Restaurant Recommendations...

[BBx]

Thought I would start a thread for people to recommend their favourite/discovered restaurants.

Actually... it was an excuse to post about a restaurant I have just found - it was made for me! :D Kitten - I think you would agree ;) but I also thought it would be useful to share our suggestions for good restaurants in this country or aboard so we can seek them out :)

Anyway... my fave Italian restaurant is ASK - really annoying that there isn't one in Liverpool st though :( I know its a chain but the honeycomb cheesecake is AMAZING!!!

So... my latest discovery... it is Dutch food... kinda ;)

http://www.myolddutch.com/restaurants2.asp

NOM NOM NOM!!!! Am drooling at my desk!!! Just as well I'm off for curry :p

Hee hee...!

BB x

[Roberta]

I love The Slow Boat Cantonese in Swansea.

Every day from 12-2 they do 2 courses for £4.99. Never had nicer chinese than from there.

I also love Govindas.

http://www.govindasvegetarianrestaurant.org/

Dead easy for me to eat out there! Plus I work about 6 doors up so get my lunch from there most days!

[Feek]

If anyone wants a steak in Germany I have the GPS co-ordinates of a restaurant that serves the best steak I've ever had. Can't tell you what it's called but I could take you there by sat nav!

[William]

Gaucho Grill in Manchester does a pretty good steak.

[Haly]

I love The Slow Boat Cantonese in Swansea.

Every day from 12-2 they do 2 courses for £4.99. Never had nicer chinese than from there.

I also love Govindas.

http://www.govindasvegetarianrestaurant.org/

Dead easy for me to eat out there! Plus I work about 6 doors up so get my lunch from there most days!

I keep meaning to try Govindas, looks nice from the outside :)

[lostkat]

We have a fish restaurant near us called the Lancaster Arms. It's just a pub with a restaurant on the side, but it had a takeover a couple of years ago and the food is now absolutely delicious. Not cheap, but it's somewhere to go for a really special meal and only really worth it if you like seafood.

There's also a decent Italian in Leicester that my Mum and I often go to when we're out shopping. It's somewhere I'd definitely want to go to in the evening and they have a nice range of specials. Reasonably priced too.

[Roberta]

I keep meaning to try Govindas, looks nice from the outside :)

It's great - especially if you're a big smelly hippy like me. ;)

[Vaultingslinky]

Marroccos Cafe on Hove seafront right next to the King Alfred centre, amazing Seafood risotto and awesome pizzas! Comes complete with tacky 70's Italian style decor and all!

[Grandad]

World Service in Nottingham http://www.worldservicerestaurant.com/

V Zatisi in Prague http://www.vzatisi.cz/en/zatisi_index.php

Michaels in Vegas http://www.southpointcasino.com/dining/michaels.php

Rosemary's Vegas http://www.rosemarysrestaurant.com/

Mom Tri's Boathouse , Kata, Thailand http://www.boathousephuket.com/dining.htm

[BBx]

http://www.pizzaexpressoffers.co.uk/

Vouchers for £10 meals at Pizza Express :D

BB x

[Wryel]

Cosmoba (http://www.cosmoba.co.uk/) - the best Italian I've been to in London.

[Pebs]

http://www.koh.ie/

Best Thai food and the MOST amazing cocktails I have EVER had!

[luke]

some of my favorites:

The steak house at the circus circus in las vegas.
place is a complete dive, but the steak i had is the best ive ever had, ever in my life. reared on there own ranch in texas and hung for 28 days

Aquarius, the marina, cala d'or, majorca
some of the nicest shellfish ive had, the lobster is lovely and huge. they do some lovely shellfish dishes

The arch Chinese, newcastle under lyme
now i think its a Chinese but it might be a Cantonese, lol cant remember, but uit is superb, been a couple of years since i went tho tbh, always had a good reputation tho

and i love having my lunch in selfredges at the bullring in brum, theres loads to choose from and its all lovely

[phykell]

South coast:

http://www.mezza-luna.co.uk/

Liverpool:

http://www.thecasaitalia.co.uk/

Manchester:

http://sanamrestaurant.com/

London:

Bento Cafe

[Glaucus]

http://www.latrompette.co.uk/ -chiswick
Awesome and great value. Make sure you get the head Sommelier though, he is amazing at his job, the others aren't so great on the wines.
The restaurant is just 350 yards from Turnham Green tube station
£38 for 3 courses +12.5% charge.

[phykell]

http://www.latrompette.co.uk/ -chiswick
I used to work in Chiswick many years ago. I always remember that the high street had an incredible number of really good restaurants. Back then I ate meat and it was the first time I ever had Kleftiko - slow roasted rack of lamb. I think that's what the restaurant was called as well come to think of it. I seem to recall a pretty good Thai place too :)

[Flibster]

Fat Duck - Bray
Hinds Head - Bray
Gaucho Grill - Several in London - all the ones I've tried are great
Simpsons Tavern - London - small, but fantastic
Lavender House - Norfolk

[semi-pro waster]

Hendersons (http://www.hendersonsofedinburgh.co.uk/) in Edinburgh is a pretty good vegetarian option, nothing particularly fancy or complex but the food is usually good, the place is almost always busy and they've got live music a few nights a week. Word of warning, the ceilings are low and if you're in one of the alcoves near the back on the bottom floor be aware that there's not too much air so you might start to feel drowsy.

Nile Valley on Chapel Street in Edinburgh is a small Sudanese restaurant and it's really rather nice, again nothing complicated but a bit unusual and very tasty. If memory serves its a BYOB affair too and I don't think they charge corkage.

[LeperousDust]

I'd be surprised if the nile valley didn't charge corckage, i've not found anywhere yet that doesn't. To be fair there are a loooooad of places in Edinburgh that are totally amazing to eat at. My best so far being the Aitrium just under the castle, i don't think i've ever eaten anywhere nicer. But to be fair to do pay top dollar for it, value for money in a way still!

[semi-pro waster]

You could be right on that, it's been a while since I've been in there but last time I went in I seem to recall having a couple of bottles of wine with a mate and his girlfriend without paying anything to get them opened. That could be my failing memory mind. :)

[Glaucus]

How could I forget this place.

http://www.egyptmill.com/ - Nailsworth, Gloucestershire.
GL6 OAE

Around 6.50 for starter
£12 for main
£5.50 for desserts

[Knipples]

And you're taking me when? :p

[Glaucus]

When I get a pic of you displaying Chinese rope bondage :p..

[Knipples]

I think you might be waiting a while then..... :confused:

[loki]

The Hinds Head Hotel (http://www.thehindsheadhotel.com/)

The Hinds Head Hotel of Heston Blumenthal fame. Situated in a little village called Bray in Berkshire. I have been down at a an exhibition for two days at Earls Court this week. So one of our bosses took us out to this absolute gem of a restaurant.

The best way to describe it is 5 star traditional english dishes in a pub. Prices are what you would expect in a half decent restaurant but make no mistake this is not pub food, this is restaurant class grub.

Starter

I had the dusted duck with toast and fig jam. This strange little dish is like a potted beef but obviously with duck. In a small pot with a little bit of fat on top and dusted with spices. 7/10

Main Course

Steak with Black & White pudding on a bed of cabbage. Without doubt this was the star of the show. If I am not mistaken it was a good cut of braising steak that had been twice cooked. Firstly by braising then by pan frying. This was served on a bed of shredded green cabbage that has had the black and white pudding broken up in it to give it a rich and creamy flavour.

As a side we all had his famous triple cooked chips. If you were going to have chips with your last supper these would be the ones.

Pud

Caramelised Apple Crumble with home made Vanilla Ice Cream. As with the form of the previous two courses, good traditional english food cooked to perfection. Spicy and sweet with then the hot crumble with the cold ice cream.

Little Treat
Whilst the bill was being settled the waitress brought us all a little chocolate truffle each. This was a fantastic touch. Obviously home made but then dipped in cocoa powder. Wow what a proper chocolate kick.

Conclusion

Coming in at just under £30.00 a head each, I have to say it was money very well spent. I would say this is probably one of the best dining experiences I have had for the quality of the food in terms of simplicity and outstanding flavour. Would have no problems at all going back or recommending it.

Can you have the perfect dining experience ? doubtful but upto now this is gets pretty close if you want some good English classics. Portion sizes are very generous, food is simply cooked to perfection and the service is outstanding

[lostkat]

We went out for food last night to celebrate both of our birthdays. It's something which we don't do very often, so we wanted it to be special. A friend had highly recommended a little restaurant in Melbourne, Derbyshire so I booked a table.

http://www.mileburne.co.uk/
The menu was small, but really appetizing and we both umm'd and ahh'd over what to have.

Starters - I had black pudding & quail egg scotch eggs with confit tomato, smoked bacon and brown sauce. Sounds a bit dodgy, but it was absolutely beautiful. I'm not a fan of black pudding or brown sauce, but this just said "try me" and I'm so glad I did. Really really gorgeous!
Leon had a smoked eel salad, which was also really nice. I've never tasted eel before.
They came around with a bread basket before the starter was served and let us pick from a selection of local breads.

Main Course - Locally sourced (it did say the name of the farm) shoulder of lamb, with minted greens, a sage & onion rosti, seasonal oven roast veg and a really beautiful gravy (i forget which type, but it had whole shallots which were melt in the mouth, mmmmm). The piece of lamb was HUGE and fell apart as soon as you touched it with the fork. All of the veg was cooked to perfection and the rosti was really really good.

Dessert - I had a chocolate fondant with homemade chocolate orange ice cream. Oh my GOD this was stunning. The fondant was cooked to absolute perfection. A delicate crust filled with gooey chocolate goodness. The ice cream had lumps of orangey chocolate in it. I'm not really a fan of orange & chocolate together, but all was forgiven with this dessert.
Leon had a selection of local cheeses, quince jelly & wafers. Again, all local stuff. He had a very strong, very smelly stilton-like cheese (our favourite), a local organic cheddar (really strong, beautiful!) and another Red Leicester type cheese, but without the dryness and slightly plastic taste of Red Leics. He struggled to finish it because we were so full!

This is certainly one of the nicest meals out that we've ever had. The place is really tiny (5 tables, max of 20 diners) and catered for by just 1 chef and 1 waitress (who is his wife). They change the menus often depending upon what's in season and what's available and always aim to use as much local produce as they can. The menu is well thought out and the atmosphere is warm and friendly. They didn't hurry us either - we were there for 2.5 hours, which absolutely flew by. Definitely going there again!!

The damage? £17 a head for a 3 course meal, plus £6 for 2 bottles of local bitter and an orange juice. Table water was provided. Absolute bargain IMHO!! :)

[Psymonkee]

A tiny bit far away from most of you southerners :p

http://www.vineleafstandrews.co.uk/index.php

Only place local to me that requires booking 3 weeks in advance :D