Time for a coffee

October 24, 2026October 24, 2026

Crab Sandwich at the Riverside Tearoom

I had spent much of the day exploring Orford Ness in Suffolk. What was once a secret military base was sold to the National Trust back in 1993.

After catching the boat back to the quayside, I decided I would have a cold drink from the Riverside Tearoom. However, upon reading the menu, I was tempted by the fresh crab sandwich that was on the specials board. I placed my order at the counter and took a seat outside.

It wasn’t long before my sandwich arrived, which had been made fresh to order. This was a round of sandwiches made with white bread and filled with a mix of fresh brown and white crab meat. Alongside was some salad and a bowl of crisps.

Regular readers will know I generally don’t do sandwiches. However, I am a fan of crab, so I wasn’t going to give up the opportunity for some fresh crab (even if it was in a sandwich).

This was a delicious sandwich, and you could really taste the freshness of the crab. The bread was soft and quite good. I also liked the salad and crisps.

When I was planning my trip to Suffolk I had originally thought about having lunch in Aldeburgh, but I was too late for that. Another idea I had was to visit the Butley Orford Oysterage but I was too late for lunch there as well. So, though I ended up at the Riverside Tearoom I was pleased with my lunch.

October 18, 2026

Portobello Mushrooms and a Bavette Steak

I had flown to Thessaloniki in Greece for five days for a conference. I was staying at the ONOMA Hotel. On my first evening I realised it was getting quite late, so initial idea of going out into the area for a meal was canned, and I headed to the hotel restaurant for a meal, I also had a 20% voucher for the restaurant as well.

I went for a starter of portobello mushrooms stuffed with trahana cream and metsovone cheese.

This was quite a rich starter, but was very tasty. I would have probably liked some bread to go with it. My memory of eating out in Greece back in the early 2000s was having bread with every meal.

For my main I went with the bavette steak with greek chimichurri, charred spring onions and smashed potatoes.

This was a nice steak, cooked to perfection. It was very tender and I liked the addition of the chimichurri. Though I liked the smashed potatoes, I wasn’t that enamoured with the charred spring onions.

Alongside I went with a local beer, Nymfi, which was nice. Overall it was a good meal and I enjoyed it.

October 16, 2026

Flat Iron Steak

I had seen some positive reviews of Flat Iron Steak in Bristol, so I thought if I had a chance, I would try it out. So, there I was in Bristol working and decided to walk over to Flat Iron and have some lunch.

I was given a lovely warm welcome and I took a seat. You get a portion of popcorn, not sure if that is a bonus, as I am not really a fan of popcorn. The menu is quite limited. Pride of place is given on the menu to the Flat Iron steak. They also have specials of a ribeye and a cheeseburger. On the day I was there they also had two wagyu specials on the blackboard.

I went with the flagship flat iron steak. I would probably have gone with fries as my side, but they do homemade beef dripping chips, which I am guessing are very nice, but they’re not fries. i was tempted by the truffled macaroni cheese and the crispy bone marrow garlic mash. I do like a bit of mac and cheese and truffle adds some extravagance. Some of the reviews I read praised the mash. In the end I decided I would be different and chose the roast aubergine, with tomato, basil, and mozzarella. The two other choices are green salad and creamed spinach.

It wasn’t long before my food arrived on the table. The steak was sliced, seasoned, and presented on a wooden board with a stone insert.

The steak was cooked medium rare, as ordered. The chef had salted the steak and there was a little too much salt on the steak for my liking. The steak was mostly tender and had a good flavour. I enjoyed the steak.

The aubergine came in a separate side dish.

This was roasted aubergine combined with tomato and mozzarella cheese. I really liked this dish, nice to have something different to chips or fries.

You also get a free ice cream.

Overall I really enjoyed my lunch and I will probably visit again.

Flat Iron Steak is a chain with twenty restaurants, fifteen of these are in London.

I have visited a similar place in Glasgow, Chateau-X, which does every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday a Steak Frites deal for £15 which includes one side and one sauce. Flat Iron Steak is more expensive, costing more than Chateau-X.

October 11, 2026

Tempura-fried haddock

Last month I was attending a conference and meeting at Luleå in Sweden. I travelled from London Heathrow, then there was a layover in Stockholm before flying up to Luleå. Having had a great time in Luleå I made my way home. The flight from Luleå to Stockholm was fine, I then made my way to the departure gate for my flight to Heathrow.

However…

This was the day that the air traffic control system at Heathrow failed and over a thousand flights were cancelled.

My flight was that evening, after a delay SAS cancelled it. With the number of cancellations, the earliest flight SAS could rebook me onto was three days later. So, SAS booked me a hotel for three days. The hotel was the Sandic Star Sollentuna was a really nice hotel. The restaurant was nice and served a good breakfast and there was a nice choice of meals from the menu in the evening.

On my first night I was too late for dinner, on the second night, I had Swedish Style Steak & Fries.

On my third night I had two courses, I started off with the shrimp Skagen mix on warm sourdough bread.

For my main course I went with the tempura-fried haddock, shrimp, new potatoes, grilled green asparagus, crisp salad, mango aioli, lemon and whitefish roe.

After the nice steak the night before, and my nice shrimp Skagen, I was expecting another good plate of food. However, though the potatoes, salad, and mango aioli were nice, the whole dish was let down by the fish. I don’t know why I was expecting fresh cooked fish, what I got was something overly processed. I am guessing it was straight out of the freezer and into the fryer.

Overall I was quite disappointed.

October 11, 2026October 11, 2026

Shrimp Skagen mix on warm sourdough bread

As I have mentioned before, In September I was attending a conference and meeting at Luleå in Sweden. I have never visited Sweden before, so was looking forward to going. The journey took some planning, and I travelled from London Heathrow, then there was a layover in Stockholm before flying up to Luleå. Having had a great time in Luleå I made my way home. The flight from Luleå to Stockholm was fine, I then made my way to the departure gate for my flight to Heathrow.

However…

This was the day that the air traffic control system at Heathrow failed and over a thousand flights were cancelled.

My flight was that evening, and I think SAS thought they might be able to take off, however in the end that was not to be the case. With the number of cancellations, the earliest flight SAS could rebook me onto was three days later. So, SAS booked me a hotel for three days. I now had three unplanned extra days in Sweden.

The hotel that SAS booked me into was in Sollentuna. The Sandic Star Sollentuna was a really nice hotel and I had a room with an extra living room space as well. The restaurant was nice and served a good breakfast and there was a nice choice of meals from the menu in the evening.

On my first night I was too late for dinner, on the second night, I had Swedish Style Steak & Fries.

On my third night I had two courses, I started off with the Shrimp Skagen mix on warm sourdough bread.

This a creamy shrimp salad, that was named by famous Swedish chef Tore Wretman who created the dish in the 1950s and named it after Skagen, a fishing port town in northern Denmark.

My sourdough toast came with a generous portion of Shrimp Skagen mix. I enjoyed it, but I think the dill was slightly overpowering.

It is a relatively simple dish, but is regarded as a classic dish in Sweden and I saw lots of dishes like this across Stockholm. As a result I thought I must try it.

October 9, 2026

Teriyaki Beef Donburi and Tan Tan Udon

I was working in Bristol on a Thursday and headed off to get some lunch from the Temple Quay Street Food Market. I had this delicious bento box with beef donburi and tan tan udon noodles from the amazing She Sells Streetfood.

The combination of ingredients in the tan tan udon noodles are wonderful.

Soft, chewy udon noodles are mixed with seasoned minced pork and fresh pak-choi, all submerged in a rich, creamy broth. There is always something in every spoonful. Don’t forget the crispy chilli if offered, it adds warmth to the whole experience.

The beef donburi was slow cooked teriyaki beef rib on a bed of rice, topped with crispy onions and pickles.

The beef was tender and full of flavour. The crispy onions add texture and the pickles and cucumbers salad add the necessary sharpness to cut through that rich tasty beef. So tasty, so nice, so delicious.

One of the reasons I buy this box on a regular basis, is that this is excellent fresh street food, full of flavour and very tasty. Also in a time where street food is getting more expensive (not surprisingly with increased costs of food and fuel) it is excellent value for money at £10 for the bento box.

October 7, 2026October 7, 2026

Time for a Bastard Burger

I did quite fancy a burger and did quite like the look of Bastard Burger.

Bastard Burgers is a Swedish fast food chain serving hamburgers . Since the first restaurant opened in Luleå in September 2016 , the chain has expanded and has nearly seventy branches from Boden in the north to Malmö in the south.

I went with their burger of the day, which was a cheese burger with chips. It wasn’t long before my order was ready.

The burger wasn’t the best looking burger I have had, however I actually quite liked the look, to me it felt like a proper homemade burger. The burger had a good flavour and texture. I liked the accompaniments and the cheese. Alongside were a bag of crinkle cut chips, these were rather good.

Overall for fast food, it was very good.

October 4, 2026

Time for some more Sushi Yama

I was looking for lunch. I was in Sollentuna close to Stockholm in Sweden. I was stranded in Stockholm after the air traffic control system at Heathrow failed and over a thousand flights were cancelled. My flight from Stockholm to London Heathrow was cancelled and I was rebooked onto a flight three days later. So, SAS booked me a hotel for three days. I now had three unplanned extra days in Sweden.

I had enjoyed the sushi from Sushi Yama the day before, so I went there again. Essentially I had the same as the day before with some differences.

I had six different sushi, Flamed Salmon, California Roll, Tuna, Salmon & Avocado, Tuna & Chili Mayo, and Avocado.

As before, my sushi was made fresh to order. My favourite were the tuna sushi. As with the flamed shrimp, I wasn’t sure about the flamed salmon, I am not sure it added anything. I really enjoyed the sushi and it was very tasty.

October 3, 2026

Fried Anchovies

I had travelled to Thessaloniki in Greece for five days for a conference. After the conference boat trip a few of us went for a drink and then headed to Kazaviti Thessaloniki for something to eat. I wanted to have the fresh squid, but they had run out. Their other squid dishes were made from frozen squid, so I went with the fried anchovies instead.

My plate arrived with a portion of deep fried anchovies and a salad garnish.

I do like fried anchovies, they had a nice crisp coating. They were very nice, not sure they were fresh though.

October 2, 2026

Time for Sushi Yama

Close to the Sandic Sollentuna Hotel where was staying was the Sollentuna Centrum shopping centre. In there were plenty of food options.

I did fancy a light lunch, and decided to have some sushi from Sushi Yama. There are set menu choices, but I decided I would choose my own sushi.

I had six different sushi, Nordic Salmon, Crispy Salmon, Flamed Shrimp, California Roll, Tuna, Salmon & Avocado. My sushi was made fresh to order, which wasn’t expected and was a nice surprise.

I enjoyed all the sushi, though the flamed shrimp was my least favourite, it lacked the flavour profile I was expecting. The salmon and tuna was nice and fresh, and I enjoyed the two different maki rolls. The sushi came with pickled ginger, wasabi and spicy mayonnaise.

I was really impressed with the sushi, for what I initially thought was more of a fast food joint, my order was made fresh to order and was prepared quite fast.