Melissa

Mantra, Bladud Buildings, Bath

“Is that the roof of the Tramshed building?” “It must be, yes. And that lovely little Corn Market house – doesn’t it look weird from here? Like a toy house that’s just been dumped there by a kid who got bored.” “I remember when the Tramshed was the Ha! Ha! Bar” “Stupid name, with theContinue reading “Mantra, Bladud Buildings, Bath”

RootSpice, Argyle Street, Bath

A Japanese Izakaya and a modern French bistro. A supercool lounge experience and a superb steak house. An Italian trattoria, a traditional pub, a ‘boutique co-working space‘ – Argyle Street/Pulteney Bridge has quietly morphed into a distinctive modern Bath ‘quarter’ all of its own of late; heck, you could move from office to late-night partyingContinue reading “RootSpice, Argyle Street, Bath”

The Oven, Saw Close, Bath

Decent pizzas are hardly a lesser-spotted speciality in Bath; whichever part of the city centre you choose to stroll through, a proliferation of pizza perfection is never far from your orbit. As a result, it could be said that there’s no need to review a pizza hotspot – they’re hardly tucked away, and everybody knowsContinue reading “The Oven, Saw Close, Bath”

A Rose by any other name

Rose Elliot’s vegetarian cookery book Not Just a Load of Old Lentils cost £1.50 in 1972. ‘Fun, practical, easy, delightful!’ reads the strapline on the faded orange cover, the words running around an etched sketch of pulses, cheese, vegetables and wine. There’s a photo of Rose herself on page 2, demure, but smiling encouragingly, withContinue reading “A Rose by any other name”

escala, Clevedon

So we got back from our break in Cannes, and it was still my big birthday week, and we both had another day off… so we went for a day out in Clevedon, where I used to live many, many years ago, and where we knew for sure that the sun would be shining… well,Continue reading “escala, Clevedon”

The Peking, Kingsmead Square, Bath

I heard our Sizzling Chicken long before the gloriously fragrant, intrinsically Cantonese ginger/spring onion/chicken combo wafted our way, heralding the imminent arrival of one of our main courses. And it led me to thinking… Of our five basic human senses, hearing is probably the last on the list when it comes to how we connectContinue reading “The Peking, Kingsmead Square, Bath”

Budō, Argyle Street, Bath

On paper, the pitch is doomed to fail: let’s establish a pop-up Izakaya (Izakaya being a style of local tavern found in neighbourhoods all over Japan, serving small plates of food to enhance the pleasure of drinking with friends) in a refurbished Jacobean dining room upstairs from our pub in Bath city centre. Oh, andContinue reading “Budō, Argyle Street, Bath”

Dinner at The Gainsborough Bath Spa

Enormous, glistening prawns (‘Dancing Prawns’, no less!) – crispy on the outside, soft and juicy within – drenched in a glossy, citrus-infused, Asian-esque emulsion and dotted hither and thither with sweetly nutty crystallised walnuts. A trio of meaty, chargrilled skewers (chicken, lamb and beef), each one tasting of their very best selves, served with aContinue reading “Dinner at The Gainsborough Bath Spa”

Sunday Lunch at The Griffin Inn, Monmouth Street, Bath

Where shall we go for Sunday lunch in Bath? That’s probably the most-asked question on my X/Twitter (@ThePigGuide) timeline, at all times of the year. You’d be forgiven for thinking that it’d be the easiest question to respond to, too; after all, multiple pubs, restaurants and even bars in Bath offer multiple twists and turnsContinue reading “Sunday Lunch at The Griffin Inn, Monmouth Street, Bath”

Flute, George Street, Bath

As the Anglo-Irish satirist and author Jonathan Swift once said, “he was a bold man that first ate an oyster.” Indeed; I mean, they’re a bit weird-looking, aren’t they? But I was once that bold (wo)man, eating an oyster for the very first time almost two decades ago (at the start of a cookery class,Continue reading “Flute, George Street, Bath”