I actually don't recommend it. It is AWFUL!!! Rude staff. Over-priced. Noisy. With delusions of grandeur. It is on a suburban beach in Australia and imagines itself to be some cool nightclub.
Arden St Coogee
Goldbrick House is a relatively new establishment situated at the top of Park Street in Bristol. We went there for dinner during Feb 2007 and had one of the best nights in a long time.
Goldbrick it is split over 4, beautiful Georgian townhouses with lots of rooms and hideaways. There's a two level restaurant (with amazing roof terrace - ideal to wind away long summer afternoons and evenings - I imagine) a fantastic champagne and cocktail lounge split across 4 rooms, two private hire rooms that were being used for parties and functions when we were there and a great little informal cafe bar at the bottom.
It's completely unique in Bristol and has a really relaxed and chilled vibe to it, although I hear that weekends are very busy.
Customers are a mixed bunch, which I found fascinating, from young couples, families, students, suits, and lots of people like us - knocking on mid 40's.
Food and service were faultless.
I'd strongly recommend that if you haven't already tried it - to get yourself down there and if you're visiting Bristol you have to make this one of your 'must see and sample' stops.
Full marks to the team behind Goldbrick!!! We're going to be regulars.
www.goldbrickhouse.co.uk
Park St, Bristol
A taste of Japan in Marrakech.
Authentic Moroccan restaurant this is not. Some of the best Japanese food outside of Japan it most certainly is. As a great lover of all things gastronomic, with a soft-spot for fine Japanese cuisine, Tatchibana offered better Japanese food than I have eaten in London, Paris or New York, and what is more, the price tag is more attractive as well. Recently opened in an area of the Marrakech Medina that has not lost its charming madness to the tourist trade, this Japanese restaurant offers the tranquility of a Japanese garden, and savours of the highest quality Japanese cuisine. The chef, a Japanese native who now lives in Marrakech with his wife looks about 15 but prepares his dishes like a sage. This is a must see, not to be missed experience, even if your cultural senses are confused by a small haven of Asia in North Africa.
Tatchibana
38 derb Bab Ksiba,
Kasbah,
Marrakech.
Maroc
www.tatchibana.com
Tel # 024387171
info@tatchibana.com
This is a great Greek coffee shop, in the heart of Kremasti village. Thomas and Mikhlais will give you a really warm welcome. You can enjoy cocktails, a latte or traditional Greek coffee, they also serve freshly prepared snacks.
Come and play tavli (backgammon) or take a rest in the shade if you are travelling around. It's worth coming to see the mad murals they have painted on the walls inside.
The prices are cheap and children are very welcome.
It's on the left hand side as you come from Rhodes Town, after Melody Palace. Park at the side of the church and it's a 2 minute walk.
The Walk Inn is a bar/restaurant in the heart of the Old Town, a 5 minute walk from Socrates Street. It's set in a very pretty square and you can spend hours watching the world wander by.
There is a fantastic atmosphere, the food is all freshly prepared (pizzas and meze a speciality) children are very welcome and the prices are ridiculously reasonable.
There's no web site, but if you want directions call them on 22410 74293, and someone will come to meet you! How's that for service!
If you are going on a day out, head for the hills and the stunning Hotel Elafos on Profitis Ilias Mountain. The drive there is beautiful through little villages and olive groves. The hotel is completely unique, set deep in the woods and a great location for walkers.
Orginially built as a HQ for Mussolini it has been restored by local craftsmen and offers a complete change from the beach.
You can have lunch (food is excellent), stay the night or even get married here - there's even a childrens play area. It's relaxing, peaceful and well worth the visit.
The drive is about an hour from Rhodes Town or Lindos.
A low-key, seafront hotel with high ceilings and a lovely terrace. Food is served by students at a local catering college and can be al fresco, weather permitting.
The village of Leni is pretty tiny, but if you're here to hike or stroll, it's a great family-run base. Rinella, where the ferries dock is not too far either. Try to bag a more spacious room on the ground floor. Doubles from 80 euros a night.
An agriturismo and working vineyard on the slopes of Mount Etna with comfortable, stylish rooms. Run by the noble family of the Baron Scammacca del Murgo - the hosts are full of character!
The estate produces very drinkable red and sparkling wines - tastings and tours available - and you can really taste the volcanic minerals in the red wine.
www.insicilia.it/sicily/farm_house_sicily_tenuta_san_michele.htm
Excellent modern Spanish restaurant near Santa Catalina. The menu is interesting (and there's a helpful English translation behind the bar if you ask). The food is very tasty and well prepared. The special house red is amazing and I'm gutted to have forgetten the name already. Child-friendly. Excellent and non-prententious service. Very reasonably priced. I would go back!
Dona Maria Coronel, 17
Seville: 954 215 804
This is a very ex-pat establishment where you'll instantly feel comfortable if you're from the U.S. I love the communal table stacked with magazines. Wi-fi access is a plus. The menu is varied and extensive: I enjoyed both my breakfast and lunch here. Has outdoor seating. Visit Bliss Spa (one hour reflexology: $35) right around the corner. Full description of each (with photos) at:
www.travelmusings.net
They don't have a website, but Time Out Dubai and Luxe Guide Dubai both have listings for it.
Shk Zayed Road
Tel: 971 4 343 3779
This place specializes only on one very classical and Traditional dessert called "Kunefe".
I can confidently say that this is the best place to try this beautiful speciality if you are interested in traditional Turkish cuisine.
It is in Beyoglu. Address: 9/A Suslu Saksi Sk. Tel: 0212 251 82 74. From Taksim, you can walk down on Istiklal Street, it is on one of the small streets on the left had side.
If you would like to visit the Anatolian side of Istanbul, you should definitely go and eat in this small, independent, local restaurant in Baglarbasi. Its name is "Baglarbasi Iskender" just on the main road in Baglarbasi.
Portions are huge and very reasonably priced, the owner is back in the kitchen, preparing the most delicious doner kebab and other wonders.
Take a "Dolmus" from Kadikoy Rihtim to "Baglarbasi" and get off in Baglarbasi
Tel: +90 216 310 62 80
DIY Dining. Good for two people, better for more. I've heard several times that Koreans consider this the best place in town. This is as far as you could get from the touristy places, and it's about dining experience, not decor. Most of the customers will be Korean families, and the staff speak passable English. The prices are quite reasonable, especially if you share dishes.
Definitely go for the barbeque dishes. One order is enough to feed two or more people. They will promptly bring out a smoldering charcoal pot and grill, then bring you at least 20 little bowls of spicy vegetable side dishes, and a big plate of marinated meat, which you now have to cook on the provided grill. Between sampling all the bowls, and keeping track of what's cooking, you'll have plenty to keep you busy. Dining should always be this fun.
5247 N. Western Ave (773) 334-1589. Western or Foster busses, Brown line Western station is 15 min walk.
www.chicagoreader.com/cgi-bin/rrr/details.cgi?numb=2004
This charming little cafe is one of those places Chicagoans take guests to, because they love it so much themselves. Well-known for tasty breakfasts and lunches, but their delicious dinners are one of the best-kept secrets in the city. Expect long waits for breakfast or lunch on the weekends, but at night, you'll find it sparsely populated.
Beautiful historic Dutch bar in Soho. The interior is amazing and the atmosphere is buzzing. Good selection of Dutch and Belgian beers, and a superb food menu with lots of yummy Dutch snacks. The bar has a long history which adds to the vibe inside.
11 Macclesfield Street, Soho.
Piccadilly/Leicester Square tube
Buy your coffee beans, have them ground, Gaggia and Bodum kit for sale as well as old sweet jars full of bright wrappers and lots of bars of chocolate.
A fabulously unpretentious, comfortable, welcoming cafe which wears its history, tradition and quality on its working sleeve and oh, to smell the coffees - roasted just next door, the smoke and steam bellowing out into the street before you!
Fine, local home-made food and a sweet counter to drool over with fabulous Cumbrian tray bakes.
Many of the Cumbrian market town dwellers look down on Carlisle and many areas have all the character and panache of a sodden sponge skewered on the branch of a wintry tree in a park in Ordsall but John Watts is to make any Carlisle visit worthwhile to the power of 100.
City Centre pedestrianised area, just down from HSBC
Definitely different is this japanese restaurant but lunch is great. All the usual favourites (tempura etc) are there along with some others more unusual like salmon rolls and shishamo.
Try the teriyaki beef rolls (delicious) and even their pizza!
Okonomiyaki is awesome (and Japanese for pizza). The decor is different too.
By the way, they also do dinner -
try it.
179 Russell St
Melbourne CBD
ph 9663 1938
I love Morbegno! I have been there twice - mainly for walking holidays. Stayed at the family-run Hotel Trieste in the old town.
It's a comfortable, reasonably priced hotel with a lovely private garden at the back. Also had some very good meals at the Hotel Margna, which is in the centre of town. The food is amazing - nothing like what you get in other areas of Italy and there are some great local wines.
What I like about Morbegno is that it's big enough to meander around looking at the shops and old buildings but is also small enough that you feel you get to know people. And there is such amazing countryside all around it - in a few minutes you are climbing high up amongst first vineyards and then mountain pastures - it is breathtakingly beautiful.
If you want to venture further afield there are good train and bus links and Milan is an easy trip on the train. So, if you want a taste of real Italy, visit the Valtellina and especially Morbegno.
Much is made in Ireland these days about the decline of the traditional pub, and that is indeed a sad event. But on the other hand, it’s hard to halt change, and when it takes the charming form of this tapas/wine bar, why would you want to?
The atmosphere is warm and friendly all through the week, the food is small and tasty, and the wine list is copious. The prices are a little higher than the pub round the corner, but it’s a case of chalk and Camembert.
Address: 6 Bridge Street, Cork.
Telephone: (353-21) 4559049
Website: www.boqueriasixbridgest.com
Email: tapas@boqueriasixbridgest.com
This is an area about ten minutes walk from the Grand Place. Follow the road downhill and you will arrive in Place St Catherine. It is much quieter than the Grand Place but has lots of places to eat.
I can recommend "La Villette" if you want a Belgian experince both in terms of hospitality and cuisine.
La Villette, Place St.Catherine