British

It’s hard to write about the Parkers Arms these days. Hard not to write stuff that’s already been said a million times anyway. Pound for pound, taking everything into account it has been my favourite place to eat for almost four years now. I just love everything about the place, from the location to the service and of course the …

Almost four years had passed since I last visited Heston Blumenthal’s Michelin-starred pub The Hind’s Head. I could probably count the number of weeks I’ve not thought about their scotch eggs on one hand. The 15th-century pub is located in the UK’s culinary hotspot, the tiny and very pretty village of Bray. Home to half of the country’s four 3 Michelin starred …

Unless you’re planning on eating at Mr Cooper’s House & Garden in the next few days this review is kind of pointless. Simon Rogan has packed his bags and will be leaving Manchester before the end of October. Both The French and Mr Cooper’s are being left in the capable hands of their current head chefs, Adam Reid and Robert Taylor. …

Want to know one of the best things about writing a food blog? Every now and again I get pleasantly surprised by somewhere I wouldn’t have gone otherwise. I was actually invited to Provenance Food Hall & Restaurant earlier in the year. But declined because I genuinely didn’t believe there could be anywhere worth eating in Westhoughton. For those that …

On the 1st of January, I made a New Years resolution. To visit three places that any self-respecting food blogger should have been to long ago. By the end of May, I’d made it to all three. First, Freemasons at Wiswell and most recently Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds (review coming soon). In between was the one I’d ignored the longest. ‘St. JOHN Restaurant’ in …

Since the day this blog started – over five years ago – there have been a couple of ever present entries on the ‘Upcoming Reviews‘ page. One of which, Nutter’s in Rochdale, I finally visited last month. Though I have to confess it wasn’t off my own bat. I was invited by Meze Publishing for the launch of their new ‘Lancashire …

There’s a new addition to Manchester’s fine-dining scene. ‘Grafene’ on King Street is named after revolutionary 2D material ‘graphene’, albeit spelt incorrectly. Run by Paul and Kathryn Roden, owners of highly regarded Losehill House Hotel & Spa in the Peak District. And headed up by their executive chef over there, Darren Goodwin. Although I’ve never been to Losehill House I know several …

The Parkers Arms is one of my favourite places in the world to eat. I was blown away during my first visit on Good Friday three years ago. I’ve been back many times since and always loved it. But never again on Good Friday and never quite as much as that magical first time. Until the start of Easter weekend this …

Jay Rayner has clearly had a better upbringing than me; in his review of The White Swan, he’s quite dismissive of Fence, the small village near Burnley in which it’s set. I’m sure he was exaggerating to make a point, and it is fairly unassuming. But from the bits I saw it looked like quite a charming area. Including The White Swan itself, …

When people ask me for my favourite place to eat, as they often do, I usually struggle to give a definitive answer. But the more I think of it the more I reckon it’s probably the Parkers Arms. I know, it’s not got a Michelin star or a celebrity chef attached. It’s not glitzy, or in an up and coming part of town, …

Since ‘retiring’ last year Ryan Giggs seems to have seriously upped his workload. Assistant manager of one of the biggest football clubs in the world is a full time job to most, but he’s also pursuing a number of personal business ventures including co-owning Salford City football club, a restaurant, George’s in Worsley and now Hotel Football. Located right outside …

I can’t say I was particularly interested when I heard Ryan Giggs had bought a restaurant, even less so knowing it was in Worsley. Not that there’s anything wrong with the lovely little village, it’s just a bit out of the way for me. But shortly after ‘George’s’ opened I began hearing great things, especially regarding head chef Andrew Parker, …

This is my first and quite possibly last post here on FoodGeek. You see even though I contribute greatly to the eating out, I am also responsible for supplying Mr Geek with valuable information such as the state of the loos, overuse of unnecessary ingredients, whether the plates are stupid and where the waitress got her shoes from (all vital …

If only there were more days in the week, or at least a few more hours in the day. I’d almost certainly visit The Farmers Arms more often. It’s somewhere I never get bored of going back to but just don’t seem to find the time to go often enough. Although, time does appear to stand still in Darcy Lever where the …

It’s ever so slightly awkward being asked to visit somewhere you’ve previously been fairly negative about. It happened recently when I was invited to Momentum Restaurant & Lounge in Westhoughton. I’m assuming they hadn’t read my less than glowing review anyway. Still, it was over two years ago and my complaints were all service related. I was impressed by the food back then so thought it’d be …