Reviews

Last Thursday was one of my best days as a food blogger, though looking back feels slightly surreal. I started with a fabulous preview lunch at Aiden Byrne’s new fine-dining, Michelin star chasing restaurant ‘Manchester House‘ and ended up slightly worse for wear stealing pulled pork and pickles from a prolific food blogger. Sandwiched in-between was the launch party of …

Arriving back from Spain a couple of weeks ago to a cold and grey Manchester with a touch of the holiday blues, sorting through piles of junk mail and bills only increased the depressing feeling. Until I came across a splash of colour that brightened my day and gave me something to look forward to, an invite to the exclusive …

Manchester is at war! It is if you believe certain media anyway. It’s nothing to do with gangs, drugs or music though, not even United or City. This time it’s chefs; Simon Rogan Vs Aiden Byrne. Apparently they’re fighting each other in a race to be awarded a Michelin star. Simon has had a bit of a head start with …

Whilst lay on a beach sunbathing it suddenly occurred to me that I’d been in Spain for 6 days and not eaten a paella yet! With no idea how or why i’d let it happen I immediately set to rectify the situation. I was in the quiet, fishermans village of L’Ametlla de Mar and thankfully didn’t have to venture far. …

I think eating at Casa de Tapas Cañota was my most fun restaurant experience ever. Not the best overall but probably the most ‘fun’. Run by the Iglesias brothers who also own well loved restaurant ‘Rías de Galicia’ and ‘Tickets’ with Ferran Adrià my expectations were set pretty high. You can tell it’s a fun place immediately from the bright …

Chef Carles Abellán had revolutionised the tapas scene with his restaurant Comerç 24. After working with culinary legend Ferran Adrià at elBulli and other restaurants for 15 years he opened Comerç 24 in 2001. The food there is elaborate ‘designer tapas’ with influences from Mexican, Italian and Asian cuisines. I recently visited his second restaurant Tapas 24. Certainly more traditional …

Bubó is a pâtisserie/cake shop with a fabulous reputation, particularly famous for it’s macaroons and chocolate cake which apparently once won ‘The World´s Best Chocolate Cake’. I visited the original store in the Born area of Barcelona which opened in 2005, there are now several other branches in Barcelona and oddly one in Kuwait which opened last year. From the …

Miravet is a medieval village centred around an ancient castle, Arab in origin it was later rebuilt by the Order of the Knights Templar. The village is situated on the river Ebro, to reach it I cautiously drove onto a rickety old boat not much bigger than my car to cross. It was worth the risk, Miravet is a beautiful …

After a long day at the brilliant (but sadly lacking in the food department) PortAventura theme park we ventured into Salou hoping to find somewhere decent to eat. Parking opposite ‘The Black Bull’ and having to avoid being sold a dodgy watch or flashing plastic toy as we walked down the road I wasn’t optimistic. It felt like Blackpool or …

Staying in a remote riverside lodge by the Ebro River in the Tarragona mountains we were surrounded by stunning views but few options when it came to eating out. The nearest village ‘Benifallet’ was a 10 minute drive and contained just 3 or 4 restaurants with a few bars and a hotel also serving food.   We chose ‘Braseria Rosa …

I landed in Spain with food on my mind (shocking I know!) and wanted my first meal to be something traditional; mussels perhaps, or maybe a paella. I’d chosen a seemingly suitable restaurant for lunch but arrived to find the shutters down. It was early so we went for a walk around the town expecting to return to an open …

When I first heard about Summercamp festival run by Camp and Furnace in Liverpool I thought it looked brilliant, particularly the foodie dinners. I was intrigued by the ‘No Knives or Forks’ and ‘Tree Hugger’ (10 course vegetarian banquet) dinners and have wanted to eat Michelin starred chef Glynn Purnell’s food for a long time so this seemed the perfect opportunity. …

I’d never been to Wilmslow and didn’t know much about the place other than it’s an affluent town and home to footballers and Coronation Street actors. I’d been hearing good things about Stolen Lamb though, a family run Greek restaurant serving modern food so decided to venture all the way to south Manchester to try it. It’d been many years …

I recently made Stosie Madi, head chef of the Parkers Arms blush when I said her ‘Good Friday Fish Fest‘ was one of the highlights of my year. It’s true though, despite eating out around 50 times since, including several fine-dining restaurants – some with 2 Michelin stars – Stosie’s food is still some of the most memorable. Being the …

Despite being very slightly underwhelmed on my last visit to Aumbry (something which i’ve since thought was a little harsh as everything I ate was excellent) it was my first choice when choosing a restaurant to take my Mum to for her birthday. The last time I took her out on her own was to 3 Michelin starred ‘Restaurant Gordon …