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Review: The Woodspeen, Newbury

Lobster platter

I never thought I’d actually live the cliche: “waiter, there’s a slug on my lettuce!” And to be fair, it was actually on the leaves of the baby radish that we had to nibble with our bread, so not actually lettuce. And it was a tiny slug, though very much alive. I did call the …

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Review: The Cellar, Anstruther

Beef n onion

Have you visited the east of Scotland? Not Edinburgh. Not the majestic Highlands or the wild Islands, not Stirling or Loch Ness. But the surprisingly fertile swathe north and east of Edinburgh that includes places like Dundee and Perth and St Andrews. You should. It’s dotted with evocative medieval castles, truly ancient monuments, gnarly little …

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Review: Norse, Harrogate

Sea trout

Well, guess what? Norse is a modern Scandinavian restaurant. They give it away with the name, really. Although looking back on the meal there’d be nothing wrong with calling it a modern British restaurant, because frankly all the fantastic northern European ingredients they focused on are all found right here on our shores. Some lovely …

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Review: The White Hart, Fyfield

Splendid spring salad

There’s a certain kind of pub that can be a bit wearisome for a food blogger. It’s a lovely old building, service is friendly and informal, the cooking is all excellent and the menu is mainly old favourites with some original touches because chef obviously is a craftsman and loves what he or she is …

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Review: El Portal de Echaurren, Rioja

Tiny peas

It’s always nice to pair a long weekend of wine tasting with a top-class meal, but for Rioja we decided to go totally overboard and book a gastronomic weekend at Echaurren. This involved an evening meal at 2* El Portal de Echaurren, a fine breakfast before a morning in the kitchen with chef Francis Paniego, …

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