Food Geek | Food Blog restaurant reviews, recipes & other foodie stuff..

Though I hate to admit it and genuinely try not to be, if I’m being honest I have to accept that deep down I’m a bit of a food snob. Especially when it comes to restaurants, chains in particular. I’ve been put off by previous bad experiences but mainly I just find them so bland and soulless. There are a …

Supper clubs are all the rage these days, particularly in London but there have been more and more popping up around Manchester too over the past few years. So it’s perhaps surprising that I ‘d never attended one. After enjoying my first GastroClub earlier in the year I was feeling sociable and booked myself on two separate events just a …

It’s fair to say I was looking forward to Aiden Byrne arriving at Manchester House, I’d made a reservation at the earliest opportunity way back in March for the original opening night of August 8th. But building delays caused it to be pushed back a couple of times before finally opening on September 17th. Unfortunately due to other commitments I …

We wanted to eat somewhere special for our last day in Spain, we were prepared to travel to a bigger town or city but had heard great things about the hotel in the village near our remote riverside lodge. It looked like a nice place from the outside but it was the offer of an 8 course tasting menu that …

As I confessed after visiting Dog Bowl in May, I’m not the biggest fan of bowling, though admittedly this is mainly because i’m not very good at it. I only went to Dog Bowl because I was invited but I actually chose to eat at Manchester’s other ’boutique’ bowling alley ‘All Star Lanes’. Located in The Great Northern on Deansgate it’s …

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 …