A fine pub. Very good selection of drinks(increasingly featuring real ales, on rotation) at reasonable prices, 2 pool tables and a very friendly landlord who cooks up a lovely pizza. The pub also has a big poem on the side of the building... if you're into that sort of thing.
Wilmslow road, right at the south end of the curry mile, Rusholme.
Tel: 0161 248 1941
An authentic Punjabi restaurant that's very popular with Asian Londoners. Noisy, bright lighting but fantastic food, just like being at your Auntie's house. The place is so popular that they've had to extend it. BYO.
Lahore Kebab House
2-4 Umberston St, London, E1 1PY
Tel: 020 7481 9737
An incredibly popular tapas bar on the edge of the Santa Cruz district, Las Coloniales is one of the best and cheapest places to eat in Seville. When you arrive you have to write your name and the number in your party on a small blackboard and your name is called when a table is free. It's located on the edge of the leafy (for Seville) Plaza Cristo de Burgos, which is handy as you have somewhere shady to sit whilst you wait. The food is uniformly good and the tapas sizes are exceptional for the price. Two people can have a decent meal with a couple of drinks for little over ten euros. One of the best things on the menu are the quail eggs and chorizo on fried bread, which is like a sausage and egg sarnie in the sun. You can't go wrong with the staples either. The Solomillo al Whisky is as good as you can get in Seville. On Sunday afternoons the plaza is full of Spanish families eating ice cream from the Heladeria across the road. Seville is full of Heladerias and though this one is probably the most expensive it's also the best.
Plaza Cristo de Burgos, 19 - east of the main El Corte Ingles, just past Plaze de Encarnacion.
A bar and pizzeria next door to the Old Vic that stays open late into the night. Their links to the theatre are evident from all the autographed publicity mug shots of actors that hang from the walls and it's oddly enticing to pick out the celebs from these. Their oven knocks out superb thin crust pizzas throughout the night.
33 King St, BS1 4DZ;
tel: 0117 929 7712
Kinda like an Indian fast food restaurant, only minus the garish interior. It's not the sort of place to have a long protracted meal, but it is great for grabbing a bite to eat. The food is good, and relatively inexpensive for London, although the service can be a little sloppy. Still, this place is always busy, and makes for a nice stop after a hard day's shopping in the West End.
9 Marshall Street, Soho W1F 7EJ; tel: 020 7287 9966;
Also at Earls Court (147 Earls Court Rd, tel: 020 7373 0220 ) and Islington (80 Upper St, tel: 020 7359 3399)
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
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.
This stretch of cobble stone street between St Laurent and Square Saint Louis is forbidden to cars. There are lots of outdoor restaurants, bars, cafes, and it's packed with people at night, especially in the summer. Square Saint Louis is a gem too.
Just find the intersection of Boulevard St Laurent and Rue Prince Arthur;
Metro: St Laurent
Konoba Dundo Maroje is a tiny restaurant down one of the narrow streets leading north from the main street, Placa. Virtually every restaurant in the old town claims to specialise in fish, but as a seafood fanatic who's travelled to Dubrovnik on a budget in both 2002 and just this summer, Dundo Maroje really made an impression on my tastebuds - four times now.
The grilled squid seem to be twice the size of anywhere else and unbelievably succulent, all beautifully presented and dripping in garlic-infused olive oil. The lobster carpaccio is an unusual dish worth trying there too. What the restaurant lacks in views it certainly makes up for in atmosphere. Sippng an ice-cold Istra bitter (like Campari), your bare feet cooled by the marble pavement, watching people file past is a nice way to start your evening.
Konoba Dundo Maroje - Kovacka, 00 385 20 321 445 (Dinner for 3 with drinks £30)
If you're looking for a decent feeding in central London without spending half your budget, the Stockpot on Old Compton Street can't be beaten.
Old Compton Street
A compact suburb just east of the Old Town, Uzupis has all the charm of the city centre without the crowds. A former working-class area now occupied by artists and writers, who proclaimed the district a republic in 1998, Uzupis is a great place to stroll through on a summer evening.
Highlight of the area is Tores, an initially unremarkable hilltop restaurant with an unbelievable view of the Old Town from its secluded terrace.
Head out of the Old Town past St. Ann's Church and cross the Vilnius river - you should see signs informing you of your arrival in the Republic. Tores restaurant is on Uzopio gatve, a 5 minute walk uphill from the central angel statue.
Golden Gate Park – you could literally spend days there. A good idea is walking from the Eastern to the Western end, stopping off on the way to check out a few highlights, like the flower conservatory, Japanese Tea Garden (as featured in Memoirs of a Geisha) and the De Young museum. Your reward at the end: the waves of the Pacific and the Beach Chalet, a restaurant/brewery where, if you time it right, you can have dinner with lovely sunset views over the ocean.
There are two Gingerman restaurants in Brighton. Both the tiny original in Norfolk Street and the newer one at the stylish Drakes hotel are superb. Excellent, well-thought-out menus, great value fixed price menu, and a great wine list. However, it’s the friendliness of the staff that make both Gingermen truly special. Try it, you won't be disappointed.
21a Norfolk Square; tel: 01273 326 688 and at Drakes, 44 Marine Parade; tel: 01273 696 934;
www.gingermanrestaurants.co.uk
Really good for a quick and cheap Chinese meal. Food is fantastic and the service is great.
74 Preston Street, Brighton BN1 2HG; tel: 01273 328 028
Trencher's is a fantastic fish and chip restaurant. It isn't a takeaway - you eat in. The fish and chips are fantastic. Obviously you can't go to Whitby without having fish and chips at least once and I recommend here.
New Quay Road, Whitby, North Yorkshire;
tel: 01947 603212
Telephone: 01947 603212
Email: enquiries@trenchersrestaurant.co.uk
To avoid the crowds in Brighton, head further west along the coast to Shoreham-by-Sea. Shoreham beach is lovely and rarely crowded. The Seafood Experience, just back from the beach, is great for tapas and seafood platters.
Regular buses and trains from Brighton to Shoreham-by-Sea. Journey time is around 10 minutes;
The Seafood Experience: 29 Ferry Road, Shoreham Beach;
tel: 01273 464768;
www.seafoodexperience.com
Walk away from Brighton towards Hove along the seafront, the Meeting Place Cafe is on the border between the two. Great on a Sunday morning for watching everyone bike, blade and walk by and much better breakfasts than most of the overpriced fish restaurants along the front between here and the Pier. It's not that sophisticated (not a bad thing in Brighton) but the location's perfect.
Brighton & Hove Boundary, Kings Road, Brighton;
tel: 01273 206417;
www.themeetingplacecafe.co.uk
Best pie shop in Brighton, good coffees as well, and licensed now so you can have beer or wine. And the pies are as healthy as you can get, plus not your usual flavours e.g. minted lamb, morrocan vegetable etc yum.... (Plus they sell them frozen so you can stock up your freezer)
Gardner St, see www.pokeno.co.uk/
The Portsea Hotel (aka the Portsea pub) has one of the best outlooks of any pub in the world. It’s a favourite of those who live in Portsea, as well as those visiting. Drives to the Mornington Peninsula end at the pub, motorcyclists arrange their rides to end at the pub. The views are awesome, and the food and service are very good. Eat in the restaurant or outside in the beer garden. They also offer accommodation.
3749 Point Nepean Rd (Nepean Hwy), Portsea. It’s on the right-hand (beach) side as you enter Portsea.
tel: (03) 59842213
www.portseahotel.com.au
The island's 'capital' is the perfect place to sit and have a coffee surrounded by mountain peaks and sea. The backstreets have excellent estiatoria (restaurants).
Bus service runs twice-daily between Kioni and Vathy (though not during school holidays), and taxis can be expensive, so it's best to hire your own transport.