Category Archive: Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant reviews

Review: Sindhu, Marlow

A rambling old Victorian pub-hotel on the banks of the Thames at Marlow called “The Compleat Angler” is an odd venue for modern Indian cooking, but that’s where Sindhu is – one of Atul Kolchar’s growing crop of restaurants in the Thames Valley. We came for a mid-week lunch and we decided on the lunch …

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Review: The Curious Kitchen, Brixham

If you are ever down in Brixham, I recommend The Curious Kitchen for breakfast, brunch or lunch. And I think they open some evenings too. Brixham is one of those lovely south-west old fishing towns, hidden in a cove with little streets full of narrow houses clambering up steep-sided valleys of woods and fields. The …

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Review: Stage, Exeter

It’s interesting how tasting menus have become such a ubiquitous part of dining since first appearing just a couple of decades ago. You can have a £225 tasting menu at Lympstone Manor, but just up the road in Exeter you can have a £55 tasting menu at Stage. That’s almost exactly 4 times cheaper, a …

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Review: Lympstone Manor, Devon

Lympstone Manor is in a lovely spot on the Exe estuary and has swiftly earned a Michelin star since chef Michael Caines opened a few years ago. It’s a classic country house hotel, elegantly furnished rooms full of light and lovely things, excellent service throughout. The restaurant offers a classic and a seafood tasting menu …

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Review: Bibi, Mayfair

Bibi is very Mayfair. Fully on trend, there is mostly counter seating, but here the stools are plumply upholstered affairs with comfortable backs. Lighting is dark and clubby. A carafe of water is offered, then appears as £3.5 per person on the bill. And the included service charge is 15% of course. We did enjoy …

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