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Delve into Montpelier to find this treat of a baker. An outlandish graffiti mural adorns the exterior. Scandinavian rye, Irish soda, Tuscan olive, Grecian olive, Italian tomato, Jewish challah, American bagels, Swiss rye all fresh out of the oven, plus they do a mean spinach & ricotta lattice if that's your thing.
12 York Rd, Montpelier, BS6 5QE;
tel: 0117 924 7713;
www.herbertsbakery.co.uk
A very lovely restaurant in a very old cellar where you can eat Mexican and Hungarian cuisine. Try the bean broth in bread... delicious.
Gheorghe Baritiu 2 Brasov, near Piata Sfatului
Huge sound systems, Jamaican patties, jerk chicken and curried goat. Much loved colossal street party held over the first Saturday of July every year. A celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture and the community of St Paul's.
The entire neigbourhood of St. Paul's on the first Saturday of July.
Great bar on Obispo, one of the main thoroughfares in Habana Vieja (old town), great all-girl band in mid-late afternoons with a relaxing atmosphere, in the same street as the Hotel Ambos Mundos which contains Hemingway's room (no. 52). Also, there is an excellent bar in Calle O'Reilly, nearby - don't worry, it's not an Irish bar!
Calle Obispo 316, esquina de Calle Aguiar, Habana Vieja;
tel: 7-862-9870
Run by a Chilean family, this is a deli with an emphasis on Fairtrade and organic produce. Upstairs there's a small cafe where on Monday nights you can go to practice your Spanish with latinos living in the area.
89 Gloucester Road, Bishopston, BS7 8AS; tel: 0117 944 6810
Music. Atmosphere. Forget tourist traps like the Floridita, even though it's a good place to start. Proceed a short walk south to the Bar Monserrate on the eponymous street, or east on Obispo to Lluvia de Oro, Cafe de Paris or two small bars on the south side of the street, the first Escabeche, the name of the second one escapes me, for cheaper drinks, better atmosphere and great music. Obispo is fun in the daytime too.
Bar Monserrate is on Avenida de Belgica, near Calle Obrapia
An Ethiopian restaurant on the awesome street of St. Denis in the Plateau region. The best thing to get is the injera with a variety plate of different dishes. You get to eat it with your hands! They provide you with warm napkins at the table to wash up with before and after. It's very special, and also delicious.
3435 St Denis, Montréal, QC H2X 2L1;
tel: (514) 281-0111;
métro: Sherbrooke
www.abiata.com
Inside it looks as though the proprietors paid a visit to the Lord Chancellor's residence and liked the wallpaper. Decor aside, Goldbrick House has had a great deal of time, effort and thought put into it and is a nice place to eat and drink. Noteworthy is the balcony on the top floor looking out onto leafy Brandon Hill to one side and down into the city on the other.
69 Park Street, BS1 5PB;
tel: (0117) 945 1950;
www.goldbrickhouse.co.uk
Surely one for our American friends? Relaxed cafe appropriately housed in a Georgian terrace on trendy Park Street. There's a tiered garden out the back and sofas upstairs. Regional cooking done on site and the coffee ain't bad neither.
75 Park Street, BS1 5PF;
tel: 0117 929 8601
If you really need a curry and a nice pint you should check out the bar Gibraltar in San Telmo, on the corner of Peru and Estados Unidos.
Perú 895, y Estados Unidos, San Telmo, Buenos Aires;
tel: 54-11-4362-5310
Google map: tinyurl.com/me9tev
Reflecting Easton's eastern outlook is The Sweet Mart. Bills itself as the largest supplier of ethnic foods and spices in the south-west, something confirmed by its well-stocked shelves.
80 St Marks Road, Easton BS5 6JH; tel: 0117 951 2257
Stapleton Road Station on the Severn Beach suburban line from Bristol Temple Meads;
www.sweetmart.co.uk
Great tasting and very affordable Thai, Malaysian, Japanese, Singaporean, Indonesian and Chinese food. The seating is communal and informal. The food is prepared before your eyes in the open kitchen which gives Teohs much of its atmosphere. An Oriental supermarket is attached next door. There's a second branch of the restaurant at the Tobacco Factory in south Bristol.
28-34 Lower Ashley Road, St Paul's BS2 9NP;
tel: 0117 907 1191
This is a set of two little Chilean restaurants that have particularly good empanadas. Many varieties, including several delicious vegetarian options. Also serves nachos, quesadillas, tacos, and burritos - quality ingredients and sauces.
152 Napoléon; tel: (514) 286-6075;
64 Marie-Anne W; tel: (514) 982-9212
Fantastic resto with great poutine selection, as well as a summer garden patio. Their poutine has both quantity and quality. Either eat in, or get it to take out to eat in nearby Parc la Fontaine.
994 Rue Rachel, at Parc la Fontaine;
tel: (514) 525-2415
Snug behind the sea defences of England's largest fishing port, this is a real locals' pub, but that doesn't mean the welcome to visitors isn't warm. Far from it. Order the catch of the day (from £6.95) for a succulent piece of cod or haddock that's moist within its crispy, beer-batter casing. It will have been landed that very morning, and just a few hundred yards away, to boot. The pub's cosy in winter, too, with a real fire and low-beamed ceilings, not to mention some classics by local artists on the walls (my personal favourite: Perry With Ling).
Tolcarne Place, Newlyn, near Penzance, Cornwall
Tel: 01736 363074
It's life-affirming to fill your stomach with steaming fish and chips after a hard day's surfing. And this über-chippy, due to its location and no-frills tucker, is the place to do it. The shed-like building is right on the egg-yolk-golden sandy beaches around Hayle Towans. Tuck in at sunset nestled in a romantic cove or have your takeaway by a kiddies' rock pool. Everything's freshly cooked to order, not least because of the high turnover (the place serves three caravan sites). Portions are generous, too.
Riviere Sands Holiday Park, Riviere Towans, Hayle
Tel: 01736 752 132
Any mention of Rick Stein these days elicits groans - a visit to his chippy will surely leave us well-fed, but well-fleeced, too. I've travelled the country in search of the perfect fish and chips, I can honestly say I found it here - the fish was cooked to perfection, accompanied by beautiful, brown-mottled, crisp chips with fluffy insides.
Yes, perfection does come at a price - they're fried in beef dripping - but if you can forgive them this, then cod and chips is well worth the £5.50 price tag - which, incidentally, is cheaper than my local.
South Quay, Padstow
Tel: 01841 532700
The menu is as traditional as can be (it's stayed much the same since the 1930s), except for the appearance on it of cod whale: a huge, meaty fillet of fish. And the chips are made from local potatoes. Fish and chips is consistently good - this is no-frills, staff-of-life stuff. Neatly uniformed ladies serve all the traditional accompaniments - triangles of bread and butter, cups of tea - amid the gentle hum of true Cornish accents. A full range of takeaway, too, plus the downtown location and easy parking, make the 40-mile round trip from home more than worthwhile. For more than 20 years our family's favourite.
Bucketts Hill, Redruth
Tel: 01209 216937
For fish and chips with a glorious view, head to the beach and this concession in the basement of the wonderful Porthminster Cafe.
Looking out to the bay, on your left is St Ives harbour, while arching round to the right is Hayle Sands and the Godrevy Lighthouse.
The food is delicious: battered fish is light, flaky and golden, chips are crisp yet fluffy in the centre, and all for £4.75. Local fish is used wherever possible.
It's open only during the summer season, but it's worth the wait.
Porthminster Beach, St Ives
Tel: 01736 795352
Classic all-day service, burgers served on a slab of wood with potted fries and a selection of toppings ranging from blue cheese to chilli. The best, most consistent burger in town - it's rammed from Thursday to Saturday.
191 Portobello Road, London W11, 020-7908 9696
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