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Le Columbier is a lovely family run restaurant away from the tourist area in Toulouse. Nestled between a couple of shops, an unassuming front opens up to a rustic, friendly restaurant. They have something to cater for all tastes. They specialise in cassoulet and classics such as magret de canard. After a heavy main course try a refreshing sorbet "drowning" in champagne. A delightful meal from start to finish.
www.restaurant-lecolombier.com
14 Rue Bayard 31000 Toulouse, France
+33(0)5 61 62 40 05
Google map: bit.ly/wqL2H1
A beautiful fine dining restaurant in St Juire Champgillon (between Saint Hermine and Chantonnay). Wonderful service and beautiful food! You need to book in advance as they fill up quickly.
11 Place de la Mairie, 85210 St Juire Champgillon
+33(0)2 51 27 86 91
Google map: bit.ly/z418Bz
A cafe/bistro just next door to the Musee d'Aquitaine. Friendly service, bright, pleasant decor and an excellent lunch menu.
www.lenewyork.fr/
4, Cours Pasteur, 33000 Bordeaux
+33(0)5 56 52 86 00
Google map: bit.ly/Awd1o7
It is not often that you can find an excellent bistro in Paris at very reasonable prices, but Chez Germaine certainly ticks all the right boxes.
Directly in the heart of Paris (7th district), the restaurant exudes class and authenticity with its simple, yet elegant interior. Likewise, with its daily special set menus and extremely friendly (and English speaking!) waiters, there is no wonder why Chez Germaine is so popular for both locals and tourists alike.
If it is classic French dishes you are after, I would recommend a homemade terrine to start with, followed by pork with lentils. If you are still not full after that (doubtful), I would top the meal off with a papillon au chocolat. Glorious!
Suitable for both romantic dinner dates and a family lunch, though one final tip would be to book in advance as it is a little small and obviously always crowded!
Set lunch and dinner with three courses- €18.60.
30 rue Pierre Leroux
+33 (0)1 4273 2834
Metro station: Vaneau.
Google map: bit.ly/y28SXR
Great restaurant, really delicious food, easy going atmosphere.
Italian food, small plates to share (two per person was recommended by the waiter and is right).
6 Maiden Lane, Covent Garden, London WC2E 7NA
+44(0)20 7836 8448
Google map: bit.ly/xz54yz
On our final night in Kolkata we went to Kewpies for dinner. Tucked away down a narrow lane off busy Elgin Road, it is the kind of place you have to know about to find. Thanks to Lonely Planet and other assorted sources - and the fact that it was within striking distance of our hotel, www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/33343 - we decided to give it a try.
Kewpies couldn't have been more different. They've knocked a couple of ancient buildings together with interconnecting doors, to form a warren of dining areas. An odd assortment of Victorian and Indian furniture clutters up the place. It has charm and originality in spades. The menu is simple, just a list of set meals ranging from a basic thali and rice to a full-on banquet. Jamie wanted the banquet, I wanted the basic meal. We settled for something nearer my end of the spectrum.
A few individual dishes, all vegetarian, were placed on the table in the ubiquitous brick-coloured un-fired pots you see everywhere in Kolkata. The rice came separately. It didn't look like much, and we hoped the dishes would be re-filled. The food was fresh, spicy, delicious and surprisingly filling, for me. Jamie clung to the hope that the bowls would be re-filled. They were whisked away, and we were left wondering if that was it.
Next came a pile of pappads and a selection of pickles. We tucked in. The pappads were light and crispy, and the pickles and chutneys homemade and tasty. Once every crumb and smear had been devoured we were presented with two blocks of white sweetened cheese. Our waiter told us it was 'like ricotta'. When we asked him if he'd ever tried ricotta he blushed, but told us that other people had assured him of this fact.
He was right.
Next we were given bowls of brown curd. Jamie doesn't like yogurt at the best of times. Although it didn't look particularly appetising, we discovered the colour came from the carob used to flavour this delicious, creamy pudding.
We thought we'd finished, but just as we were getting ready to leave, we were presented with the restaurant's own variety of paan. Zingy flavours sparkled in our mouths as we bit into the leaves. Heavenly.
2, Elgin Lane, Lala Rajpat Rai Sarani Kolkata, West Bengal 700020, India
+91(0)33 24861600
Hours: 12.30-3pm & 7.30-11pm Tue-Sun
Google map: bit.ly/xjcD6Y
Taj Palace, located in Bristol city centre is a newly established Indian restaurant but is on its way to be among the most prestige restaurants in Bristol.
The exterior of this place is not so special at first glance, but don't let the that fool you. The food is really flavoursome, well implemented with a a nice relaxing ambiance.
Favorite dish: it was the chicken Bombay flame. The flavour and texture of this dish is really nice and a twist of my favourite traditional Bombay dish cooked with boiled egg.
www.tajpalacebristol.com
39-41 Saint Nicholas st Bristol BS1 1TP
+44(0)117 329 0086
Google map: bit.ly/HajUQ8
You don’t take sandwiches when you walk in the Forest of Dean with a good food forager. You harvest your lunch. You graze your way through tangy sheep sorrel, fresh mints, crunchy hogweed and burdock leaf stalks, and snappy bistort leaves. We carefully stuffed nettles leaves into carriers for later soups. Sneaking wild strawberries from the grassy banks and purple elderberries from high hedgerows decided the recipes for puddings to come. The ground beneath our feet was revealed as a continuous carpet of lunch. We learned that locality, season, and ecology make for different treats at different times of year. The Forager guide was amazing. He knew just where to take us, what was safe to eat and how to identify it. He was full of anecdotes and folk wisdom. But best of all he knew that most plants were edible but that only some were worth the bother, and showed us which were which. We even came home with recipes.
www.robbinsherbal.co.uk
Ross Herbal & Natural Health Centre, Corpus Christi Lane, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, HR9 7AE
+44(0)1989 768437
Google map: bit.ly/H9QRIh
This is the cosatal region of Poitou-Charentes and is the centre of oyster culture. It is very picturesque and has some great restaurants obviously specialising in sea food and particularly les huitres, There are also some great beaches especially on the two main off shore islands Ile de Re and Ile d'Oleron.
poitoucharentesinphotos.wordpress.com
Google map: bit.ly/GWRDbN
Inn. Hearty food, log fires, great service.
englishlakes.co.uk/the-wildboar-inn/
Crook Rd, Windermere, Cumbria LA23 3NF
+44(0)15394 45225
Google map: bit.ly/H8VTuK
Seville city centre has a wealth of food establishments, with plenty of choice between tapas bars and international dishes. However, sometimes a trip to a small town can uncover little gems. Da Frá is a beautifully decorated Italian restaurant. Very cosy, and with a family feel - perfect for a winter's evening with an enormous log-fire in the middle of the venue. It has a wide selection of anti-pasti/insalatas, pasta and pizza, meat and risotto but not too much to make you dizzy. All reasonably priced and generous portions. Homemade puddings too!
www.dafrasevilla.com
Calle Martires de la Iglesia, S/N, 41807 Espartinas
Google map: bit.ly/zFRcqK
* BecomingSevillana is our Been there local for Seville. You can read her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/seville-local-kim.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/BecomingSevillana.jsp
She also has her own blog: becomingsevillana.blogspot.com/
If you have a sweet tooth, then you need to visit this place.
Here you will find "three in one": the museum, cafe and shop.
In the museum you can see the marzipan figures of human height, castles and whole scenes, which are made of marzipan.
You can drink a cup of aromatic coffee with a marzipan cake in cafe.
And in the shop you will find a large variety of marzipan candies.
www.niederegger.de/
Breite Straße 89, 23552 Lübeck, Germany
+49 451/5301
Google map: bit.ly/AgX9IN
Favourite restaurant of notoriously well-fed and well-drunk Vienna Mayor Michael Häupl as well as his predecessor the late Helmut Zilk. Whenever I'm home, I go to this place at least twice, it's really great, and filled with locals. The food is traditional Viennese/Austrian, the Schnitzel is delicious. In fact I have never been disappointed and have eaten myself up and down the menu. It's also got an excellent wide-ranging selection of (mostly Austrian) wine, with knowledgeable, friendly waiters eager to give you tips. A main dish tends to cost €13-19.
I can't wait to go back!
Drahtgasse 2 1010 Vienna, Austria
+43(0)1 5335889
Google map: bit.ly/x7cHjX
St. John’s Bakery provides much more than delicious, organic bread. This business is
owned and operated by St. John’s The Compassionate Mission. With strong values and a focus on using only organic, natural and mostly local ingredients, St. John's provides training opportunities and employment to people struggling with poverty, mental illness and other issues.
While the bakery specializes in handmade organic sourdough breads made in the traditional French method, other types of bread, such as rye, baguettes and spelt are also made. All sweets – scones, tarts, croissants, cookies, and cakes – are also handmade from scratch.
My favourite is the olive boule. This round sourdough loaf is crusty on the outside and soft in the inside, and packed with pieces of black olive and hints of cilantro. I’m also a big fan of the rosemary breadsticks, but if I don’t get there by Saturday morning around 9am, they’re all gone.
St. John’s bread is very well-known and their products can be found all over Toronto at organic food suppliers and farmers markets.
www.stjohnsbakery.com
153 Broadview Avenue, Toronto, Canada
+1 416 850 7413
Google map: bit.ly/ArMoP8
* Giulia is our Been there local for Toronto. You can see her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/canada/toronto/index.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/GiuliaFalsetti
It's a vegan wagon with THE most delicious burger this side of NYC. If you go to Berlin, you MUST try this burger. I had the smoked chipotle chile sauce and also on the same burger, the Pineapple chutney, perfect match.
Only open Sundays, or should that be Sun Days, from late morning to about 5 or 6pm.
They are also at Kreuzberg Markt Halle Neun on Fri and Sat
sundayburgers.com/
Prenzlauer Berg/ Bernauer Straße 13355 Berlin
Google map: bit.ly/z7HWGU
Fantastic farmhouse serving slow food dinners with ingredients mainly sourced from their own farm, swimming pool and great garden views near to the stunning town of Treia in central Le Marche. Best thing is the prices of £25 per night of £40 including the excellent evening meals
www.fontechiara.com
C.da Paterno 19, 62010 Treia
+39 733 216797
Google map: bit.ly/wWW2za
My all-time favourite Thai restaurant in the city is Salad King. I started eating here well over 20 years ago when it was a tiny kitchen with two tables, mismatched chairs and counter service. Still going strong and always packed, the food here is still exceptionally delicious and affordable. What has changed is the crowd: no longer devoted exclusively to university students, it now caters to young professionals, families, and drop-in fans from across the city. Don’t let the line up scare you, be patient – it’s well worth it.
The restaurant is full of energy and may be a bit louder than the usual resto, but this is all part of the experience. Seating is at communal tables and you can even ask your server for items not on the menu, which has a spice scale from mild to 20 chilis. I once ate next to a fellow who was eating his green curry with 11 chilis and he couldn’t stop crying. My spice scale is 4 chilis.
www.saladking.com
340 Yonge Street, Toronto, ON M5B 1R8
+ 1 416 593 0333
Google map: bit.ly/zmFLe5
* Giulia is our Been there local for Toronto. You can see her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/canada/toronto/index.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/GiuliaFalsetti
Winterlicious, and it’s cousin Summerlicious, are two extremely popular food festivals held yearly in Toronto. This year, Winterlicious runs from Friday, January 27 until Thursday, February 9.
During the event, major restaurants from across the city offer a special three-course fixed price menu, some at very large discounts from their usual pricing. Ranging from $15, $20 or $30 for lunch and $25, $35, and $45 for dinner, the meal includes a starter, an entrée and dessert, with drinks and gratuity extra.
This event has grown from 35 restaurants participating in its inaugural year 10 years ago, to 175 participating this year. Reservations are accepted beginning January 12 – make them early to avoid disappointment. In fact, be armed with three or four restaurant choices as you may not get your first pick.
Depending on which reservations you choose, this event can be a great value, as some of the restaurants participating have starters costing near $25. My favourites – for food and value – are Auberge du Pommier, Canoe, Kultura, and Mistura.
wx.toronto.ca/inter/se/restaurants.nsf/Winterlicious
* Giulia is our Been there local for Toronto. You can see her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/places/canada/toronto/index.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/GiuliaFalsetti
Perfectly situated at the intersection of local and tourist, Cafe van Zuylen is quintessentially Amsterdam. It’s located on a corner overlooking a canal in the city’s Jordaan area.
If you want to get away from the cringe-inducing ugliness of Rokin, the main tourist drag that leads straight to and from Amsterdam’s Central Station, this is the perfect spot. It’s only five minutes away by foot from Rokin and the almost equally garish Dam Square, but it’s as authentic and charming a place as you’ll find in the city.
Full of natural light, natural wood furniture, and naturally a fat house cat, van Zuylen is a great spot to fire up the laptop (free Wi-Fi) and waste away the afternoon with cheap beer and friendly service (a rarity in the city). Not to mention the decent Dutch snacks and pub-ish fare and a very decent cappucino and apple tart (There’s also a restaurant attached - haven’t eaten there yet - for a more intimate setting). And on a nice day, the seating spills over to a bench outside and a sizable collection of tables overlooking a canal.
Better yet, open up your map on the table and plot your next stop, or open the travel journal and watch the people going by - your first entry will likely start with “Maybe I should just move here...” It’s like a movie about Amsterdam, with more than enough interesting faces going by to offset the occasional hipster twirling his sad mustache while looking for jobs online.
How else to put it? It’s a cosy, unassuming, cool place. And it's one of those unique spots that is always busy, but somehow there’s always a spot for you.
www.cafevanzuylen.nl/
Torensteeg 4-8, 1012 TH Amsterdam
+31(0)20 639 10 55
Google map: bit.ly/xCUXte
Take refuge in Frederic’s shop, where you can revive flagging legs with a cup of rich hot chocolate. No instant stuff this; but basically just melted chocolate, including the speciality Fredericisime, with no sugar and just a little honey, that you might not like but will knock your socks off. Along with the large and imaginative chocolate selection there are hot chocolate spoons, chocolate spreads, and ice creams. I must try the “Belgian sunshine” - I like a chocolatier with a sense of humour!
www.frederic-blondeel.com/en/presentation/
Quai aux Briques/Baksteenkaai 24, 1000 Brussels
+32 2 502 21 31
Google map: bit.ly/x8SWpl
* Bec is our Been there local for Brussels. You can view her profile here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/articles/brussels-local-rebecca.jsp and follow her tips here: www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/travellers/Becinbrussels
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