Bath & Blue

Green Park brasserie & bar, Bath, BA1 1JB

Only a five minute walk from the amazingly old Roman baths this brasserie is set in the old Green Park train station. Inside it has raised seating along either side of the bar and main dinner area areas and this breaks the room up nicely without making it seem too expansive. The service was nice and relaxed but this may have been mainly due to the snow outside seeming to keep it relatively quiet inside. This actually suited us really well as with a jazz band playing we wanted to eat slowly and enjoy the whole evening here, which we duly did with a couple bottles of red.

Seared Scallops with White Pudding and Celeriac Puree

The scallops were nicely cooked but a tad over for me and the white pudding was a good effort at something a little different than the usual black pudding. But then again white puddings just don't hold the same depth of flavour as a good black pudding and just remind you what you're missing. The celeriac puree was nice if under seasoned and overall it was a nice starter.

Beef Satay Skewers with a Soy and Lime Dipping Sauce

Beef wouldn't be my first choice for this type of dish but the skewers retained some succulence and wasn't as dry as I'd worried. The dipping sauce was just ok really; no particular bite from lime or chilli, definitely needed some depth and kick.

Spiced Rack of Lamb with Aubergine Tabouleh Salad

Nicely moist the meat was very neatly prepared, the flavour was succulent lamb and the spice didn't take away from that. Actually the spice on the meat didn't really add much and if anything I'd have liked it to be more heavily spiced to go with Tabouleh, which was a nice accompaniment to the meat.

Grilled Fillet of Brill with Stirfried Spinach, Fennel and Coriander

I went for the only fish dish available for main course and wasn't disappointed, the quality of the fish was a little surprises and it benefited from the simple grilling. The fennel and coriander flavours worked in quite a subtle way. It's hard not to please me with basic spinach as I just love the stuff, this was nice but faded from memory quickly.Feeling hungry we also had side dishes of Dauphinoise Potatoes and Maple Syrup Roasted Carrots and Squash. I feel a lot people wouldn't have enjoyed the lavishly creamy dauphonoise as much as me but on the flip side the carrots and squash felt satisfyingly healthy enough for me to finish the potatoes.

Selection of Fine Local Cheeses, Wife of Bath, Bath Breeze, Bath Blue and Worthy Farm Mature Cheddar with Homemade Chutney
A bold statement in the use of 'fine' meant I was never going to turn down the opportunity to sample the cheese board. The menu recommended a glass of port which we didn't hesitate it ordering also, although I didn't hesitate also in forgetting its name. I asked the waiter to delay bringing it to us for at least twenty minutes as we were feeling little full from the mains, this was no trouble whatsoever and twenty minutes later the Port and cheeses arrived. The Port was lovely and complimented the cheeses very well, but it would have taken a bad one to detract from the awesome cheeses. Seriously I haven't enjoyed a simple English cheese board this much for a long time, standing out was the Bath blue and superbly creamy Wife of Bath. I'm positive that I was being prejudiced by the fact they were local regional cheeses but I kind of think that's the point isn't it? The chutney was a nice one but the cheeses were what stuck in my mind more than anything.

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In need of a Bath (Ale)

The Salamander, Bath, BA1 2JL

Tucked down a tiny road in historic Bath this was a real find as it's a Bath Ales pub and didn't disappoint on our lunchtime visit. Freezing cold outside it was warm enough just about inside after we moved away for the ghostly draft by the bar. The beers were primarily Bath Ales own as you'd expect and I opted for the Golden hare, this was a light ale, very moreish and had medium hopping - an excellent golden light ale. My friend decided to try their cider instead of beer, the Bounder Cider was superb and refreshing, better than nearly any cider you'll see in most pubs but I suppose we were in Somerset so should expect that.

To go with the food we had ordered and fancying something a bit more wintery I went for a pint of the medium dark Barnstormer ale contrary to fact I had ordered fish. The Barnstormer had rich caramel and treacle undertones and it wasn't as bitter as you'd expect but this was an extremely good thing, much nicer than I imagined and will make me try more dark ales, at least until I get a rubbish one again.

Toad in the hole, organic pork & herb sausages with onion gravy and crispy fried roots
Crunchy on top and fluffy in the middle this enormous monster toad in the hole looked so rustic as it grew out of the dish it was served in. The crispy roots which seemed to be carrot with a bit of parsnip were nicer on the eyes than the tongue but the real stars were the fat and juicy sausages which had a great meat to fat mix inside and therefore retained so much moisture. A hell of a lot of pudding to eat though for one person, but a lovely warming meal.

Pan roasted Cod fillet with a chorizo & butterbean ratatouille

This was on the menu as being made with Hake but today had been replaced by cod, after not eating cod for quite a while through over fishing guilt I thought I'd have anyway. The cod was very nicely cooked in butter to keep it from drying out. The classic Spanish combination of white fish and chorizo is a no brainer really but this was executed very well and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole dish. The hearty portion meant desert was a no-no and I though the best was way to let it settle was with another Bath Ales pint, this time I tried the 3.7 percent Spa ale; a light bitter ale, quite heavily hopped, bitterish aftertaste and it definitely tasted stronger than its percentage.

A small pub serving excellent local beers and quality appealing food - it's so simple really and I loved it for a lazy Saturday lunch.

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London Fields full of Belgian Beers

Prince George, London Fields, E8 3AG

Just around the corner from my flat we popped in here on our way to the nearby Prince Arthur because started feeling the cold and fancied a beer. Having never been in here I was quite impressed by the small selection of draught beers which included a Fuller's range and the drinking pub vibe due to their only food being crisps and nuts. I went for the Fuller's Discovery blonde beer first up and this was very refreshing, I then tried a pint of HSB from George Gale Co Ltd Brewery - this was a fresh tasting bitter, nice but not really the type of beer I really like. On draught we also tried Aspinals Suffolk cider (a typical fizzy cider but better than Strongbow) and Fuller's Honey Dew (mild honey undertones and sweetness - I'd like to try in the summer)

The Prince Arthur, London Fields, E8 3BH

We wanted to eat here but on enquiring were told that they were understaffed in the kitchen because of the time of year - this sounded odd to me. We didn't stay for a drink therefore as we wanted to eat but will probably try to come back at some point that's if the staff turn up.

The Dove, Broadway Market, E8 4QJ

We headed to Broadway Market to find somewhere else to eat and decided to try the food here which I'd heard was good. I knew they specialised in Belgian beers but was nearly knocked down by the size of the beer menu, literally hundreds of different types from different regions including some lambic. I opted for a Bruges Triple which at 9% was surprisingly smooth and light bodied, it had a nice subtle spiciness and I could have ordered another one straight away had it not been for the huge choice in front of me.

Steak and Kidney Pie topped with puff pastry and served with garlic mash and French beans

The pie was served in a dish with a disc of puff pastry resting on top, the meat in the filling was very tender and cooked obviously slowly over reasonable time. I failed to notice any kidney in the filling but this wasn't much of a problem for such a robust homely dish. On the cold January evening this was exactly what was needed. The three of us then decided to share a cheese board which had a recommended beer match in Mort Subite Fond Gueuze - this 7% lambic beer was beautifully sour with a ruby like colour, I was actually surprised how the sourness of the beer worked similarly to Port with cheese and cleansed the palate with it's strength. It also carried quite a high fizz but this gave it a cider like quality rather than over fizzy lager. The cheeses were all traditional English ones such as Wensleydale and Cheddar - nothing special or interesting really.

I now feel lucky to have a pub like the Dove so close to my flat, the selection of belgian beers all served in their own glasses is truly amazing, if there wasn't so many places I want to go try then I'd be in here far too often working my way through the beer menu.

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Trendy haircuts galore

Dalston Superstore, Dalston, E8 2PB

Situated on Kingsland Road this is one of the supposedly trendiest bars in east London at the moment, seems it is really an extension of the Shoreditch independent bar scene moving further north. We got there just as it was beginning to fill up and by 10:30pm it was heaving with people queuing to get in, I wasn't really expecting it to be this busy on the Saturday just two days after new years eve and I don't think they did either because the downstairs bar remained closed. They have a good selection of spirits but the beers on draught weren't much to write home about, I opted to stick with Red Stripe as didn't fancy any spirits straight away but did end up having a Jaegermeister which wasn't freezing cold enough for me. Although this place is uber-trendy I didn't find the atmosphere pretentious if anything it seemed quite friendly but not enjoying the fidgety music we decided to move on.

Passing Clouds, Dalston, E8

This is almost more of an art space than a bar and definitely worth a visit to experience this alternative bar style. Quite an odd mix of art student types with rastas due to the reggae and dub based music policy, usually they have a live reggae band playing downstairs but this wasn't open today due to time of year so only the smallish harem like bar was open. There is no draught beer and no overly corporate products like Coca-cola, we went straight onto the rum and ginger beer which at three quid for decent measure you'll probably not pay less anywhere in east london and they'll stick a dash of Angostura Bitters in too if you ask. I like this place but does seem like watered down version of dub nights I've been to in the past in Leeds, but I find the atmosphere pretty laid back and friendly.


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Lazy Saturday in Hackney

Broadway Market, Hackney, E8

Not as many stalls here as usual due to time of year and a lot of people still being away for new year. This is an old market which has come into prominence again in last five years, it has a great selection of quality food from independent producers. I bought some big fat green olives in a tarragon and garlic marinade to eat later but couldn't resist trying a couple of things.

Mushroom sandwich with truffle oil

Two lovely slices of wholemeal bread could barely contain the vast selection of mushrooms in this. The mushrooms had parmesan shaved on top and also drizzled with truffle oil, this was all the accompaniment the fabulous mushrooms needed. Really very good but I was still hungry after finishing it.

Hog roast sandwich

With a couple of bits of pork crackling on top to entice you to the meat crammed into the floury ciabatta this really got you salivating at thought of the taste. As well as the pork the bap contained tart apple sauce and fresh peppery rocket leaves. A lot more filling than the mushroom this really hit the spot

We walked down the canal to the Pavilion Cafe in Victoria park for a quick coffee and then up to the Ginger Pig shop on Lauriston Road, as well as the butchery they have a deli downstairs. I ended up buying some anchovies, a block of parmesan and some vibrant green pesto. I also decided I wanted to make some brownies at some point in the weekend so got three packets of Sumatran 72% chocolate, expensive but will be amazing in squidgy buttery brownies.

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