Fine-Dining

Sometimes you go back to a restaurant you loved and leave disappointed. It just can’t live up to your memories. But others seem to get better and better with every visit. The Lord Clyde in Kerridge, Cheshire is very much the latter. I first ate owner/head chef Ernst’s food when he was at the Etrop Grange hotel in 2013. It looked amazing …

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 …

There are few restaurants I’ve had to wait as long to get into as The Man Behind The Curtain in Leeds. In fact, there are only three; Noma, The Fat Duck and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. This one was largely my own doing, though. Back in 2014, you could basically walk in off the street. But at that time I wasn’t sure …

I wouldn’t say I disliked whisky but it definitely isn’t my ‘thing’. A couple of friends have tried to get me into ‘the good stuff’ but I’ve always resisted. I don’t really need another expensive hobby. I’ve flown to Belgium specifically to drink beer that’s been ageing in dusty cellars for 20 years. Paid the equivalent of £50 a pint …

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 …

As we entered 2016 I made a culinary resolution to rectify three glaring holes in my dining out back catalogue. St. John, The Man Behind The Curtain and Freemasons at Wiswell. Before Spring even arrived I had reservations at the first two – in April and May respectively. The latter I visited before the end of January. Freemasons is an old fashioned country …

I started my sister blog to avoid writing about beer to much over here. But every now and again I attend an event and can’t decide where best to put it. That happened recently when I was invited to a ‘Food Pairing Dinner’ at Ibérica, Spinningfields. Since it was hosted by Spanish brewery Casimiro I decided it was better suited over …

Summer is my absolute favourite season. Mainly because I love the sun; eating and drinking outdoors just makes me happy and everywhere looks and feels better in sunshine. I can’t help getting grumpy when the days start getting colder and going dark earlier. The only thing stopping me coming down with a dose of S.A.D before January is autumn and winter food, game in particular. …

There aren’t too many restaurant openings that I get genuinely excited about these days. But Restaurant Story was definitely one of them when it launched in 2013. The ‘book themed’ restaurant where diners were asked to bring their favourite stories with them and dishes are inspired by chef Tom Sellers’ childhood memories sounded totally unique. It went on to earn a Michelin star within just …

It’s not everyday you get the chance to eat dishes from several of the world’s best chefs in the same place at the same time. But a few weeks ago I did exactly that after being invited to the press launch of ‘Great Chefs, Great Causes’ at Ibérica in Spinningfields. Of course, Albert Adrià and Joan Roca of El Celler de …

It’s no coincidence that the standard of dining in Manchester improved the moment Simon Rogan arrived. His restaurant The French in the Midland Hotel is producing the best food in the city, which has forced others to up their game too. I was blown away on my first visit in March 2013, returning twice more that year. With the last almost 18 months ago I was overdue a …

Ask anybody who’s into food for dining recommendations in Harrogate and the answer almost always includes Van Zeller. A partnership between David Moore – who has two Michelin stars from London restaurants Pied à Terre and L’Autre Pied – and head chef Tom van Zeller, who’s worked with the likes of Raymond Blanc, Pierre Koffman and Tom Aikens. Not only loved by diners, Van Zeller has …

When planning a trip to Harrogate last year, my first choice for main evening meal was fine-dining restaurant Van Zeller. However, after stumbling upon Norse, a Nordic inspired restaurant with stunning Noma-esque dishes and a glowing Jay Rayner review, I just had to go. Rearranging Van Zeller for lunch the following day, I booked Norse for the Friday evening. Located within Baltzersen’s, a café …

An early highlight of 2013 was a trip to The WineGlass at Etrop Grange last February where chef Ernst Van Zyl created a fantastic bespoke tasting menu for us. We’d been planning to return for months but just as we finally set a date in the summer heard that Ernst had left and then disappeared for a while. Appearing again …