No Expert …but I know what I like – Food Blog, Restaurant reviews – Page 50

The Waterside Inn – old fashioned comfort

I found the food at The Waterside Inn in Bray to be quite conventional, fairly typical french haute cuisine. I have to admit I expected a lot more from a 3 star Michelin – I suspect at least 1 star applied to the location.

It was also a bit of a struggle to find a reasonably priced bottle of Champagne – the wine list was a bit daunting. That said it was a lovely day out. The Waterside Inn is a very comfortable venue. We made our selves at home, spending hours out on the terrace after lunch drinking brandy that was older than we were, and indulging in a little too much PX.

Here is a short video about The Waterside Inn:-

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Wish list – So many Restaurants to visit!

I am building up a wish list of restaurants that I really should make an effort to visit at some point in the future:-

Barcelona

Can Fabes – CLOSED
Hisop
Moments at the Mandarin Oriental – visited May 2010, see post
Bravo24 at the W Hotel – visited May 2010, see post

Bath

Allium Brasserie

Copenhagen

Noma – maybe, although not so keen on the idea of live ants.

Cheltenham

Le Champignon Sauvage

Edinburgh

Castle Terrace
Martin Wishart
Number One Restaurant at The Balmoral Hotel – Visited December 2009, see post.
The Kitchin – Visited December 2009, see post.

Hong Kong

St Betty

Kent

The Sportsman, Seasalter, Whitstable – Visited July 2010, see post.
Eddie Gilberts , Ramsgate – Visited April 2010, see post – CLOSED

Lake District

L’enclume

London

Bob Bob Ricard– Visited September 2011, see post.
Chez Bruce Wandsworth – Visited December 2010, see post.
Dinner at the Mandarin Oriental visited March 2010, see post.
Hawksmoor – Visited March 2011, see post.
Hedone
L’Anima
L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
L’Autre Pied – Visited September 2010, see post.
Le Gavroche
Magdalen – Visited January 2010, see post.
Maze – Visited June 2010, see post.
Medlar – Visited December 2012, see post.
Murano – Visited May 2010, see post.
One O One
Polpo
Pollen Street Social and Social Eating House
Portal
Restaurant Story
Roganic – Visited January 2013, see post
St Johns
St Johns Hotel
Sketch – Visited Septeber 2011, see post.
Texture – Visited May 2010, see post.
The Glasshouse – Visited March 2011, see post.
The Greenhouse
The Modern Pantry – Visited Dec 2011, see post.
Trinity, Clapham Common – Visited July 2011, see post.
The Zetter Hotel – Bistrot Bruno Loubet – Visited March 2011, see post.

Manchester

The French at the Midlands Hotel

New York

Per se

Nottingham

Restaurant Sat Bains

Paris

San Sebastian

If any of our readers have recommendations, feel free to add them as comments.

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The Chop House – good old spot

The Bar in the Chop House in Butlers Wharf is a really civilised venue for breakfast, it is especially lovely on a sunny day when you can sit outside and watch the boats on the river, taking in the stunning views of Tower bridge. The menu is excellent, I would especially recommend the Gloucester Old Spot sausages. It is best to reserve a table for breakfast as this is a very popular venue.

IMGP2582

Marks out of 10

Food 6.5

Service 5

Location 7

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El Celler De Can Roca – numbers do lie!

The S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list rates El Celler De Can Roca as number 5, not that the place is bad, far from it. It is just that I haven’t been to all the best restaurants in the world yet, and this one already is not in my top 5. Actually I should have know better than trust this list, as last year I visited number 11 L’Astrance in Paris, again not bad – but not really worth in my view the acolades it receives. Plus this year Restaurant Gordon Ramsay – Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea did not even make the top 100, and that is most definately in my top 10.

El Celler De Can Roca is out in the suburbs of Girona, so about 1 hour on the train from Barcelona, then a 10-15 minute taxi ride. It is a very stylish venue, and they had some nice touches, the one I especially approved off, was the complimentary Cava and water (not that we did not really pay for it in the bill – as El Celler De Can Roca is not cheap). This is a much nicer approach than staff pushing you to buy a glass of overpriced Champagne before your meal (one of my pet hates).

An easier alternative in the Roca Brothers empire, is to just stay in Barcelona and go to their restaurant at Hotel Omm , Moo.

UPDATE: March 2010 – El Celler De Can Roca, was awarded its third Michelin star this year.

UPDATE: April 2010 – El Celler De Can Roca is now at number 4 on the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list.

UPDATE: April 2013 – El Celler De Can Roca is now number 1 on the S.Pellegrino World’s Best Restaurants list.

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Silenus – Losing its Midas touch?

Silenus was always one of the better restaurants in the Ravel area. We have had some really good dishes there, but on a more recent visit the food was quite ordinary. It had shifted its direction from fusion to more traditional. However it may be on the way back to fusion as recent research shows it being described now as doing International/Japanese cuisine (Japanese food is very trendy in Barcelona at the moment), so who knows. On the plus side it is a fairly laid back place to eat, so we may give it another try on our next visit to Barcelona.

Marks out of 10

Food 5

Service 5

Ambience 5.5

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Moo and Moovida – Hotel Omm

Moo is the 1 star Michelin restaurant (part of the Roca brothers empire) situated in the Hotel Omm in Barcelona, (part of the Grupo Tragaluz).

It is very fashionable, very much a place to be seen. Normally in this sort of venue the food disappoints, but here for once the food is actually good enough to match the atmosphere. Advanced booking is essential.

Marks out of 10 – Moo

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7.5

Moovida is the informal bar/dinning area. This venue is an especially useful recommendation as you can normally do a walk in. Its also a great place for food and people watching (unless you are facing the wall that might as well be an NCP car park. Etiquette apparently dictates that the woman sits looking into the room, getting the interesting view. While the man has to stare at a wall. I’ve lost count of the number of tables I’ve sat at looking at a fire exit sign…rant over).

Short video showing Hotel Omm, finishes with some images of that wall in Moovida:-

Marks out of 10 – Moovida

Food 7

Service 7

Ambience 7

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