William’s Table Pub and Kitchen, Bath

“Wow, this is exactly how I want our new kitchen diner to look!” Okay, so that’s not a typical start to a restaurant review. But perhaps it should be; after all, loving the environment you’re in before you even settle down to eat is surely a Very Good Thing, while going out-out for your dinnerContinue reading “William’s Table Pub and Kitchen, Bath”

PrimaVista, Quiet Street, Bath

It takes a tonnellata of brave entrepreneurial chutzpah to open a new Italian restaurant in a city that’s already home to around 40 ventures that lay claim to serving the pizza/pasta/risotto/gnocchi/tiramisu/etc in the South West.  From glitzy high street attention-grabbers to a fair few elegantly flamboyant, contempo-trad trattorias by way of a handful of promisingContinue reading “PrimaVista, Quiet Street, Bath”

Chez Dominique, Bath

If French actor, cultural icon and all-round cool guy Alain Delon was still with us and visited Bath today, I reckon he’d land at Chez Dominique for a late lunch and refuse to move until he’d drunk the last drop of Fleurie from behind the bar; it is, quite simply, “that” kind of place. ThisContinue reading “Chez Dominique, Bath”

Joya Italian Steakhouse, Bath

Pulteney Bridge was completed in 1774. The former Empire Hotel in Orange Grove was built in 1901. The Bath branch of Browns, also on Orange Grove, made a home for itself in the city’s former cop shop almost 30 years ago. The restaurant now known as Solina Pasta on Grand Parade used to be Frampton’sContinue reading “Joya Italian Steakhouse, Bath”

The Marlborough Tavern, Bath

Occupying prime leafy neighbourhood position just past the Royal Crescent on the edge of Royal Victoria Park, the Marlborough Tavern effortlessly brings proper pub and upmarket contemporary bistro together in perfect harmony, an appealing blend of friendly familiarity and a fresh, smart outlook in both decor and menus giving both locals and visitors alike goodContinue reading “The Marlborough Tavern, Bath”

The Inn at Freshford

Honey-coloured stone cottages, leafy courtyards, lamp-lit windows glowing in the dusk. Tranquil fields, wide-open skies, a gentle river flowing beneath an ancient bridge. Is Freshford — around 6m/10km south-east of Bath — the ultimate picture-perfect English village? That’ll be a yes, then. And, at the epicentre of village life, the historic Inn at Freshford. AsContinue reading “The Inn at Freshford”

Yum Yum Thai, Kingsmead Square, Bath

I’m not sure which one of us arrived in Bath first: Yum Yum Thai or me. What I am sure of, though, is that we’ve both been very happy here for around 26 years, which probably earns us both Bath institution status… and could lead to discussions about which one of us has aged best.Continue reading “Yum Yum Thai, Kingsmead Square, Bath”

The Marlborough Tavern, Bath

Occupying prime leafy neighbourhood position just past the Royal Crescent on the edge of Royal Victoria Park, the Marlborough Tavern effortlessly brings proper pub and upmarket contemporary bistro together in perfect harmony, an appealing blend of friendly familiarity and a fresh, smart outlook in both decor and menus giving both locals and visitors alike goodContinue reading “The Marlborough Tavern, Bath”

The Ring O’Bells, Widcombe, Bath

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”

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”