Theresa's Profile
Pub near Lime St. Station, Liverpool with Decent Food
Liverpool isn't littered with pubs doing good food. The James Munro looks nice (I haven't been - but would really like to try it). It may be a bit more expensive than he's wants on a work night though.
It's sister pub The Munro gets some good reports, but I don't rate it much myself.
The Hub on Hanover St is a newish pub and it also gets good reports, but I haven't been to it yet.
They're all about 10 mins walk from Lime Street in different directions.
Il Ridotto: The Best Place to Eat in Venice
"I had to fill my own water glass, and went without wine for a course because no one asked"
I may be making assumptions, but if you are American, then you may have exectations of service that won't be met in Europe. I would never expect waiters to fill my water glass, and very often they will not offer more wine - you will be expected to ask for it. That is the way service is in most of Europe. There are some top-end places which will insist on filling your wine or water glass, but - and this is just a personal thing - I really don't like it when they do.
[London] Drummond Street Restaurants
Me too - good nihari and very good seekh kebabs
Tipping in Pubs: Yes or No?
But they are very good pork pies ... :o)
But I was talking about a meal in the bar of a pub, not a pie or a scocth egg ... And I agree with Lipgloss too - how you order, pay for and are served the food are the deciders for me - subtle differences in the way a place runs.
Tipping in Pubs: Yes or No?
Yes to all the above! But there are places where even eating in the bar I may leave something - if it came to £28.00, I'd leave £30.
Tipping in Pubs: Yes or No?
I am not someone who likes American tipping habits in this country, but I will leave a tip if I am eating in a pub dining room. A for tips for eating in the bar, it depends a bit - if it's an old school pub where it is just a pie and a pint, no I wouldn't, but if it is a meal, then I would, but it does depend a bit on the type of pub/meal/experience. I will generally round up or leave the usual - about 10%. It doesn't really change in practice for a road side cafe - I will round up or leave 5-10% (for cheaper food, often "rounding up" is more than 10% ...), but because of the lower price of the food (and the lack of alcohol on the bill), the tip won't be very much at all.
Lunch stops and food detours needed on driving trip from San Sebastian to Iguerande, France
And don't forget that lunch time in France are a lot earlier than in Spain, especially in rural areas. Restaurants serve between 12 and 2pm, but few will be happy to see you turn up to eat later than 1.30. If you are not planning to leave until 12.00 each day (after having had breakfast) and if you are having "indulgent dinners" each night, then I would actively avoid restaurant lunches, otherwise you will just not enjoy your evening meals. The idea of picnics is a good one - but make sure you have bought your ingredients before the shops close for siesta at 12.00 (sometimes 12.30) until 4.00-4.30.
Some supermarkets may be open during lunch times, but you would be better off getting food from markets or small charcuteries and patisseries. It might be an idea to check what days the local markets are on in each of the villages/towns you are spending the night in, so that you can plan to shop for your lunches there, or somewhere near there, each day.
Tipping at Restaurants in Spain
avrv1 - The working conditions you describe sounds like what happens in the most touristy areas of the country - areas which have suffered through too many visitors ignoring local customs, which kind of proves the point I was making. When I have travelled through other parts of the country it is completely different and is much like other parts of Europe.
Scousers, what's good?
And another place I've not been to, but looks good, is the Leaf Cafe on Bold St.
Scousers, what's good?
Assuming you are only looking at central areas, I'm sure there are mentions of Delifonseca (both branches), Italian Club, Italian Club Fish, The Side Door and Salt House Tapas - all of which are good for lunch and are informal and cheap/midrange.
Pubs-wise, I think there has also been a discussion about the strange lack of decent pubfood options. The Munro is liked by some, but I haven't been there for years. The same people have another pub called the James Munro, which gets good reviews and there is a new place called the Hub, which is supposed to be good - I haven't been to either of these though. The Hanover Street Social is somewhere I would like to try as well.
Scousers, what's good?
Have you checked the thread/s on here? There are one or two with lots of recommendations.
Gaucin / Andalucia / Southern Spain restaurants + culinary tourism
Sorry - I've not been since this post, and the recommendations in it were very old anyway. I think Diana Paget's place is still going, as the link I gave above still seems to work.
Time seems to stand still there, sothe tapas bars probably won't have changed and the Nacional probably still exists if the women running it are still alive.
London...after 10 years
Have you looked at the St John's menu? It's not exclusively offal - in fact there are more non-offal dishes than offal dishes. The menu up on their site at the moment has only one or two offally-type starters and none at all in the main courses (unless you count the trotter that comes with the roast pork). The dishes include: beef, squid, langoustines, rabbit, pork, pigeon, suckling kid, haddock, pollack and veggie meals too.
Opinions on Restaurants in Beziers and Languedoc-Roussillon
No I haven't, and pretty much all I know, or would want to recommend, is in that thread you found. Let us know what you find - I would be particularly interested to know about cheaper cafe/bistro type places - I'm sure there are loads.
We've had decent lunches a couple of times in the cafes on the main street where the outdoor markets are held, the Allee Paul Riquet - no particular recommendations, but you probably wouldn't get a bad meal along there (away from massively touristy towns/cites, France is still pretty reliable for "everyday" places). There are also some nice little restaurants in the streets leadng up to the cathedral and around les halles.
Opinions on Restaurants in Beziers and Languedoc-Roussillon
Have you searched this board for Languedoc recommendations? There are one or two recent threads.
Eating Itinerary, May 2012
I think parts of your itinerary look like a nightmare of driving long distances for very short stays. You run the risk of not seeing the beautiful countryside as you are rushing from meal to meal. I agree with others on here that Loch Lomond is disappointing - both for food and for scenery when compared to other parts of the West coast.
I think it's madness to drive from there to the northern-most point of Skye for one night and then drive back to Edinburgh. That is at least a 9-10 hour round trip (without stops). We drove to Skye for two nights a few years ago, and everything took longer than we thought - the island is bigger than you think and the roads are only small.
In your position, I would only spend one night at Loch Lomond (well, I wouldn't even spend one night there, but it looks like you are booked in for a meal there already) and then have two in Skye or one en route to Skye. You could take the slower drive up there via Oban, and have your lunch there at Ee Usk or Coast. The drive north from Oban up the coast is special, and there are other good eating options in and around Port Appin (Airds and the Port House Hotel). I haven't been to either, but they are places which get good recommendations and look like they are worth the stop,
Going south again, if you find yourself in Fort William at lunch time, try Crannog for good food - this is a very out of date recommendation, but it was great when we went there a few years back.
Carrying on south, do go via the A82 over Rannoch Moor, it's eerily beautiful.
Tipping at Restaurants in Spain
I have reread the second paragraph of your post a few times and I have to take issue with what you have said. You seem to regard Europe as undeveloped in some way - we are not a backward outpost of the States that has not "caught on yet". We have our own, very varied, cultures which are different to North America.
I would say that the fact that we do not have a culture of tipping 20% as you do in the States shows that we are more progressive, and we don't want that to change. The fact that "acceptable" levels of tipping in the UK seems to be increasing from a token gratuity to 10% and now 12.5% is not a sign of progress, but a backward step in my mind. I don't want restaurant staff who are unable to live on their wage, nor service which is dictated by the anticipation of a tip, and I don't want "very grateful" and "effussive" waiting staff. In most of Europe, working in a restaurant or bar is seen as a proper profession, and thus tips are not expected and waiters are professional, but neither effussive nor grateful.
You have expectations of service in the US which will not be met here. We are a different continent, where the people - particularly in Mediterranean countries - are not desperate to be sold another beer as soon as they have finished their first, and where waiting staff do not go for the hard sell and don't feel the need to be grateful for our custom.
Best time to go to Tayyab's? [London]
I was passing there yesterday (Sunday) at about 2.30pm after going to the market on Brick Lane and there was no queue. From the outside it seemed busy - as in plenty of people eating - but there were several free tables. So Sunday lunch time or late lunch looks like a good time. I also imagine that lunch times on week days would be quieter than evenings, but I'm not sure - and you would probably be best going early (12.00 ish) or late (2pm ish).
If you prefer busier times, then try Needoos round the corner - it's run by the previous manager of Tayyabs and has an almost identical menu and standard of food. It gets less busy than Tayyabs in the evenings (and there were loads of free tables yesterday afternoon).
Restaurants for near Perpignan and in Northern Rhone
"Lunch suggestions near Peyrepteuse and on the drive up the coast towards the Haut Languedoc also welcome".
I'm not sure how far towards/into the mountains you are thinking of going, but most of my suggestions for the area from the coast to the Haut Languedoc are in this thread:
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/830249
Any ideas for Liverpool?
That's interesting - I hope it's replacing the Cafe Rouge. I'd say it's quite a risky site though, as the Met Quarter has been getting quieter and quieter since the monster that is Liverpool One sucked all the shoppers away to the other end of Paradise St.
I'm really glad - if nothing else other than because I'll be down there buying their gorgeous bread for our freezer.
Any ideas for Liverpool?
That's sad about Ziba. Since it moved from it's original location it has had ups and downs (I loved it when it was on Berry St), but I didn't know it had gone so downhill - I have had a couple of good meals in the Racquet Club location, but I haven't been there for a while - maybe I should be careful about out of date recs.
I've had really mixed experiences at Il Forno. (Same family as the Italian Clubs by the way). I've had one or two lovely meals and one or two stinkers. And yes, it is very corporate in the way they have designed it.
I don't eat out as much as I used to at the moment, but one of my favourites in town is Salthouse Tapas.
Any ideas for Liverpool?
That's a very wide range of places you're looking at ... can you be more specific, otherwise I will be here all day making reccomendations? Also, have you searched on here, as there is quite a long thread about Liverpool places which will be worth looking at.
Places worth going to include:
Formal fine Dining:
Ziba - not been for ages, but was always reliable and in a lovely dining room;
London Carriage Works - I've not had a bad meal there, but it did get some inconsistent reviews for a while;
60 Hope Street - they also have a less formal "bistro" downstairs which will probably have better accoustics than those experienced by Harters upstairs
Less formal fine dining/bistro-type places:
The Side Door - lovely room, good food and good value
Puschka - one of my favourites, lovely room and people and good food
Other British/European places
San Carlo - mini Italian chain in the North, and a favourite with footballers, but does very good food.
Italian Club - lunch and early evening only. Tavola Calda place with the feel of a cafe in Milan.
Italian Club Fish - good fish dishes, a few meat and veggie ones. Good atmosphere. Both of these are run by the Crolla Italian-Scots family behind Valvona and Crolla in Edinburgh.
Delifonseca - as someone else has recommended above, although I disagree that the Brunswick Dock branch is any more formal - it's just a cafe/bistro attached to the shop and is very informal.
If you want to know more about other places and types of cuisine let us know, as there are plenty more, but this feels a bit like a scatter-gun approach ...
Trip to Liverpool, Brighton and London in May. Suggestions?
I can suggest places in Liverpool, but need to know a bit more about what kind of food you like, the area you will be in etc.
Sadly, Liverpool isn't great for gastro pubs, but it does have lots of lovely old pubs with good beer. Let me know if that interests you.
My first thoughts, going on what you have said are:
Delifonseca - two branches, one in the city centre and one further south in Brunswick Dock on the edge of the city centre. Lovely home cooked food from meat platters, salads and soups through to hot daily specials like bangers and mash, tagines and curries. Great value and good quality.
Italian Club (lunch, afternoon and early evening only) and Italian Club Fish - two sister restaurants on the same street (Bold St). The first one is based on the Tavola Calda idea, and is great for a quick lunch while shopping/sight seeing, and the second one is a buzzy fish restaurant - both feel like cafes in central Milan.
Let me know more about what you might be after in the city, and I'll give you some more ideas.
Ideas for Languedoc-Roussillon and around?
No I haven't. The first couple of times we went, we ate in one or two of the restaurants on the main canal, which weren't very good. We've eaten a few times at La Palangrotte, which was lovely, but we haven't been for some years now. And the meal we had in the restaurant in the Grand Hotel was very good too. As I said, Sel et Poivre is our current favourite.
Montpellier and around
Not sure if this will fit the bill, but there is L'Entrecote - related to/one of the small French chain which serves only steak frites with their special sauce. I haven't been, but it gets good reviews.
When you say "in and around" the city - how far out of town are you talking about? There is a recent thread on the Languedoc with quite a few recommendations - but I imagine they are a bit too far for your purposes.
[Manchester, Miles Platting] Vermillion
Think I'll call it the "Rugs on the Walls Campaign" - a positive message with the solution contained within ...
[Manchester, Miles Platting] Vermillion
Loud music/noise in restaurants has become a pet hate of mine. There seem to be more and more places where it's really difficult to talk above the noise. It's sometimes because the music is simply too loud, but quite often it's because so many places are now designed with all hard surfaces and no soft furnishings, so the accoustics are awful - even without music, people's voices are literally bouncing off the walls. It's a shame, because there are one or two places I won't go back to on a busy night, even though I love the food. Maybe I should start a campaign ...
Ideas for Languedoc-Roussillon and around?
You'll love it there - where will you be staying? The area gets so little attention on these boards that it's good to know other regular Chowhounders will be spending some time there, hopefully making new discoveries... :o)
Ideas for Languedoc-Roussillon and around?
I've just remembered that there is a really nice wine bar in Bedarieux which serves French style tapas, platters of local charcuterie, black pudding, pate etc. and I think they now do the odd hot dish, but I'm not sure. She takes a lot of pride in her wine selection. It's called Chai Christine Cannac and is in a tiny square in front of the town hall at the end of the main shopping street. It's perfect for a light lunch or for an evening meal/snack if you've had a heavy lunch.
Ideas for Languedoc-Roussillon and around?
I don't know about hotels, and I have not eaten in either of these places, but the following in Bouzigues get good reviews: Les Jardins de la Mer (a familly run shack-type place) and Le Grand Bleu. I keep meaning to get there and try them.
In Meze, we have eaten at Le Coquillou several times, and enjoyed it, but I'm not sure that it's much more than just "reliable", and we haven't been for a while. As with most places round there, it's good for seafood and shell fish.
Marseillan is another place on the Lagoon you may want to consider and is also lovely, especially on the harbour. Marseillan Plage is not very nice - the beach is fine, but it is just a beach-goers offshoot of the old village. We haven't eaten there for years, but we remember Le Jardin du Naris being good - a slightly quirky place, serving tagines and other dishes different to the norm, with a lovely garden/yard at the back.
Agde is worth a visit. I'm not sure about the quality of the restaurants along the river, but it is lovely sitting on their terraces with a drink in the evening sun - the River Herault is very pretty. There is a restaurant we went to after a recommendation which we really enjoyed - maybe more for the overall experience than the food - although that was mostly good. It's called Lou Pescadou, and they serve(d) a five course menu for 15 euros. First a whole pate is brought to your table and you help yourself to as much as you want - it is the kind I really like - coarse and rustic. Then they bring round a tureen of fish soup - this is tasty enough, and I liked it, but aficionados of fish soup may find it disappointing. Then the Mussels came - they were very fresh, but were served in a disappointing bland ratatouille-type soupy stew. The main meal is a choice of either fish of the day or a meat dish, and was very good - lovely fish, simply prepared. Then there's a pudding. I really loved it. There are probably better places, but it was a great atmosphere, very crowded and full of locals. Amazing value, even if one or two of the courses weren't up to much.
