Eat-the-midlands

Philippe Boucheron finds Birmingham’s City Café, Beyond Expectations
What do I expect from a place called City Café? Good coffee, if I were in Vienna perhaps a newspaper on a stick and a slice of chocolate cake, but sophisticated cocktails and great food – no way.
So imagine my surprise to be sampling an exquisite trio of [...]

I first came to this fair city some 44 year’s ago, writes wine and food journalist and broadcaster  Philippe Boucheron.  In those far-distant days there was a Chinese restaurant of doubtful pedigree at the top end of Islington Row, the Plough and Harrow in the Hagley Road and the White Horse beside the old New [...]

Saxon Mill at Night

The Saxon Mill, Warwick  is a scenic pub restaurant converted from an old mill, with beautiful views of the River Avon – it is particularly pleasant in summer.

Inside it has an open kitchen, and you can see meat cooking on the rotisserie from your table [...]

May saw the opening of the long anticipated ‘Granary Grill’ set in the stunning grounds of Weston Park on the Shropshire Staffordshire borders.
The  70-seater restaurant offers an extensive menu of high quality locally-sourced food and drink, much sourced from their very own estate.
The Granary Grill completes the final phase of the restoration of the Granary [...]

See Will Holland on BBC’s ‘Great British Menu’ Starter Episode 1 HERE
Episode 2) Fish Course…HERE
Episode 3) Just Desserts HERE
Episode 4) Final Judgement Day HERE
Michelin Event Review, with Will Holland:
Wednesday 14th April saw a great team success at La Becasse Michelin Restaurant, Ludlow. The brigade on the night, created an exemplorary 7 course tasting menu, each complemented [...]

The new Arch Hotel and Restaurant London Review

The Arch Hotel, London

I often like to escape the beauty of the countryside and indulge in some city life and its related adrenalin, with all the trappings of convenience, opulence and pampering – what better place than one of the new London Gourmet-Set additions to Gourmet Life, Midlands’ [...]

Arch London Afternoon Tea - Champagne & Strawberry Eclair!

Many visitors from overseas still imagine that we are a nation where at half past three, everything stops for tea!
Sadly these days Afternoon Tea is usually only an occasional luxury for us mere mortals, a Sunday treat in a country house hotel, or a welcome break [...]

Lowfield Inn, Shropshire Borders

Like many of my fellow foodies, I’ve found recent weeks a bit frustrating – snow, ice, more snow, and, according to restaurateurs – shortage of consumer funds due to a maxing out on credit cards during December.
To counteract the gloom I jumped in my car and made my way with my guest [...]

I love trains. Not in the notepad, rucksack, end-of-platformclicking-camera sort of way, but the concept of the golden age of trains – Brief Encounter style, with well-maintained stations and attentive, smart, uniformed, platform staff helping with luggage and directing confused travellers towards trains which arrive, and leave, on time.
Some of my most memorable travels have [...]

Location, Location, Location
When it comes to opening a new restaurant, there are 3 things you can pretty much rely – and all three are down to location. Yes, food, menus, service, price, and the all important ambience are also pretty close behind, but a good view, or convenience can account for alot of forgiveness.
We were [...]