Visocchi's is an institution in Dundee. The ice cream here (from an Italian family, naturally) is so good that locals will eat it in the height of winter, and there are queues outside when it's warm and sunny.
The restaurant is also first-rate, and they only shut when Italy are playing in the World Cup final.
M Visocchi
40 Gray St,
Broughty Ferry,
Dundee.
Angus.
DD5 2BJ.
It's a farm. There are loads of delicious creamy flavours. You can see the cows being milked. There's a wacky mailing list. They have little plastic spoons in all the colours of the rainbow and then some.
Drive from Helston on to the Lizard. Some way past the turn for Mullion you take a right then a sharp left. (Take a map with you : it's late at night right now .. & I'm in Amersham.)
Almost a day out in itself! My favourite part is the ice cream parlour with its long list of flavours, plus frozen yoghurt. I also recommend the restaurant and the farm-made juices, pickles, mustards etc. There's plenty for children to see, with wildlife watching, ponds and milking. Self catering on site, and the whole place is organic!
Tregellast Barton, St. Keverne, Helston, Cornwall TR12 6NX
Tel. 01326 280479
www.roskillys.co.uk
Cafes don’t come more swellegant than Brucciani’s, a shrine for lovers of art deco as well as gelato. Opened in 1939, the shop has earned Grade II listed status for its immaculately preserved oak panelling, pink mirrors etched with Italian scenes, chrome window frames and Bakelite fittings. Bruno and Gloria Brucciani have been running the business for nearly 50 years, and still bustle around the premises dusting, polishing and serving up their classic confections.
Ice creams are mostly traditional flavours – strawberry, pistachio, lemon, toffee crunch – and sundaes are simple but excellent standards, including peach melba, chocolate nut sundae, fruit sundae. The coffee is famous, but you can also live it up with a Bovril or a glass of sarsaparilla.
The location is superb: sit at a formica-topped table in the front and you can gaze over the whipped peaks of your sundae towards the shadowy hills of the Lake District.
217 Marine Parade, Morecambe, Lancashire. Tel: 01524 421386. Open: 10am – 5pm, daily.
Hogging the promenade of this genteel resort like a flamingo among sparrows, Morelli’s is so kitsch it’s cool. First opened in 1932, its decor is authentic late 1950s America, with chewing-gum pink leatherette banquettes, dainty white wicker chairs, juke box, soda fountain, and an extraordinary pink cut-out suspended from the ceiling like a spacecraft.
It feels as if Olivia Newton-John and John T. might come jiving in any minute for a hot fudge sundae. Sundaes are baroque affairs laden with wafers and fandangles, while cornets are available in over 30 flavours, including banana, mango, coconut Bounty and tiramisu. A Morelli’s counter in Harrods sells the ice cream for those who can’t manage the schlep to Kent.
Morelli’s, Broadstairs
14 Victoria Parade, Broadstairs, Kent. Tel: 01843 862500. Open: 8am – 5pm, daily.
The European flagship of the Four Seasons chain. Recently renovated to its glorious, Art Nouveau best.
Stunning all the way I'm sure, but I've only been in for tea, as I'm a poor student and not a millionaire, like you. I ate in the bar area, which is beautiful, and the food was good and the service impeccable.
Wish I could afford to stay there. Donations on a post card to...
Roosevelt Tér 5-6. 1051
Budapest
Hungary
Tel: 36 (1) 268-6000
Fax: 36 (1) 268-5000
This is a really stylish and comfortable cafe/bar in the middle of the town. It is a great place to drink a (good) coffee and read the papers while you wait for your wife to look at the shops and then buy her a simple lunch and decent glass of wine! I have never been there in the evening but I believe they sometimes have (gentle) live music.
Market Street, Aberystwyth 01970 - 617606
I heartily recommend Danny Minnie’s restaurant in West Donegal’s Annagry, which is in the Gaelic-speaking Gaeltacht. The restaurant offers fine dining with plenty of local produce, including seafood, and the menu’s in English as well as Irish. Book into one of the guest rooms and - if you haven’t had enough the night before - you can choose a nip of whiskey for your porridge for breakfast. The cosy spot is only a bagel’s gowl from Carrickfin beach and some great walking to blow away the cobwebs.
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
This is a modern recreation of one of Charles Rennie Mackintosh's competition designs and it's simply stunning. It's been meticulously matched to the drawings he provided and extra design features from his wife Margaret MacDonald and is a great example of his vision for family living. There's also a great restaurant in the basement!
www.houseforanartlover.co.uk/
Nearest underground - Ibrox
Nearest overground rail - Dumbreck Road
If you need to absorb the excess of the night before, or stock up before a day in town, get a full breakfast here. This is Glasgow/Italian fusion cuisine at its best; no nonsense, honest and affordable. The Italian sausage is fantastic and the coffee is how it should be.
360 Great Western Road
www.cafecherubini.com/
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!
A skip away from the best Victorian pub in Liverpool - The Philharmonic - the Side Door is a foodie's paradise.
Laid back surroundings, great food, great prices - well recommended!
Hope St, Liverpool
How fish can travel this far from the coast and still taste this good is beyond me. Reputably the oldest fish and chip shop in London. A little oasis of traditional enjoyment.
47 Endell Street, London WC2H 9AJ
Because the chips are great!
Rectory Road, West Bridgford
Delicious crisp and crunchy chips - just as they should be. Served with a wide array of different choices of fish... choose from skate or sole rather than the usual cod. A splendid trip and while you're there, you'll probably find yourself just having to go into one of the best farm shops ever!
Topsham, Devon
Consider going to a restaurant where the locals dine for your Peking Duck. Ok, you may not get the fancy furniture and uniforms that you will get in the touristy restaurants, but what you will get is a restaurant full of character and, of course, local people.
Think about it, if you have been to any of the advertised Peking Duck restaurants for tourists, have you seen many locals ? Of course the answer is probably no. The reason is probably due to the costs involved.
Myself and a few friends went to a restaurant close to a Hutong and had Peking Duck for three people. It cost less than £7.50 for the whole meal including beer and cola, not bad for three people. The portions were very large and we couldn't finish what was served.
Do consider trying a local restaurant, you will be amazed at the reception you will get and the locals will enjoy you as much as you will enjoy the experience of dining with them.
Milan (Bergamo) Airport is miles from Milan but only 5km from the insanely beautiful and romantic Bergamo. Stay in the Citta' Alta and dine at La Colombina: small, local, friendly, delicious trattoria. Tricky to find but well worth it. Plenty of other things to see, do and eat as well.
La Colombina, Via Borgo Canale, 12, Bergamo Alta. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
This is a delightful family-run B&B type hotel. It consists of about 14 small, simple but utterly charming rooms on the edge of the sea, put together round a small courtyard in the style of the old Greek 'village rooms'.
You can swim in the clear sea just below, or you can simply sit on one of the small terraces, drink in hand, and contemplate the view of Aegina across the water. Once there, you may find you have little inclination to move very far! Rosy provides delicious lunches, and in the evening two minutes' stroll will take you to the open-air restaurant, the Alkyone, from where you can continue your contemplation of Aegina and the sea as long as you want.
This superb celebration of food and drink has become an annual event in the run-up to Christmas and is the perfect place for presents for the food-lover in your life. Or just a great place to hang out, stuff your face and get in the festive spirit. The stalls set up in front of the City Hall offer a huge variety of fresh and cooked produce: Indian, Thai, kangaroo burgers, paella, all kinds of salamis and cheeses … the list goes on. A personal favourite are the huge bratwurst sausages washed down with an even bigger stein of German lager. The market, including the bar, stay open late every weekend in December, and the atmosphere is as worth sampling as the food.
Location: Outside the City Hall.