Time for a coffee

May 13, 2026

Disappointing Ploughman’s Lunch

Having had a nice Ploughman’s Lunch at Killerton House when I visited there back in February, on a recent visit to Stourhead, I decided I would have it again.

What I got was a little different to what I had before.

This plate had two chunks of cheese, one cheddar, and one stilton. There was some sliced apple chunks, two slice of pork pie, red onion chutney, two pickled onions, a pickled gherkin, and a rather limp salad. There was no bread and no coleslaw.

The cheese and pork pie was nice, but the salad did not look very fresh. It was the start of the lunch time, which made me think, was it yesterday’s salad. The pork pie was very good and better than the sausage roll I had at Killerton.

I didn’t question the missing bread, as I thought maybe this one didn’t have bread. However when I left the cafe I saw a photo of the lunch on the wall and it had bread. I would have complained, but the place was packed and there were long queues, and I thought, what would they do. Same reason why I didn’t complain about the salad.

I probably would order this again though, I think the issues were a one off.

May 9, 2026

Squid and Chips

On previous visits to Minehead I had some lovely cod and chips from The Cod Shop. On a recent visit the place had changed names (maybe changed hands as well) and was now called Crispy’s.

I decided to go for the salt and pepper squid, which came with a portion of chips.

These were nice chip shop style chips. The squid was tasty as well. This wasn’t fresh squid, but then I wasn’t expecting fresh squid. I did wonder if it might be squid rings, but they weren’t. Overall a nice tasty meal.

May 8, 2026May 8, 2026

YO! Bento Box

I was in Leeds thinking about dinner, I passed the YO! branch in Leeds Trinity shopping centre. By the way when did YO! Sushi become just plain old YO!

Usually I don’t go to YO! as it can become quite an expensive meal, but I was a little surprised to see on their menu the prices were (in my t mind) significantly cheaper than I remembered.

Their green plates were £1.95 and the blue ones were £2.95. Comparing the menu to the Bristol Cribbs branch I saw that the green plates were £3.50 but had more sushi. So I wasn’t misremembering, the prices in Leeds were cheaper. However, in the end I didn’t have small plates, I went with their bento box. These are only available at the following restaurants: Ashford, Belfast, Cheltenham, Exeter, Glasgow Braehead, Guildford & Leeds Trinity.

There are four to choose from and they cost from £9.95 to £17.95 and upgrades are available.

I went with the O! (meaning happiness) box and for £13.95 you got three small plates of sushi and a katsu curry bowl. From my seat I could see they were making my sushi fresh to order.

The sushi were crunchy cali roll, salmon maki with Sakura daikon radish, and smoky mayo popcorn shrimp.

The shrimp had a nice crispy batter and the salmon maki were good. The crunchy cali rolls were my favourite and very tasty.

I went with the crispy katsu prawn bowl, which was authentic Japanese katsu on steamed rice with tonkatsu sauce and YO! smoky mayonnaise.

I got two large crispy coated prawns and a side of slaw which I wasn’t expecting. It was a very tasty bowl, though I found it challenging to eat with chopsticks so I went with a spoon instead.

I really enjoyed my bento box and I thought (for YO!) was really good value, with a five pound saving on buying the dishes individually from the main menu.

May 1, 2026May 1, 2026

Time for one more Fiorentina

I was working in Bristol. There are no street food markets in Bristol on a Monday (well there is St Nick’s), however no Temple Quay or Finzel Reach. I headed into the centre. I did think about going to Côte as they had a E10 deal for steak and frites. I also considered going to The Real Greek; however, they didn’t have a lunch deal. In the end I went to Pizza Express which had a power lunch deal for E10 of a main course and a drink. In order to get the deal you need the app, and I had the app.

I was given a warm welcome and took a seat at a table. They have a special menu for the power lunch, you can have a choice of pizza, not the full range, but there are some classics in there, as well as the leggera version with the salad in the middle. There are also three different salads on the menu as well. Vegan and gluten free options are available too. The drinks are in the main the fizzy variety, but there is a Sicilian still lemonade and you can always have a coffee.

I ordered the classic Fiorentina and a diet coke. It wasn’t long before my pizza arrived, freshly cooked to order.

This is the one with the ‘egg and spinach’, plus mozzarella, tomato, Gran Milano cheese, black olives and garlic oil. My egg was a little overcooked for my liking, I prefer a runny yolk, However, apart from that this pizza was delicious. The combination of spinach, tomato and cheese with the addition of black olives and the egg make a delicious vegetarian pizza. The base was excellent with a crisp crust and soft in the middle.

It has been a while since I have had a pizza from Pizza Express and this one I really enjoyed.

April 28, 2026

Grassington Espresso

I was up in Yorkshire and visited the village of Grassington in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales. This is the location for the externals of the Channel 5 series, All Creatures Great and Small. When I arrived they were breaking down the “sets” as they had finished filming.

After walking around the village I stopped Plaza Uno Grassington for a coffee. I placed my order at the bar and took a seat at a table outside. The sun was shining and it was nice to sit and watch the world go by.

The coffee arrived and was excellent. Part of me did wonder if I should have really gone for a pot of tea instead, as I was in the heart of North Yorkshire, however I like coffee, so I had coffee.

April 13, 2026

Lamb Burger at the Railway Inn

Having just visited Cheddar Gorge, we headed over to Sandford for a meal at The Railway Inn. Sandford is on the A368 between Weston and Churchill. The Railway Inn is owned by the Thatchers cider company who are also based in the village.

It was busy and there was a band playing outside, however we went inside where it was cooler and less busy. We sat in the bar and pursued the menu. I quite like the fact that there are just five choices on the menu, makes me think that they care about the food they prepare.

I decided I would go for the 6oz Lamb Burger. This was described in the menu as topped with pulled minted lamb shoulder, mozzarella, gem lettuce, pickles and tomato mayo in a pretzel bun. Served with chips, slaw & onion ring.

Our food arrived. My (rather tall) burger looked rather impressive. I enjoyed the flavour of the lamb burger, didn’t think too much of the pulled minted lamb shoulder, it needed more depth of flavour. I liked the additions to the burger. The slaw was nice, as were the chips. The onion rings (I got two) were crispy, but that was about all they tasted of, a little over fried methinks.

I did enjoy the burger and the plate of food was rather filling.

April 12, 2026

Charlie Bigham’s Spanish Chicken and Roast Potatoes

This has become of my favourite Charlie Bigham ready meals. The chicken is in a tomato sauce with peppers and chorizo. The roasted potatoes have a patatas bravas feel to them. I usually heat the potatoes out of the wooden tray on a foiled baking tray which aids them crisping up.

April 11, 2026

Delicious bento box

I was working in Bristol on Friday and headed off to get some lunch. I had this delicious bento box with beef donburi and tan tan udon noodles from the amazing She Sells Streetfood at the amazing Finzels Reach Market.

The beef donburi is tender, 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. The combination of ingredients in the tan tan udon noodles are wonderful. The minced pork, pak choi, and soft noodles are served in a creamy broth. There is always something in every spoonful. Don’t forget the chilli if offered, it adds warmth to the the whole experience.

So tasty, so nice, so delicious.

On a previous visit I had swapped the noodles for the katsu fries, but this time I went back to the noodles.

April 10, 2026

Selection of British Cheeses

I was in Oxfordshire for work, attending a conference in Oxford. I booked to stay in the Milton Hill House hotel close to Abingdon. I would then catch the Park & Ride into the heart of Oxford for the event.

I had dinner in the hotel, and for my main course I had the grilled pork cutlet, and then after that I had the selection of British cheeses which came with chutney, grapes, celery and water biscuits.

I had three cheeses cheddar, stilton, and brie. I did wonder if this was Somerset brie, but brie is not really a British cheese, much more a French one really. I didn’t worry and I didn’t ask, as I like brie anyhow.

Compared to other times I have had cheese and biscuits, these were quite generous portions of cheese. I enjoyed the chutney and I even ate the grapes. I don’t eat celery, so that was left. I also found the water biscuits unappetising. They looked strange, guessing they were some kind of artisan water biscuit. Personally I would have preferred some Carr’s water biscuits, or some bread. So I ate all the cheese, the grapes, most of there chutney, but left the celery and the biscuits. Nice plate of cheese though.

April 9, 2026

Back to Sasi’s Thai

I have mentioned this before, but when in Oxford, I usually visit the Covered Market and have a delicious plate of Thai food from Sasi’s Thai.

My first experience of Sasi’s Thai was back in 2013 when I started working in Oxford and would go out for lunch. It was one of the many food outlets in the market and always served excellent delicious food. Even after I changed jobs, and stopped working in Oxford, if I was back in Oxford (or even passing through) I would stop for lunch and seek out Sasi’s Thai for some spicy food.

This was case in March 2026 when I was in Oxford about to head off to Milton Park I stopped at Sasi’s Thai for lunch. It has been a while since I have eaten there, back in December 2023 if my photographic record is correct. As I expected it was busy, but it has always been busy. I had the two choices with rice, and had the Crispy Pork with Basil and the Garlic Pork.

Both dishes were delicious, quite spicy, but still full of flavour. The food is always fresh and tasty. They don’t cook to order, but the serving pans are regularly refilled with freshly cooked food as they progress through the lunch service.