It’s 7.30pm on a drizzly Friday night in January. The restaurants, bars and pubs in Bath city centre are so quiet that even a tumbleweed invasion would liven things up; the lights are on, but everybody’s at home. Widcombe Parade, however – a 5-minute trot south-east of the bright lights, behind (and just over theContinue reading “The Ring O’Bells, Widcombe, Bath”
Category Archives: Food for Thought
Raya’s Thai Thali
The roads are dark, a storm rages, and Brad and Janet are caught out by a flat tyre on their road trip to Dr Frank-N-Furter’s castle. However! “In the velvet darkness of the blackest night, burning bright: there’s a guiding star…” Okay, so Mike and I are more Magenta and Riff Raff than Brad andContinue reading “Raya’s Thai Thali”
Mai Thai, Chelsea Road, Bath
The hippocampus (there’s one in each hemisphere of everybody’s brain) has a lot to answer for. It’s responsible, see, for helping us to form long-term, declarative memories – the ones that contribute to the personal autobiographies that we all carry around in our heads. The hippocampus is particularly good at helping us link emotion withContinue reading “Mai Thai, Chelsea Road, Bath”
Why not…?
I opened the doors to The Prandial Playground on February 2 2023. “This is still very much a work in progress,” I wrote, in my very first post; “but here I am, in my ramshackle, unpolished state”. While ‘ramshackle and unpolished’ could be my middle names and I still firmly uphold the opinion that diamondsContinue reading “Why not…?”
Magari Pasta, Milsom Place, Bath
In a city that’s currently struggling to digest the restaurant world version of a modern Roman invasion, Magari Pasta have taken a bold step in opening the doors to their second venture in Bath. The original Magari thrives in Bristol’s hip street food destination Wapping Wharf, a mere 14-ish miles from Bath but world’s apartContinue reading “Magari Pasta, Milsom Place, Bath”
Picnic in the Park pop-up: Braai/Bush Trek BBQ
Last Friday night, I ate Prawn Mozambique for the very first time in my life. I discovered Smoortjie too – and Espetada Trinchado, and Milho Frito, and Hominy Corn; y’know, the kind of dishes that set your tastebuds wild with excitement, push your spellcheck to the point of combustion, and – usually – you haveContinue reading “Picnic in the Park pop-up: Braai/Bush Trek BBQ”
Noya’s Kitchen, St James’s Parade, Bath
Noya Pawlyn’s Vietnamese cookery heritage runs deep and her back story is fascinating – and please, I urge you, do click on that link; it honestly is the most essential reading you’ll ever find on any restaurant website. There’s a lot to digest between the lines on that bio. But right here, right now –Continue reading “Noya’s Kitchen, St James’s Parade, Bath”
The Richmond/The Pasta Laboratory, Bath
We went in search of a couple of freshly-baked pizzas and a bottle of good wine to celebrate… well, to celebrate it being a Friday’n’all. But The Richmond – the gorgeous little Georgian-era pub-with-rooms tucked away on a leafy residential street in one of the most beautiful neighbourhoods in Bath – went way over andContinue reading “The Richmond/The Pasta Laboratory, Bath”
The Upton Inn, Upton Cheyney, nr. Bath/Bristol
Blink as you drive past the sign for the tiny village of Upton Cheyney – roughly halfway-ish between Bath and Bristol, just off the Kelston Road – and you’ll miss the turn-off. But miss it and you’ll seriously miss out, as Upton Cheyney has to be one of the most picture-perfect villages for miles around,Continue reading “The Upton Inn, Upton Cheyney, nr. Bath/Bristol”
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”
The Prandial Playground, Bath and Beyond... 