Best Restaurants – Berkeley Square Barbarian

The Vittle & Swig in Tunbridge Wells is well worth a visit

August 9, 2021 10 Comments

I had one of my open water swim events at Bewl Water last Saturday morning, so Ellie & I decided to turn it into an overnight trip. After a one-hour train journey from Charing Cross we arrived at the Vittle & Swig in Tunbridge Wells 20mins early for our dinner reservation. Immediately we were taken in by the lovely vibe. The interior has been designed with a lot of attention to detail. It is both elegant and cosy. VITTLE & SWIG IN TUNBRIDGE WELLS – FOOD & DRINK Alex Blaber and Gerry Stevens, who own and manage the restaurant, mention in a short introduction in the menu that they aim to provide a home from home. Apparently, vittle & swig is colloquial for food and drink. The term ‘swig’ is not uncommon, but we hadn’t come across ‘vittle’ before. TAPAS-STYLE We were seated at the bar for a few […]

Austria, Vienna restaurants

Da Capo: One of the best Italian restaurants in Vienna

August 4, 2021 2 Comments

A little while ago I was working in Vienna for a couple of months for my day job. One night, on my way back to the hotel from the office, I came across Da Capo restaurant in a quiet side street, about 2mins walk from St Stephen’s. It immediately struck me as a very nicely kept, cosy, but elegant establishment. I hadn’t had dinner yet, so this looked like a great option to fill my empty stomach. DA CAPO RESTAURANT VIENNA SPORTS A BIG MENU Under normal circumstances it would have been difficult to find a seat without prior reservation. Because of Covid this was an easy exercise. The friendly waiter greeted me and led me straight to a small table in the beautiful cellar vaults. There is also spacious ground floor seating with large windows and a beautiful terrace. I was so overwhelmed by Da Capo restaurant’s big menu […]

England, Restaurants

Dinner at The Sir William in Grindleford

July 28, 2021 4 Comments

During a recent visit to the Peak District, Ellie & I stayed at The Sir William in Grindleford for a couple of nights. For the tiny price we paid we thought our room was pretty nice, nothing out of the ordinary though. The food rather impressed us. We ate there three times. On the first evening, which this blog post is about, we had been tired from the drive and the half day orienteering course we had done. We felt hungrier than usual, and we’re always very good eaters. OUR CHOICES We started by ordering a fish cake for starters (£6). Ellie went for the chicken balti with rice and naan (£12), I couldn’t say no to the special of the day venison steak, mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables (£19). THE STARTER The starter arrived only ten minutes later and we shared. Flakes of smoked haddock are a great […]

England, Restaurants

Beresfords at the Balmer Lawn in Brockenhurst

August 25, 2018 No Comments

During our recent visit to the New Forest, Ms B & I enjoyed a dinner at the lovely Beresfords restaurant at the four-star Balmer Lawn hotel in Brockenhurst. The dining hall is spacious and pleasantly decorated. After short deliberation Ms B opted for a ‘Beresfords bite’ which resembled a prawn cocktail (£5) and sea trout (£22). I went for grilled beef heart (£6.50) and roasted guinea fowl with fries (£19). The starters arrived quickly. I hadn’t had grilled beef heart in a very long time, so had forgotten that it can have quite a strong, peculiar smell, which came as a bit of a shock at first. The taste however was very pleasant, and I had no regrets ordering the dish. Ms B’s prawn cocktail was light and not too spicey, just as she prefers it. Our mains were delicious. Ms B’s sea trout was very flavoursome, I loved the […]

Food, Germany, Restaurants

Our favourite Munich haunt – Ratskeller

July 16, 2018 1 Comment

I have been to Ratskeller at least 20 times, and Ms B has joined me on about 5 occasions. We absolutely love everything about this place, the building and rustic interior decor, the slightly overconfident, grumpy but never malicious waiters, the location in the heart of Munich, and – most of all, of course – the fabulous food! On our recent trip to my home town Burghausen we gladly took the opportunity to pay this true cornerstone of Bavarian cuisine another visit. They seemed to have gone a tad upmarket since our last visit half a year ago, with more fancy dishes and more attention to presentation and high-end ingredients, which was just fine with us. After short deliberation, Ms B opted for the pork fillet steak with chanterelles and spaetzle in herb sauce (€24), I did what I do most of the time and went for the Bavarian […]

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