Restaurant Guide
I like to think of myself as a bit of a foody so here is a guide to some of my favourite restaurants. I'll add the Crème de la Crème of places I've eaten at here and if you're ever in the same area you should give them a try.
Price Guide | £ (£0-10 per main) | ££ ( £10-15 per main) | £££ (£15-20 per main) | ££££ (£20+ per main)
Where: Weybridge, Surrey
Cuisine: French/Continental
Price: £££
Recommendations: Filet Bordelaise
Sosio's is a little gem of a restaurant located at 108 Oatlands Drive. Having been in business since 1990 Sosio's couples good food with a charming and personal atmosphere. Sosio himself comes to each table to explain the menu, recommend dishes and take your order. Don't expect to be in and out as you go here to dine, not to be rushed. Everything is made from fresh ingredients and cooked to order. The homemade sauces are to die for!
Where: Croydon, Surrey (locations all over the UK)
Cuisine: Spanish Tapas
Price: £ (if dining from Tapas for a Tenner menu)
Recommendations: Patatas Bravas & Chorizo Frito al Vino
Even though this is a chain restaurant, you cannot deny their Tapas for a Tenner deal is absolutely fantastic. £10 for all you can eat Tapas, and it has to be said the food is pretty good. Be warned though, the deal isn't on all the time! The Chorizo Frito al Vino is one of the best around, especially with lots of bread to soak up the left over red wine. Perfect choice for yummy dining on a budget. I've had a lot of Tapas and this is one of the best, has to be tried!
Where: Gambia Street, London, SE1
Cuisine: Spanish Tapas
Price: ££ (based on 2-3 Tapas items per person)
Recommendations: Conejo en cazuela, Gambas al ajillo & Patxaran.
Mar I Terra is a perfect location for long afternoons chatting over wine with friends or family. The Tapas is beautiful and very reasonably priced, especially for London. Mar I Terra is tucked away in Gambia street but is just minutes from the Tate and Southwark tube. For good Tapas and an informal, laid back lunch I'd go back here again and again. If you're feeling brave (and not driving!) have a shot of Patxaran to wash down all the gorgeous food and give yourself a fuzzy feeling.
Where: Mount Pleasant Road, Tunbridge Wells (locations all over UK)
Cuisine: Burger and Fries
Price: £
Recommendations: Portion of chips with home-made garlic mayo!
A very informal and relaxed atmosphere, perfect for when you want a good lunch, that doesn't cost the earth but tastes really good! The burgers are all made on site and taste fabulous! One portion of chips between two will be plenty, and if you have the Garlic Mayo make sure you don't have to be anywhere important afterwards as it's real garlic mayo and quite pungent, but yummy! Everyone loves a good burger and GBK has one to suit all tastes, great friendly service, great burgers. Leaves your tummy happy!
Where: Crawley Leisure Park, Crawley (locations all over UK)
Cuisine: Piri Piri Chicken and Sides
Price: £
Recommendations: Medium Chicken Caesar Salad & Halloumi Cheese
Cheap as chips, chicken, spicy and gorge! What more could you want? We frequent here before the cinema and it is our restaurant of choice beating the others hands down! Not only is the value for money fantastic, but the service is consistently good, the food always yum and we love it! The reward card system is great too. You get a card for free and each time you go and spend over £4.25 (I think) you get a stamp. Throughout your stamp history you get free 1/4, 1/2 and a whole chicken! If spice is the love of your life then you must go to Nandos!
Where: 42 New Oxford Street, London, WC1A 1EP
Cuisine: French
Price: ££
Recommendations: Homemade Pimms, & everything else on the menu!
This restaurant is amazing! From the decor, to the ambience, to the loos to the food everything about Savoir Faire oozes character and is such a welcome change to the corporate animal of chain restaurants. The food is gorgeous and the family run establishment is warm and welcoming. Being located just round the corner from the Shaftesbury Theatre it makes the ideal place to grab a bite before or after a show, although I'd travel there just for the food. The menu changes regularly I believe and they make homemade puddings which are to die for. If you are in the area visiting this place is a must! Savoir Faire is a small, intimate restaurant which is great to visit with friends, with your family, with your lover or by yourself, it's atmosphere hugs everyone who walks through the door. I love it at this place, it's everything that a restaurant should be.
Maze at The London Where: 151 West 54th Street, New York, USA
Cuisine: British
Price: £££
Recommendations: Lobster, Pea and Lemon Risotto & Valrhona chocolate fondant.
Gordon Ramsay in an informal and relaxed dining atmosphere. The lunch menu is the most value for your money with a set price per head of $28 or $35 you get a wonderful choice and the service is impeccable. From the minute you walk in the staff are friendly, efficient, knowledgeable about the menu and are able to recommend any of the dishes. Wonderful lunch and the best surprise was the homemade peanut brittle and chocolate truffles which accompanied the bill. If you like wine you should try the Millbrook Cabernet Franc which is from the Hudson Valley vineyard. A good local wine and at $55 a bottle it is well worth it! I would most definitely go back there, although it is a little pricey for everyday, it's a wonderful treat (especially if you're visiting with your British £'s!)
Buffalo Wild Wings Where: CR 535, Orlando, FL & nationally USA
Cuisine: Fast Food
Price: £
Recommendations: Traditional wings, Onion rings, and Potato Wedges
Calling all hot wings lovers out there! Order the beer of the month, grab a seat and get choosing your sauces. My favourites are Spicy Garlic, Medium, Mango Habanero and (occasionally) Hot. This sports bar is awesome, you can watch multiple sports games on one of many big screen TV's or you can play virtual Poker with other dining guests or have a go at the trivia quiz all from the comfort of that seat you grabbed.
This place is the best and I could (and often have) spent all day in a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant, drinking beer, eating wings and having fun. Their Southwestern Ranch dip is to die for as well, order it along with some sour cream for your potato wedges.
Logan's Roadhouse Where: Kissimmee, FL and nationally across USA
Cuisine: Steakhouse
Price: £
Recommendations: Onion Brewski® Sirloin with loaded sweet potato and
Meat lovers beware, you may experience the best steak of your life at Logan's Roadhouse! In all my time of eating at this restaurant (and there have been quite a few!) I have never had a bad steak. I like my beef to moo as it comes out of the kitchen and each time I order steak here it comes out cooked to perfection. Not only that, but the prices are so reasonable too! Enjoy a great jug of ice cold beer and their warm yeast rolls whilst you wait for your food. The atmosphere in this place is enough to make you smile all night, the music, the peanuts, the camaraderie! I love it in this place and if you live in or are visiting the US and like steak you MUST go here.
Zari Restaurant Where: Ifield, Crawley, West Sussex
Cuisine: Indian
Price: ££
Recommendations: Cardamon Masala Mutton & Indian Chat
Probably the best Indian restaurant I've ever eaten at, ever! The hype and advertising that Zari invest in are well worth it, as soon as you walk through the oors you feel transported to India itself. Bursts of colour and culture make it a very pleasant atmosphere to dine in, and what's even better is the open viewing kitchen and the ambient outdoor terrace. The food and service are brilliant too, each morsel of food is packed with flavour, whether the dish is spicy or not! Zari have really done themselves proud with this restaurant and it's one I am going to go back to again and again. If you like Indian cuisine but are bored with the usual fayre, then you must try Zari and sample the best Indian dining experience in the South East of England!
The Frog and Orange Where: Shatterling, Nr Wingham, Canterbury, CT3 1JR
Cuisine: Pub Grub
Price: ££
Recommendations: Sauteed Field Mushrooms & Sunday Roast Beef
Family run and owned, this pub is the epitome of country living. Small, quaint and with a real wholesome feel, you're sure to have a very relaxing time whether you're staying over or just visiting for lunch. With a great selection of local ales and some not so local, I loved every minute I spent at this pub. Even more so when I went outside and saw the large screen TV in the beer garden. The landlord has thought of it all! The food is great, the portions are generous, the landlord and landlady are lovely... and if you're a fan of Acoustic Alchemy you'll fit right in! Overall, a wicked little weekend break away and so near to Canterbury and Sandwich.
Cafe Tranan Where: Karlbergsv. 14, 113 27 Stockholm, Sweden
Cuisine: Swedish Fayre
Price: ££
Recommendations: Toast Skagan
Informal setting with the most delectable choices in food. I was surprised at this place with it's red and white checked tablecloths, it's great for dinner with a loved one, with a groups of friends or with family. The Toast Skagan was the best I've ever tasted in Sweden and I could gobble it all up again and again! If you're looking for somewhere nice, but not pretentious for dinnner then Cafe Tranan is for you.
Sosio's
La Tasca
Savoir Faire