I Giardini Di Sorrento, City Road, Cardiff
On July 1, 2016 by The Plate Licked CleanI Giardini di Sorrento bills itself as ‘Coffee House-Bar-Kitchen’, though that doesn’t really do it justice. It’s certainly not formal dining, and as such it fits in well on City Road, but this isn’t a café knocking out a few token sandwiches as an afterthought. Today’s specials of lobster and T-bone are a giveaway, though
Bleecker Burger, London
On July 1, 2016 by The Plate Licked CleanFans of undercooked beef might enjoy this one; by the same token, ‘well done’ evangelists and soapboxers might do well to save themselves and me the bother, and check back in later. You can probably tell why. I’ve been keen to revisit Bleecker since last year’s Dalston Street Feast, where they had a corner stall,
Padella, Borough Market, London: restaurant review
On June 25, 2016 by The Plate Licked CleanThe queues outside Padella tell their own tale: within minutes of the lunchtime doors opening the place is crammed, yet the lines still form on Southwark Street. It’s a small space, with diners sitting up on kitchen-front stools and at marble ledges in the window, with another room below. The menu is compact: five antipasti,
Sambal Shiok pop-up, London
On June 19, 2016 by The Plate Licked CleanWhen the skies opened after a stellar lunch at BAO in Soho last year, the mizzle of the morning becoming a full-on deluge, we ran for cover. And in one of those little strokes of luck, we took shelter a hundred yards round the corner in The Sun and 13 Cantons. And there, on the
The Dock, Mermaid Quay, Cardiff Bay
On May 20, 2016 by The Plate Licked CleanThe Dock is Brains’ grand statement in Cardiff Bay, a seven-figure refurbishment of the old Terra Nova. Oh, I loathed Terra Nova. Hated it with an intensity bordering on the visceral. I had too many dreary nights in its overcrowded, dingy corners. And it was always where we had our work do, and the food
The Pony and Trap, Chew Magna, Bristol
On May 17, 2016 by The Plate Licked CleanThe Pony and Trap is the sort of place you’d love for your local. Long wooden pews, shaded lamps, tiled and wooden floors, leaded glass. It’s cosy, welcoming and intimate: stuffiness and over formality are strangers here, and the view is of endless fields. Oh, and it just happens to have a Michelin-starred kitchen. But
This blog is a very simple thing.
I won’t try to sell you any hand lotion, exercise programmes, coffee syrups or Patagonian nose flutes. You won’t find tips on dating, ‘wellness’ or yoga mats.
I write because I love it (and food, as indicated by my increasing girth). Greed happens to be my Deadly Sin of choice, but at least it is never shy of providing me with subject matter.
A simple thing, then: all you get is me wittering on semi-coherently about places I’ve eaten at; hence a ‘restaurant blog’ rather than a ‘food blog’, although there are a few recipes scattered throughout.
From mezze to Michelin ‘fine dining’ and all points in between.