Velo Lounge, Moorland Road, Bath

Back in 2002, good friends Alex Reilley, Jake Bishop and David Reid spotted a big gap in the merrymaking market. Basically, they noticed the lack of neighbourhood/’third space’ café-bar affairs that they themselves would want to go to… so they decided to create one in their home town, Bristol. Today, there are multiple Lounges acrossContinue reading “Velo Lounge, Moorland Road, Bath”

The Prandial Playground’s ‘…beyond’ Foray #1: Bournemouth

Friday The number 7 features highly on the Bournemouth fun facts list; the historic resort town in the borough of Dorset boasts 7 miles of sandy beaches, attracts 7m visitors a year and gets an average of 7.7 hours of sunshine during the summer months… …or not, as the case may have been when weContinue reading “The Prandial Playground’s ‘…beyond’ Foray #1: Bournemouth”

Montagu’s Mews at The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, Bath

“There’s a kind of hush all over the world, tonight…” Well yes, of course there is… because we’re at a table on the Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa’s brand new heated, covered terrace overlooking the gorgeous garden; if you can’t feel at peace here, you’re unlikely to feel at peace pretty much anywhere else. TheContinue reading “Montagu’s Mews at The Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa, Bath”

The Griffin Inn, Monmouth Street, Bath

The Griffin Inn – the smart little hostelry on the Monmouth Street/Princes Street axis with a history that dates back to 1730 – is thriving again… and I know for sure that I’m not the only Bathonian to say cheers to that! In recent years, history hasn’t been kind to this mellow oasis of cityContinue reading “The Griffin Inn, Monmouth Street, Bath”

The Mint Room, Bath

Have you been watching MasterChef 2023? I have – and I’m all too aware that I’m watching it all too often as I have, apparently, started to channel MC judge John Torode, even if I’m eating eggs on toast, at home: “the whites are just set, the yolks are creamy, but everything is over-seasoned; ifContinue reading “The Mint Room, Bath”

The Architect, Orange Grove, Bath

If you’re a fan of grand designs, The Architect – formerly (and for way too long) a rather unloved branch of the rather unloved British casual dining chain Garfunkel’s, that dominated the ground floor of the former Empire Hotel in Orange Grove – has got it all going on. If the approach – a massive,Continue reading “The Architect, Orange Grove, Bath”

PLATE at The Bird Hotel, Bath

Plush crushed velvet; juicy pulled pork bonbons; friendly faces. Cool contemporiana; cosy nooks and crannies; coffee salted caramel. An alfresco terrace offering splendid cityscape views; sticky jus; a sparkly bar specialising in sparkly cocktails: gosh, there’s so much going on PLATE – the deliciously quirky, super-stylish, flamboyant yet still somehow distinctly down-to-earth restaurant on theContinue reading “PLATE at The Bird Hotel, Bath”

Pieminister, Westgate Street, Bath

I don’t really trust people who says they don’t like pies. Okay, fair enough, if they’re referring to potato- or meringue-topped versions, or latticed pies, or flaky, lid-only aberrations that, to me, are pies in name only, I get their point – there’s a fair debate to be had here. But real, proper, actual piesContinue reading “Pieminister, Westgate Street, Bath”

Review: Tandoori Garden, Keynsham

And so it came to pass that we ended up in Keynsham. Not, you understand, “ended up” as in that “end of the line”/”what the hell are we doing here?” kinda way; more, just, well, we were meandering back from an early evening tour of various branches of Lidl (long story), and we were suddenlyContinue reading “Review: Tandoori Garden, Keynsham”