Category Archive: Rest of UK

Outside of London

Review: Pine, Northumberland

There’s a strong breed of restaurants now with some shared characteristics and in need of a catchy name. Wish I was good at catchy names. They are emphatic about local sourcing of excellent produce, usually with a strong element of foraging mixed in. They embrace seasonality and delve extensively into ancient, and particularly Japanese, techniques …

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Review: Solstice, Newcastle-upon-Tyne

How has it taken me so many years to visit Newcastle? It’s a lovely place. Handsome centre and riverside, lovely revitalised ex-industrial art district, loads of friendly people, lots of good food ‘n drink. Recommended: Deep North for ace doughnuts and coffee. It also has a blindingly good restaurant in Solstice. I’ve meant to visit …

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Review: Mollie’s Diner, Oxford (ish)

“Mollie’s Diner, Oxford” is actually beside the A242 about 20 minutes drive from Oxford. Just in case you thought it was a useful hotel for visiting Oxford! It’s a roadside diner and motel (hotel, really) and we found it very handy for two days of walking along the Thames Path nearby. As a hotel I …

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Review: The Three Horseshoes, Batcombe

When the April rain and cold finally clears away and you get your first really warm, sun-soaked day of the year. Well, it’s nice to sit outside a country pub and enjoy a good meal al fresco. Which is just what we did on the way back from Devon at The Three Horseshoes in the …

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Review: The Gaff, Bath

Whether the name of this restaurant rhymes with the city it is set in depends on what part of the country you come from. : ) Having not visited Bath properly for a few years it was nice to go back and mooch around for a day. I was struck yet again by what a …

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