Last Saturday I enjoyed an excellent lunch with two friends in celebration of a special birthday. I have been to Restaurant 22 a couple of times before for dinner with Steve and on those occasions I chose the five and seven-course tasting menus so I knew we were in for a treat. Restaurant 22 is located in a beautiful Victorian townhouse on Chesterton Road in Cambridge.
On this occasion, we chose the Set Lunch Menu (3 courses at £32.50 per person) which is excellent value for money as it included the Bread and Butter, an Amuse-Bouche, and a Pre Dessert. The freshness and quality of the food are very evident and the presentation is exceptional for the combination of colour, texture, and design. Chef Sam is a master of fine art on a plate and his dishes certainly have the WOW factor! In fact, my photographs unfortunately don’t do his spectacular and impressive plates full justice. The service is totally professional and attentive but it also manages to be friendly and informal. This young team has obviously been very well-trained. Restaurant 22 is the perfect place for special occasion dining and I can highly recommend it. I am always happy to send other people here as I feel certain they won’t be disappointed. It’s essential to book well ahead as this is deservedly a popular and busy restaurant. A five-course and seven-course tasting menu were also available at the lunchtime service.
By the way readers, you may be interested to know that this week is the 5th anniversary of the date I started writing my food and travel blog. For those who have followed me on my journey I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you!
Last week Steve and I thoroughly enjoyed a meal with two friends at a new independent Spanish restaurant called Mercado Central in Cambridge. It opened its doors in December 2019 and I was keen to go as both the menu and the building looked inviting. The restaurant has undergone a splendid makeover and has seating on two floors so I was delighted to find that our table was on the Ground Floor opposite the open kitchen. Watching the chefs cook everything fresh to order reminded me of being at a similar restaurant in Barcelona. It was a mid-week early evening and the place was packed so it’s probably advisable to book as we did. Word has obviously got around that Mercado Central is worth checking out for the quality of the food and its excellent service by largely Spanish staff despite their rather high-end prices. There was a great atmosphere and I loved everything about the decor, which has an authentic contemporary Spanish feel, and impressive attention to detail. It was also a pleasant surprise to find we had large bottles of free sparkling and still filtered water and linen napkins on the table. But things got better still when I found they have my favourite beer on tap!
We then moved onto our main courses which included Seafood Paella, although it was good to see that a couple of Vegetarian Paella dishes were also available.
The desserts of Crema Catalana with Rhubarb and Tarta de Santiago with Orange cream looked and tasted good, but I sampled a cheesecake that wasn’t even on the menu and it was truly scrumptious.
We all really enjoyed eating at Mercado Central and it’s a very welcome addition to the Cambridge indie dining scene. What separates this place from the other tapas bars we have in the City is that it’s a contemporary Spanish restaurant offering a full dining experience and I guess that’s why the word tapas isn’t even mentioned in the menu. The Sharing Plates are a generous size and the quality and freshness of the food are very evident. Our bill came to £55 per head including all drinks and service. Different, impressive, friendly and a host of other complimentary adjectives Mercado Central is highly recommended for families, groups and date nights.
On Valentine’s Day this year, Steve and I enjoyed a six-course tasting menu cooked by Michelin star chef Mark Poynton who has recently taken over the Cambridge Cookery School bistro on Friday and Saturday evenings with his MJP restaurant. The Cambridge Cookery School was founded in 2008 by chef and food writer Tine Roche. In 2015 the Cambridge Cookery School premises expanded to include a café, restaurant, and wine bar, taking over the former headquarters of Rattee and Kett stonemasons, which was established in 1843 on Purbeck Road, Cambridge. For me, the premises held a special significance as my ex-husband had worked at Rattee and Kett for many years doing restoration work. It occurred to me when we were dining that we were probably sitting in what had probably been his workshop many years ago! The space is now home to a stylish neighbourhood bistro which is minimalist in style.
The cost of the Valentine’s Day menu was £65.00 per person including a glass of fizz. The evening was a sell-out so it was a busy night for the staff, but it did make for a good atmosphere. The food was excellent as I had expected and the service was attentive and professional. My other gripe, (in addition to the portion size mentioned above which we overheard voiced by other diners), was that I arrived very hungry for my meal and we had to wait thirty minutes before the starter arrived. It would have been nice to have had some bread on the table while we were waiting but apart from that Mark Poynton at Cambridge Cookery are an ideal partnership and to be recommended for a fine dining style date night.
Wild mushroom and truffle soup, coffee jelly
For more information on future dining events check out mjprestaurant.com
This month Steve and I enjoyed a splendid foodie winter break in Padstow, Cornwall. It’s a long drive from where we live in Cambridge, but we were blessed with unseasonably sunny weather for January so it was well worth the journey to the West Country. The main reason for our trip was to experience dining at Rick Stein’s flagship seafood restaurant in Padstow. We took advantage of a low season deal staying in accommodation above the restaurant which has picturesque views over the harbour and Camel estuary. This special offer included breakfast and a three-course dinner on both nights which made it excellent value. The Seafood Restaurant uses quality local produce and is internationally famous for imaginative cooking of the very freshest fish and shellfish often landed on their doorstep! We were particularly impressed with the staff who gave exemplary service, – being friendly, knowledgeable and totally professional.
PAN FRIED PUNTILLITA AND CRISPY DEEP FRIED CAMARONES with Migas, parsley, and chillies. These small squid are fried with crisp breadcrumbs sprinkled with spicy pimentón.
CHARGRILLED FILLET OF WILD CORNISH SEA BASS With a tomato, butter and vanilla vinaigrette.
This is a selection of some of the dishes we enjoyed either as starters or main courses.
It should be mentioned that breakfast served in the restaurant was wonderful too, with a choice of speciality dishes, including smoked haddock kedgeree, poached kippers, grilled fish of the day or a classic English breakfast, and much, much more from a wide-ranging menu.
Padstow located on the North coast of Cornwall was traditionally a fishing port and some of its fishing fleet still remains, but now it’s primarily a popular tourist destination, especially with foodies. Rick Stein’s presence has been a terrific influence on the town and he has several other food outlets and shops in addition to the Seafood Restaurant. Tourists travel long distances to eat at his restaurant and cafes, consequently, this has led to the town being dubbed “Padstein” by food writers in the British media. We were surprised by how busy the restaurant was both for lunch and dinner service at this usually quiet time of year, and many guests like us were staying overnight and taking advantage of the special offers. As a destination restaurant for a birthday or anniversary, the Seafood Restaurant is highly recommended and you are bound to have a memorable experience. We did!
Last week Steve and I enjoyed our first date night of the New Year at one of our favourite restaurants. Trinity is an elegant eatery with excellent service and an interesting menu with a good choice of seafood dishes that has never disappointed us, so it’s always a pleasure to return.We started our evening with a glass or two of Cava whilst we perused the enticing menu.Steve chose a pre-starter of Mersea oysters served raw on ice with lemon, Tabasco and pickled shallots. I was happy to tuck into the delicious bread whilst waiting for my starter.
It was a very pleasant and relaxing evening and started off our dining adventures of 2020 in fine style. Trinity is highly recommended for food and service, but prices are on the high side so probably more of a special occasion destination for dinner. We paid £126.00 for our meal with drinks, and for once Steve allowed me to treat him!
This week I enjoyed a festive treat at Cafe Rouge in Cambridge to celebrate a friend’s birthday. Available for a limited time only for the Christmas season it was an excellent selection of sweet and savoury treats which we both enjoyed and considered to be good value at £29.95 for two people to share including hot drinks, with refills at no extra cost. I am usually cautious about sampling a themed Afternoon Tea as they rarely live up to the traditional one but having enthused about the Cheese Afternoon Tea at Cafe Rouge on my previous blog post I felt it was worth a try and I wasn’t disappointed.
The SnowmanAfternoonTea at Cafe Rouge is inspired by the original book and film The Snowman by Raymond Briggs.
I will be returning to Cafe Rouge on another occasion to sample their new Chocolate Afternoon Tea which is available soon and sounds an irresistible temptation!
Castle Cottage has lots of outside seating and a very pretty garden but we chose to sit inside for our meal
Yesterday I had an interesting visit with a friend to Oakham, the County Town of Rutland. I used to live in the area over 40 years ago and my son was born in Oakham Hospital so the place held significant memories for me. It’s an attractive market town steeped in medieval history with lots of independent shops and we were spoiled for choice in the number of cafes and eateries. We had read excellent reviews of Castle Cottage Cafe so thought we would seek it out for lunch. It’s easy to find although somewhat tucked away in Church Passage, which is just off the Market Place.
The cafe interior is delightful with fairy lights, fresh flowers and lots of quirky vintage pieces.
The cost of our Afternoon Tea was of exceptional value for money at £12 per person and it was probably the best I have ever come across in terms of price, quality, and quantity.
Castle Cottage Cafe,
Church Passage, Off Market Place, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6DR
Midsummer House is a two-star Michelin fine dining restaurant which has a modern, vibrant yet relaxed ambiance and is widely considered one of the finest restaurants in Cambridge and the UK. The cuisine is French Mediterranean and the service is friendly and efficient. Midsummer House celebrated it’s 20 years anniversary in 2018 with chef Daniel Clifford at the helm and was awarded its second Michelin star in 2005. Currently, it’s 21st in the UK on the Good Food Guide list in 2019 and I have wanted to eat here ever since it opened. I was saving Midsummer House for a special occasion so planning well in advance for my 70th birthday celebrations I booked a table for lunch for Steve and myself as a special treat. Last month my wish came to fruition and I wasn’t disappointed because it was lovely in every way and a splendid introduction to the Midsummer House dining experience.
We chose four kinds of cheese from a delectable selection
For food of this quality, we felt that the price of the set lunch at £50.00 per person was reasonable and the sharing cheese platter was an additional £28. (Note – when booking a reservation a deposit of £50 person is required.) Drinks are expensive but as we were celebrating a special occasion we had champagne to start, beer and sparkling water with the meal and Port with the cheese. It was the extra special little touches like the birthday card for me and chocolates to take away in a customised box which made our lunch at Midsummer House so memorable. A lot of thought and attention to detail clearly goes into every aspect of this ultimate foodie experience with that added dash of theatre to the impeccable but friendly service.
We enjoyed the lunch so much that we are already planning to return to Midsummer House for our anniversary next year to sample the eight-course taster menu. Better start saving up now!
Cádiz is a port in Andalucía, Southern Spain known as ‘the silver teacup’ and it’s generally considered to be the oldest continually inhabited city in Europe. Now well into its fourth millennium, the ancient centre is surrounded almost entirely by water, which makes it stunningly picturesque and full of charm.
Steve and I first visited Cádiz one year ago and we were very keen to return to some of our favourite places and discover new ones like Restaurant Cafe Royalty above where we enjoyed fine dining style tapas from this delicious menu which was excellent value at 22 euros per person.
Plaza de la Candelaria is a very beautiful quiet square in Cadiz where Codigo de Barra, another fine dining restaurant is also located. Having enjoyed a meal here last year we were making a return visit to celebrate Steve’s birthday.
Roast lamb with vegeatbles in a lavender sauce
with Thyme ice cream
We enjoyed tapas for lunch with sumptuous fresh oysters most days at our favourite bar Taberna La Bombilla near the central market in Cadiz. An ideal location for people -watching with good food, beer, and service at very reasonable prices.
The highlight of our trip to Cadiz this time was a visit to a Flamenco Tavern, which was a totally authentic, mesmeric and entrancing experience.
It’s been far too long since we returned to dine at Il Piccolo Mondo, (which is one of my favourite Italian restaurants) in the village of Bottisham, which is located 6 miles east of Cambridge. We took two friends with us on this occasion and I was confident that we would all enjoy a splendid authentic Italian meal. Once again we were not disappointed in the cuisine or the service and it made a delightful mid-week treat for us all.
We chose Sardines, King Prawns, Calamari, and Affettato Misto Con Bruschetta – a selection of Italian cured meats and salami served with tomato bruschetta for starters.
We chose Tortelloni, Gnocchetti pasta dishes and Seabass with a side of Zucchini Fritti for our main courses.
Our desserts included Amaretto Cheesecake, Lemon Tart, and a selection of Italian cheeses.
All the food was delicious and the bill for the four of us with drinks was £40 per person.
Highly recommended for a special occasion, but do book well ahead to avoid disappointment. This is a hugely popular restaurant and deservedly so.