube Station
This is a great new Italian restaurant in Clifton Village. As a small independent restaurant it offers a seasonal menu.The owner/head chef is from Veneto the northeast region of Italy and this forms the flavour of the menu. Having only opened Nov (06) it has had many favourable reviews. Metro four stars
25,The Mall
Clifton Village
BS8 4JG
0117 973 4499
www.proseccoclifton.com
From an Italian family recipe (of course), the finest ice cream on the Dorset (or any) coast - beloved of locals and grockles alike for many years.
Go Figgy!
Seafront, Weymouth, Dorset
Is this your business?