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This cosy wine house five minutes from the Rialto serves dozens of wonderful wines by the glass, starting at about 1.5 euros for a glass of prosecco.
Also serves delicious bar food - when it's gone, it's gone. The atmosphere is that of a private party - you can spill out on to the street or eat at little drop-down ledges, built into the walls of the shop.
A great alternative to an expensive and indifferent meal in a tourist restaurant.
Cannaregio 5984 / Salizada San Canciano
Ty Derw is a fantastic five-star B&B set in a breathtaking valley in Snowdonia. It's both stylish and really homely, the room we stayed in had a beautiful bathroom and was spotlessly clean.
The breakfast was great and they also offer a daily dinner menu with locally sourced food and an interesting and well-priced wine list.
The couple who run Ty Derw did everything they could to make us feel welcome and at home, it was a truly relaxing and luxurious break, I'd strongly recommend it.
Ty Derw B&B
01650 531318
www.tyderw.co.uk
One of the best restaurants in the world, tucked away in the far corner of Skye. Great food in a stunning location. I was slightly concerned that the service would be stuffy or too formal, but it was a relaxed place to eat dinner.
Not cheap but well worth splashing out for a special occasion. Bring your big chief i-spy book of celebs - you may spot a few in here.
THE THREE CHIMNEYS
COLBOST, DUNVEGAN, ISLE OF SKYE, IV55 8ZT
Tel: 01470 511258
Fax: 01470 511358
Email: eatandstay@threechimneys.co.uk
What a fantastic beach, a sand crescent tucked between tall cliffs, wild and wonderful, with great surfing breakers pounding the shore.
Take lunch at the restaurant which is great for fresh fish and seafood. You can choose your lobster or crab from the large tank. Recommended are amêijoas à bulhão pato (clams in garlic and white wine sauce),accompanied by a chilled bottle of vinho verde (green wine).
Walk over the cliffs to the next beach Praia Grande and see the dinosaur footprints imprinted in the cliff face. A wonderful day out.
Every Saturday in the centre of the town is this really sweet little market. Great food, very friendly.
Great way to start a weekend in Galway.There's usually a really friendly crowd around.
Shop Street, Galway, every Saturday
Large tapas bar in the heart of the city centre, hidden in behind the George Street Arcade. Decent portions, though not particularly cheap.
Its a massive space with exposed brick and palms. The service is iffy, but the atmosphere is great and mercifully there isn't any music, a rarity these days.
George Street Arcade
There are plenty of sidrerias (cider bars) in Madrid, but this one in the gay-friendly Chueca district is a huge stand-out for the quality and, especially, the quantity of the complimentary tapas. 1.50 a 'caña' isn't cheap, but you'll get a steaming pile of piggy, bready delights along with it, and that's every time you take a drink.
Also a great place for vast filled 'bocadillos' (baguette sandwiches), and various other tasty 'raciones'. Just watch out for complimentary paella - myself and others have been laid low by food poisoning for some time after a visit. The fact that I'm still recommending the place tells you just how good it is.
One final thing - get there early if you have any kind of designs on a table.
c/ Infantas, metro Chueca
It's a poor guide book which doesn't mention this place (go for the tiny taberna on c/Victoria, rather than the larger, more restaurant style versions on c/ Nunez de Arce and c/Goya).
However, I'm not sure any of them mention that if you order a 'racion' of langostinos a la plancha rather than the road-more-trodden gambas a la plancha, you get twice as many for just 20 cents more. Tastes just as good to me. Upon leaving, I've always been given a voucher for a free 'chato' of the delicious sticky house wine at one of their other restaurants. Ask if they don't volunteer it.
12, c/ Victoria, metro Sol
There are lots of choices on the Isle of Skye; hotels, B&B, hostels and camping sites.
Our family stayed in a camping site called Torvaig near Pontree for two nights. It was cheaper than the one we had stayed at near Ben Nevis. The services were the same; showers, bathrooms, clean drinking water for free, although at Ben Nevis there was a shop. The ground was hard, but there was a beautiful view at sunset.
We liked cooking so we didn’t eat out much. But when we did there were big portions. The food was similar to Irish food; haggis is just like a mix of black puddings and mince meat. If you asked for an apple pie you would expect to get a slice but there you get a whole pie. The Pike Hotel had particularly big portions.
When we cooked it was easy to find the supplies to cook on our own in any supermarket. There are also shops on the Isle of Skye so don’t fret.
We didn’t stay long, so we only got one trip done; a boat trip.
We saw a brochure in the campsite and my dad thought it would be a good thing to do. The boat left Armadale and got to Mallaig in 45 minutes. When you get there you can stay or you can walk back to the pier. It takes a couple of hours to get back on foot. It was a great boat ride. I even got to drive the boat. The view was spectacular. It was so spectacular - that I had a dream about it. When we pulled into the bay, it was lovely and calm. To the left of me there was a mountain sheltered under a beautiful white cloud. The bay had lovely turquoise water, warmer than the sea because of the surrounding rocks and big boulders. Just right for swimming. If you don’t like salt water there is a river up beside it.
The overall view from the high rock over looking the bay was really pretty, and one you don’t see everyday.
I would recommend the holiday to outgoing people and families with teenage kids.
I had a wicked time.
Excellent fish restaurant in local area of Marchmont, just 15 minutes' walk from city centre through the lovely Meadows.
The local fish shop is next door so you know whatever's on the menu is as fresh as it's going to get. We had the salt and pepper squid to start with which I would happily eat again and again and the Thai chicken soup which was flavoured to perfection and contained an abundance of chicken. There are other fish, meat and vegetarian starters.
For mains we chose roast fillets of red snapper, sea bass with cockles, mussels and fennel and pernod sauce and also a grilled duck-breast with a jus of wine and blackcurrant sauce. Both outstanding with fantastic flavours and succulent flesh.
Make sure you leave room for pudding, especially the warm hazelnut and chocolate pudding and also a scrumptious sticky toffee pudding.
Staff are friendly and efficient and the cooking in the kitchen is some of the best you will experience in Edinburgh.
Starters are about £5 and mains about £13.
11 Roseneath Street, Marchmont
Edinburgh, tel: 0131-229 7953
A chic, lively cafe in the heart of the Latin Quarter. Wonderful brunch on the weekends. Good for families, too.
Place Contrescarpe, Paris 75005. Metro: Place Monge.
I would like to recommend a restaurant I discovered in Luxor. It is called Sofra Restaurant & Café. Both food and ambience were excellent and it was the highlight of the trip to Luxor for some people I was travelling with. We were so impressed that we went there four times in one week.
90 Mohammed Farid street, El Manshia
and near by the train station in Luxor
Phone 095 2 35 97 52
www.sofra.com.eg
Excellent authentic Thai food in a very relaxed and cozy atmosphere.
Great value early bird menu between 6-8pm. Often quiet, but fills up on the weekends.
No bookings taken.
Anne's Lane, just of South Anne Street, which itself is just off Grafton Street.
Skippers is a wonderful seafood restaurant run by a local family which prides itself on the quality - and quantity - of its seafood dishes.
It also is a very friendly place, great fun, lovely family. It also has a wide range of other dishes - including a great children's menu - children are very welcome.
Burtonport is a fishing village which is the gateway to Arranmore, a wonderful island to vist, and a myriad of other islands. From Skippers, there are great walks, sea trips, plus musical evenings.
www.irelandnorthwest.ie/individual_results.asp?sID=12108, phone +353 74 95 42234
Great restuarant on Dumbarton Road in the West End, just a little further down the road from the Partick railway bridge. Fantastic, honest and well-prepared Scottish food with an interesting, ever-changing menu.
Friendly, non-pretentious service. Always busy and lively. Bring-your-own wine policy means that this is always a cheap place to visit.
The neighbourhood isn't the greatest but don't let that put you off. We have returned and returned and returned and returned!
Roastit Bubbly Jocks
450 Dumbarton Road
Glasgow
G11 6SE
Tel: 0141 339 3355
The Lion Inn is tucked away in a small village in North Wales. It's a small country pub, recently refurbished, with rooms and a restaurant. It's an incredibly relaxing place to stay. The rooms are tastefully decorated and very comfortable. There's a DVD player but no TV reception so make sure you bring a film that suits your mood! We woke up on Saturday morning to total peace and tranquility. All the food is locally sourced, well prepared and presented. The bar has a roaring open fire and a good selection of beers. Very friendly dogs live in the farm over the road. Well placed for walking, climbing or mountain biking around Betws-y-coed. Reasonably priced. We'd definitely return.
The Lion Inn
Gwytherin
Nr Llanwrst
Conwy
LL22 8UU
Tel: 01745 860123
www.thelioninn.net/index.htm
Although under renovation, this hostel is an excellent place to stay in the centre of town.
The rooms for two offer ensuite facilities and are impeccably clean if basic.
If a couple of chairs were provided they would be even better!
The price might seem expensive for some (70 euros a night for two if booked over the net) but try to find better at a seven minutes walk from the Spire.
There is a kitchen and a minimalist breakfast is included if you want to share it with the school groups.
There is a Thai restaurant across the street and the pub on the corner's public bar (Molloy's) will take you straight back to pre-tourism Dublin - especially at the 11am rush.
A couple of caffs just round the corner on Talbot St offer all-day breakfasts at a very good prices if you can face the cholesterol, yum.
Talbot Place.
It's a surfer breakfast place on the beach with the best breakfast burritos ever.
It's run by Christians but don't let that put you off!
on Zicatela beach
A cool restaurant and bar tucked down an alley. Lovely laid back atmosphere, fantastic burgers, and really on-the-ball, friendly staff. They also have a lobster tank if you fancy something a bit upmarket!
5 Ridgefield, Manchester, M2 6EG
This little town on a beautiful island off the coast of Salvador is a must. No cars. The taxis for luggage only are wheelbarrows.
Connected to Salvador by catamaran service or by small prop plane (max 12Kg weight limit). The beaches are fabulous. The second beach is full of bars, surfers and chilled beach goers who like to party late into the night. I'd recommend taking a pousada on the third beach. The bars along here serve excellent caipirinha at about R$2!
In the centre of town you can find food to suit all tastes and budgets along the sandy main street. Be fluid with onward travel plans - you may just add a few days to your stay here on this lovely island getaway!
Morro de São Paulo
Tinharé Island - Bahia
Info: www.morrodesaopaulo.com.br
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