What Restaurant did you eat at last night?

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Above 5 - Dubrovnik

Not much to say other than one of the best meals I've had out anywhere. Perfect for a special meal in the city.

Cracking service, food beyond incredible and the view over the old town was sublime.

Started with Pigeon...... Scrumptious.
Main - Beef (can't remember the cut name), with just lots of nice stuff (quite a few mojitos, gins and wines down at this point.
Desert - Chocolate cake bits with soil, yummy ice cream and many other things that worked in harmony.



Another cracking place is Azur (near the hole in the kings landing walls through to the sunset Buza bar). Probably serve the best Tacos you'll ever have, good cocktails and their bar further towards Pile Gate was great afterwards. Especially as the owning couple turned up and plied us with a bottle of Cafe Patron

 

[Malevolence]

Just back from a small place just down the road from me in Stoke called Baby Russets. I urge anyone in the area has to give it a try.

 

[kai]

Bohanan's Prime Steak Resturant in San Antonia - Texas.

It voted one of the best steakhouses in the United States.

16oz Ribeye. I have NEVER had a steak like this before, and I’ve eaten in some really nice Steak restaurants around the US and Europe.

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Not logged on in a while now, got a couple of updates.

If you go to Santorini then head north to Oia, go down the steps to Ammoudi Bay and visit the Ammoudi Bay Fish Tavern. The very freshest of fish, delicious sun-dried and grilled octopus, all the shellfish. It isn't the cheapest place, but zoiks, the food and view are worth it.

Drying octopusses:



Rock lobster with barley and truffle:



Imagine the view from the front seats!



For less expensive, but nevertheless delicious, foods go to Fira and search out Falafeland - which we integrated into the Muppets theme every time it was mentioned - or Lucky's Gyros. Salads are a class apart all over the island... oh the tomatoes! We went on a fishing trip off the south of the island and we caught shrimp, octopus, and fish which we ate on board. Amazing. We also did a wine tour. Try the seriously amazing Assyrtiko, if you like unoaked whites. It's like a French Sauvignon with a burst of lemon and a strong minerality.

Now, on to Gothenburg. There is lots of good eating here and it is all expensive. For the best value fish and seafood, go to one of the Sjobaren restaurants (we went to the one in Haga, twice). Everything is amazing. It's also worth going to the Fish Church, or Feskakorka. It's an old church building converted to a fish and shellfish market with stalls and restaurants selling all the best stuff. Take it outside and enjoy in the sunshine.

Finally, we are booked in to the Black Swan at Oldstead in the middle of July, I can not wait.

 

[the-evaluator]

Finally, we are booked in to the Black Swan at Oldstead in the middle of July, I can not wait.

I'm hoping to go there later in the year.

5 weeks tomorrow and we're eating at El Cellar de Can Roca

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Black Swan was superb, as you might imagine. It was much more like Martin Wishart than Simon Rogan, the flavours were soft and mellow rather than punchy and bold.



Drinks (apple and marigold soda and g&t) outside in the evening sun:



First canape, crab and wood sorrel crisp (as it should, leaves you wanting ten more):



Then we went inside and got the next canape, pea and elderflower tart (shortest pastry ever, fresh, sweet peas with a tiny hint of elderflower and totally nom):



Canape three, Langoustine (amazing char flavour with the sweet lango meat but with fresh tartness, superb):



Last canape, chicken dumpling (bit salty and least fave dish of evening):



Dexter beef (omg, I lurve this dish. Creamy, unctious, slippy, meaty loveliness):



Next up, potato and celeriac The celeriac sauce was divine, the chive and charcoal oil was great too. The potato was simply a vehicle for the sauces:



Scallops (best broth ever - mushroom and kelp, and leek beurre blanc was amazoid too):



Beetroot (sounds basic but amazing, unbelievable, sweet beet with cod roe emulsion for saltiness, horseradish against the beef fat, linseed crackers amazing too):




Chicken, courgette and truffle (Aussie summer truffle - not like an Italian or French one) but the chicken was delightful, and the sauce was rich:



And the puds, hazlenut and gooseberry ice cream sandwich things (a superb palate cleanser):



Strawberries and woodruff (woodruff is delish, a bit like almonds, and makes your wee smell of sugar puffs):



Veg toast (like a brekkers brioche/pannetone with clotted cream):



Wine flight was fantastic (Serbian Gamay with the chicken was the highlight). Staff were brilliant, it was all superb. Highly recommended!

 

[the-evaluator]

Food looks great, definitely somewhere I want to go.

Did you stay over in one of their rooms? I'm thinking I may try and book something for valentines day.

T minus 11 days until El Cellar De Can Roca

 

[randomshenans]

I hate you all

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Did you stay over in one of their rooms? I'm thinking I may try and book something for valentines day.

No we drove (i.e. she drove) there and back

Looking forward to your report on Can Roca.

@randomshenans Just relax and enjoy it vicariously

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

And that raw Dexter beef smothered in grated, frozen marrowbone, and topped with powdered wild garlic... mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

[randomshenans]

Haha I love it really. It all looks amazing!

 

[molinari]

Finally got to Core by Clare Smyth in Notting Hill last Saturday. We've been looking forward to it for a while and we weren't disappointed. The restaurant is lovely, only about 14 tables and with a nice big window to see into the kitchen, with Clare overseeing everything. Went for the tasting menu which was lovely, especially the 'potato and roe' which was exceptionally good considering it's prety much just a potato. Was also nice to have a quick chat with Clare at the end of the meal . Planning to go back closer to Christmas.

 

[the-evaluator]

Good to hear, we're planning a trip there later in the year.

 

[Tuppy_Glossop]

Finally got to Core by Clare Smyth in Notting Hill last Saturday. We've been looking forward to it for a while and we weren't disappointed. The restaurant is lovely, only about 14 tables and with a nice big window to see into the kitchen, with Clare overseeing everything. Went for the tasting menu which was lovely, especially the 'potato and roe' which was exceptionally good considering it's prety much just a potato. Was also nice to have a quick chat with Clare at the end of the meal . Planning to go back closer to Christmas.

Nice one. I think it's a nice touch when you get the chance to thank them personally. We didn't even see Tommy at the Black Swan. I dread to think what my restaurant budget would look like if we lived darn sarf... too many options.

 

[the-evaluator]

So then, El Cellar De Can Roca. I'll write a bit more when I've got time but in short it was amazing. Everything I was expecting and more. Food, drinks and service was absolutely spot on.

There were 2 menus to choose from, a classics menu or the seasonal menu. We went for the seasonal menu with matching wines.

I didn't take a photo of all the courses, I meant to but we were chatting an enjoying the evening so much that we totally forgot for about half the courses.

The menu - click here for a larger version


The cutlery with the Mel i Mato dish was a surprise:



The petit fours trolly was really quite special. So much choice and we were encouraged to try as many as possible:


What did surprise me was the cost of the meal. It was quite a lot less than I was expecting. We were charged just €5 for all the water we drank and the glasses of cava we had upon arrival were included in the wine flight costs. Coffee was only €3. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't a cheap meal but compared to ther 3 star restaurants I've been to I found it very well priced.

Will we go back? Oh yes. Definitely.

 

[Rotty]

we went to a Michelin star place in Spain recently and noticed the drinks prices were very reasonable too compared to over here

 

[the-evaluator]

Yeah, the drinks were reasonably priced wherewhere we ate.

 

[One More Solo]

We were lucky enough to eat at Flocons de Sel in Megeve on our recent holiday to the French Alps. It will be the standard by which all other meals are now judged - absolutely incredible food, service and setting. The tasting menu is designed around seasonal produce which has been foraged from the area in and around the restaurant, and the origin of everything on the menu is set out.

Some of the dishes were incredibly simple but so delicious. The early courses were vegetarian and included a simple blanched green bean dish with a consomme. It had great depth of flavour. The chef (Emmanuel Renaut) trained under Marc Veyrat so there were some more modern/molecular touches but these complemented each dish rather than being the focus of it. Perhaps the most unique course was a smoked egg yolk with coffee foam and thinly sliced mushrooms. I've been pushing the egg/coffee combination for a while (blitzing a yolk into espresso) but this was beyond my expectations. The presentation was stunning too.

Usually on a tasting menu I expect one course to fall a bit flat but none of the courses here were a misstep. The big highlights were a knife cut langoustine and caviar dish and a smoked chocolate tart for dessert. The cheese trolley was also amazing, again with everything locally sourced including a blue goat's cheese which was new to me. The only dish I was less enthusiastic about was a brawn type dish we were offered as a complimentary additional meat course. I like gelatinous textures (I know this isn't to everyone's tastes) but it lacked a bit of contrasting acidity/crunch to cut through the richness. We were given a choice for our primary meat course, I went for venison and my wife had veal sweetbreads. Both were excellent.

I wish I could eat here all the time but sadly I also have a mortgage to pay.

 

[shroomz]

Places we must go in Bristol? Budget up to £100 for two all in

 

[Martynt74]

We’re at Champneys in Henlow for the weekend. The food so far has been fairly good.

My wife’s scallops with beetroot last night was superb.

One brilliant tale though is I ordered the cheese board. The menu stated it was “a combination of sheep and goats cheese”

I got 3 cheeses. One was clearly a Brie, one was a blue cheese and the other was a weird looking thing that was green and tasted cheddary.

I called over a waiter to ask what it actually was and he went off to check. Few minutes later he returned to say he didn’t know what it is and that the packet it came from just referred to it as “green cheese”

So much for this place being all about ingredients and knowing what you’re eating!