Talk to me about your favourite restaurant ever

[burntpinky]

Posting for traffic but just that: what is your favourite restaurant ever and why?

DH and I are well into our food (and it shows unfortunately!!) and now that we have a DC are going to do 1-2 weekends away per year, just us, to indulge in our favourite pastime (DC will be well cared for by nana whilst we are away - she was a foster carer for over 40 years until recently!)

Our current favourite is Paul Ainsworth at Number 6 which we've been to several times. Also been to Hand and Flowers, which was nice, but wouldn't rush back. I went to Chez Bruce (pre DH) YEARS ago which I enjoyed and The Square which was supposedly 2 M* but I didn't enjoy. Have also tried The Ritz (not great) and 15 by Jamie Oliver (set lunch menu which was fabulous).

Would love to try Black Swan at Oldstead and Le Manoir, but certainly Le Manoir will have to be an extra special occasion as it is so pricey.

So whilst we do love those sorts of restaurants, we also like less fancy too - Rojano's in Padstow being another favourite, Cornish Arms but we also have a local pasta restaurant - dishes are a tenner and the chef also provides the table service but it's so tasty and we love it (he's Italian).

Basically we just love food! (and reading menus and cookbooks is an obsession).

We love to travel just for a restaurant so please hit me with your favourites and why

@Tartyflette - yes, we def have that one in the list but reckon next year or year after as trying to get preggers again (yes I’m mad!) so we’ve not booked any trips past end of this year for now. But I definitely want to go there!

@Skigal86 no not local but parents have a holiday home there - thanks, will try that!

I can also recommend (more holiday than restaurant but they serve a four course evening meal) Chateau de la Ruche in France. We were never expecting the food to be so amazing. Rebecca is a fantastic cook and her pumpkin sticky toffee pudding, well, I could swim in it 😂

Loved the Black Swan. They let us park our campervan round the back for the night, next to the vegetable garden. Lovely people.

The Corner House in Minster, Kent. There is also one in Canterbury but I haven't been to that one.

The steak is amazing and I don't normally like steak.

The Regency Tandoori in Westgate, Kent is also amazing.

The Magic Mushroom Essex- great food

I can second The Sportsman in Seasalter. It's excellent and we've been going there over several years.
If you're thinking of staying nearby I can also recommend a charming and quirky B n B just a 15-20 minute walk from the restaurant along the raised sea wall/path, which is very restorative after the 9-course tasting menu!
Driftwood House -- we stayed in the Moroccan Room. We parked there and the owner kindly gave us a lift up to the Sportsman (it's basically on the same road) and we enjoyed the walk back after lunch.

Has no one said Rules yet? I love it. Such a lovely atmosphere to spend an evening.

@georgialondon yes me upthread! Great place, my DC love to ask for the James Bond table!

@burntpinky

you are my kind of girl!

How lucky you are that you have a DH that joins you in all of this

Ah that's good, I thought I was the only one!

Casa Calvet in Barcelona (old school Catalan food in a beautiful Gaudi building)

Le Manoir was ok but I prefer the food at The Waterside in Bray (French)

Osaka in Buenos Aires (Japanese/Persian fusion)

The herb risotto with béchamel sauce served in a ski cafe in the Dolomites approx 7 years ago for €7 - unforgettable and no other risotto has ever come close to this!

Perilla

We've got a great local Sardinian restaurant called Lume (NW1). Fay Maschler reviewed it recently. It's very good, I hope it lasts.
We've been to the Fat Duck twice. Blown away by the experience the first time but the second time, after the refurb and decamp to Oz, it had a lot of the same food but had got SO pretentious.
I want to try Frog in Covent Garden and The Man Behind the Curtain in Leeds

Just my sort of thread, love a foodie experience. We are in Yorkshire and have eaten at the Black Swan, it was amazing. We are off to Roots soon, which is in York and also run by Tommy Banks and his team. We also ate at Arras in York recently, also a tasting menu which was gorgeous.

In Birmingham recently we ate at Folium in the Jewellery quarter, which was fantastic, definitely deserving of a Michelin Star. (It doesn’t have one yet).

Nopi in London (Ottolenghi) was superb, we had a Sunday lunchtime meal there, and thoroughly enjoyed it.

So many places to put on the list now!

Hibiscus was good.
I want to go to Le Manoir.

@ScreamingLadySutch - awwww thanks - so nice!

Ah yes, another one for Roots. You could also try Cochon Aveugle and Skosh - both in York, and both highly rated by the foodies in the Guardian (if that's if importance!)

At the other end if the scale is Los Moros in the Shambles market - amazing North African street food cooked and sold from a fancy shed. Delicious!

Tast ller in Barcelona is is excellent and well worth a weekend of tapas to top it off.

Cin cins in St James, Barbados is also excellent. The ultimate destination for white sand beaches, generous rum cocktails and seafood... yummy!

Alcemilla in Nottingham is good too, no Michelin star yet but well worth a visit

Mark Greenaway in Edinburgh. For posh gastro pub type food Tom Kitchin’s Scran and Scallie is good too (also Edinburgh)

Clare Smythe's restaurant Core in Notting Hill has been hands down the best restaurant we've been to - however it's wallet busting but really was absolutely fabulous.
Love manoir
We go to Murano more regularly for reliably beautiful Italian food

Ye Horns Inn in Goosnargh for the roast duckling with gorgeous crispy skin.

they converted a bran to provide bedrooms, but it's a bit far as i'm now 900 miles south of there!

Couches in Polperro is fabulous. I haven't been to The Kitchen, also in Polperro, but 2 people have told me it's the best food they have ever eaten.