Dinner at the Hare and Hounds

The Hare and Hounds in Bath is up the road from my old school, it used to be a bit rough and ready as far as pubs go but years down the line with a fancy makeover it seems to be quite the place to go for dinner. Mum and I were meeting up with my cousin Luke and Auntie Sue and the Hare and Hounds was suggested. It was pretty busy inside but we found a table in the conservatory area next to a noisy table of ten. The view from the Hare and Hounds is wonderful you can see out across Bath which is rather pleasant whilst you eat.  Luckily the noisy table vacated pretty soon after we sat down, leaving a paltry tip which included coppers, if you are going to leave a tip do it properly and don't be insulting by leaving pocket lint type change.

First things first, what astonished me most was the prices of the food. The cheapest main item on the menu was £12, yes that isn't a lot really in the grand scheme of things but it was for a burger, add £1 for any additional toppings. This is probably where people chime in with, their food is locally sourced, of course this is a good thing but there is a line surely between offering locally sourced pub food at competitive prices and charging high prices because of the area the venue is placed  in.  Lansdown might be Bath's Clifton (house price wise) but still I believe a lot of the items on their menu could have their prices addressed.

All their desserts for example are £6.50, including one described as macerated strawberries and cream, really Hare and Hounds, really? Not to mention £2.50 for a blue cheese glaze to go with your steak. or £12 for a baked Camembert. Anyway prices aside, what did I order? I went for the burger with added blue cheese and mum ordered the beer battered cod with chunky chips and minty pea puree. There was a bit of a wait for the food but being that it was pretty busy this was to be expected.

burger with blue cheese

fish and chunky chips

And now the verdict on my £13 burger. Tasty. Was it the best burger I've ever had? No. Was it worth £13? No. However I would really rate the seeded bun plus the burger patty was chunky, however it could done with more seasoning. The portion of fries was a little scanty for the price but the tomato and chili jam was pretty tasty. Mum's fish was wonderfully fresh and was coated in an ultra crisp batter that was great. I wanted the food to match the price and it didn't quite hit the mark. The service was fairly friendly though so I would recommend it for that.

There is no doubt though that the Hare and Hounds is a nice looking pub with a fantastic view, but maybe they should stop relying on pretty so much and either make the food match the price or bring the price down a notch to match pub food prices. Although it could be that there are some people that think £16 for a pub Sunday roast is a good deal. To check out what the Hare and Hounds has to offer check out their website. 

Portuguese Taste at St Nicks Market

The other week Jamie had a Wednesday off work so we decided to meet up for lunch, originally we were going to check out Edna's Kitchen but as I had eaten falafel the previous day I steered Jamie round to her other favourite.  Portuguese Taste, in St Nicks market, hosts some of the country's most famous dishes and it's one of Jamie's most visited places to lunch on a weekend. The menu does vary from day to day but you will often see piri piri chicken, bacalhau and feijoada as well as the omni present Portuguese pastry, pastel de nata. I decided to opt for Brazil's national dish, feijoada and Jamie went for her favourite, bacalhau com natas or cod with cream as it is called at the stand. There was space at one of the little tables outside the stand so we waited for them to bring us our lunch.

bacalhau com nata

For £4.50 for mine and £5.50 for Jamie's, the portions were enormous. My feijoada, a hearty mixed pork and bean stew with a mass of rice was wonderfully comforting and extremely filling. Salted cod, whenever I have visited Portugal has never been my thing but Jamie's dish really turned round my opinion on bacalhau. This dish was creamy, not too salty basically the ultimate in luxury as far as fish pies go.  With all the cream the dish is quite heavy for one person to eat in one sitting but definitely good for a half and half sharer which is sort of what we did.

Despite being pretty full, Jamie had spied bolo de bolacha, basically a cake/cheese cake hybrid made from biscuits, so we decided to share a slice. It looked a little Sarah Lee but I can tell you it was far from it. Rich tea type biscuits with a light cream in amongst the layers and a chocolate topping, apparently there are many variations of this cake.

bola de bolacha

So if you haven't been to Portuguese Taste and are in need of a good feed, check it out you won't be disappointed.  Perfect comfort food for dipping temperatures. St Nicks triumphs once again, not that I ever doubted it for a moment. 

Lunching at Bento Boss

In the past month I have had the fortune of lunching at Bento Boss, above Clifton Down shopping centre, twice and both times the food has been excellent.  We have been lucky enough in Bristol to have Yume open in the last year, a great place to go for Japanese food and now I am happy to report we have Bento Boss as well. Although Bento Boss is more pan Asian in it's menu, with nods to Malaysia, Indonesia, China and so on.  The decor has really been given a lease of life since I was last in this restaurant space, very light and welcoming.

As the menu is pretty extensive it might take you quite a while to decide what to order however I strongly urge you to try one of their baos. Fluffy steamed dough served with a plate of the meat of your choice and toppings so you can build your own, the meat is so tender it is heavenly I personally loved the pork belly one.  The bento boxes range from about £9-£14 and are pretty generously portioned some with tempura as well as sushi as their accompaniments. Ramen and stir fries are also available. Their sushi was also pretty good with a good range of fish to sample the bento box I ordered was pretty large and I was very full by the end.  The slices of fish could have been a touch thicker but this is a minor gripe really.

mixed bao fillings

As you can see this food is pretty impressive, if your mouth is not watering at the thought of those baos you have greater will power than me.  What is most astonishing is the £3-3.50 per bao price tag these are good value. Also if you like mochi then you have the choice of a number of flavours I personally adore the coconut ones.  They also do a range of tradtional ice cream flavours such as red bean paste, green tea and black sesame.

Large sushi bento (£12)

So I urge you strongly to check out Bento Boss it is really very delicious and if you don't want it to suffer the fate of so many restaurants sited in this location before, then support it, you won't be disappointed by the food it is right up there with some of the best Asian food in Bristol.  Currently Bento Boss does not have a website or Twitter account but you can view their Facebook page for more info.

A Musical Afternoon Tea and a Felt Cornershop

I am off to Lisbon in a couple of days, I have never been and I cannot wait, it has been a tough couple of months and to see the sunshine, eat local cuisine and see the sights will be wonderful. Before I go I thought a mini photo blog on my trip to London to see my sister's wonderful Cornershop installation and a catch up over musical afternoon tea plus an evening of drinks and snacks would be a good parting shot until I am back. Firstly I won something, this never happens. I won musical afternoon tea at the Ampersand hotel in South Kensington, where Rich and I stayed for our minimoon, just a little bit quirky but also nice and luxurious too. I decided to take Kathryn with me for afternoon tea as it had recently been her birthday, so on a beautiful day in London we headed on in to the hotel.

The whole Shebang

With champagne, savoury filled choux buns, opera cake, white chocolate chip scones, salted caramel maracons and strawberry mousse cakes this was a wonderful feast too big for even the greediest of girls. Luckily they neatly packed up the rest of the lovely treats in a box for us to take home.  If you are looking for a slightly quirkier afternoon tea in London I totally recommend the one at the Ampersand, a delicious way to spend an afternoon.  We headed onwards to meet Abi in Bethnal Green and the greatest Cornershop that ever was, simply my sister the great artist Lucy Sparrow, is a genius.

biscuits & booze

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Twenty Lambert?

sporting chocolate bars

After a wonderful trip to the shop Abi and I went to meet up for a few drinks with lovely Carla, of Can Be Bribed with Food blogging fame,  for some wine, snacking and gossiping.  Aiming for somewhere close we could get back to Paddington Carla chose somewhere just off Oxford Circus, The Market Place bar, it was warm enough to sit outside so we ordered some drinks and got down to business.

evening snackage

We ordered a selection of squid, popcorn chicken, sweet potato fries, salt cod cakes and chili fries. Nice enough bar but if you find yourself around Oxford Circus looking for a snack just go for the chili fries alone, covered in a beer cheddar cheese sauce and strips of mediumly spiced chili, so creamy and delicious, an amazing dish.  A warm and tipsy journey back to Bristol full of the memories of a great day in London seeing family and hanging with dear friends, it was well needed. If you missed the Cornershop Lucy is planning on taking it to Brighton in October so definitely check it out. Have a great week Bristol I will be back at the end of next week with tales of custard tarts and the sun.