Author: jamesclay

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Pink peppercorn squid

I was staying at the Drayton Court Hotel in London. I had discovered that they has run out of their magnificent roast dinners, so I needed to make a different choice. As well as a main, I decided to have a starter and went with the pink peppercorn squid with seaweed mayonnaise.

Pink peppercorn squid

This was a rather pretty plate of food. I was a little concerned that I might have had breaded calamari rings, but no there were chunks of squid in a pink peppercorn batter.

Not sure I could taste the seaweed, but overall it was a lovely starter.

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What, no…

One of the best meals I have had in recent years has been the Sunday Roast from Drayton Court Hotel in London.

The roast dinners at the Drayton Court Hotel are excellent and are a real treat. I have had a few over the years and enjoyed them all. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise that I ordered the Roast Sirloin of Beef. It was a fantastic looking plate of food.

So, staying at the hotel on a Sunday I was really looking forward to a roast beef dinner. So, you can imagine my disappointment when I went to the bar to order my food that they had sold out… I would have to choose something else from the menu. As it was a Sunday they had a limited choice, as they usually serve roasts.

In the end I went with the braised beef & ale short crust pie with creamed potato & gravy. It was supposed to come with peas, but I got cabbage.

braised beef & ale short crust pie with creamed potato & gravy

It was a nice looking pie, the mash was smooth, and I enjoyed the cabbage. However, the gravy was awful, it had a weird taste, which I realised later was ash like. I couldn’t be bothered to complain, so had my pie and mash without gravy.

I think I was disappointed with the pie, as earlier in the week I had been to Cadbury Garden Centre and had a fantastic steak pie from Walter Smith Fine Foods who have a deli counter in the centre. The pie from Walter Smith was in a completely different league to the pie from the Drayton.

Overall I wasn’t that happy, no roast, and not a very good pie, and horrible gravy. I think that if this happens again, and there isn’t a decent choice on the menu, I will venture elsewhere for my dinner.

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Andalusian Beef

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. Having spent a few days in Delft at a conference, and meetings in Utrecht I took the train back to Schiphol Airport where I had booked a hotel, the CitizenM, which is literally next door to the airport.

I wasn’t that impressed with the menu, but there weren’t many places to eat around the hotel. I went with the Andalusian Beef. This was described as slow cooked beef in a carrot and white bean stew. Served with oven baked potatoes and beef chorizo. Topped with our signature black olive crumble and parsley.

Andalusian Beef

The dish arrived and let’s just say I was not impressed. The stew was quite bland, and there wasn’t very much beef in there. The oven baked potatoes were cooked, but I wouldn’t have said they were cooked in the oven. The “signature black olive crumble” was not very good, it was driven black olive and some stale bread pieces. Not sure I would be boasting about that.

I ate it, but I was quite disappointed.

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Korean-Style Crispy Mushrooms

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. Having spent a few days in Delft at a conference, and meetings in Utrecht I took the train back to Schiphol Airport where I had booked a hotel, the CitizenM, which is literally next door to the airport.

I ordered some Korean-Style Crispy Mushrooms, where were described as crunchy lightly fried oyster mushrooms tossed in Korean-style BBQ sauce, chives, and a wasabi crumble.

Korean-Style Crispy Mushrooms

I really liked the look of the dish, which was nicely presented. The mushrooms had a nice crispy coating and there was just the right amount of sauce and crumb.

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Spinach Rarebit

Spinach Rarebit

Having some time to kill at Bristol airport, combined with missing breakfast, and a reasonably early flight, I decided that once I got through security I would find somewhere and get something to eat. I didn’t want to go down the takeaway coffee and pastry, I was more in the mood to have a seat at a table, and get served that way.

On a previous visit to Bristol Airport I had enjoyed my experience at Alembic, and as they weren’t too busy, I decided I would have something there. In addition they have a lovely intriguing menu with a range of choice of different kinds of breakfast. If you are looking for the traditional full English breakfast, then you won’t find it here.

Across the range of twelve choices, I narrowed my choice down to the Chorizo, Feta & Egg Croissant Roll, then there was the Mushrooms & Chargrilled Artichokes on Sourdough. I did like the sound of Scrambled Eggs on Schiacciata Romana (a traditional Italian bread). In the end I went with the Spinach Rarebit& Baked Egg.

I did think it was a bit early for mushrooms and artichokes which was my second choice and was an interesting choice for breakfast anyhow. 

In the end I went with the Spinach Rarebit & Baked Egg was wilted spinach, baked free-range egg, served over a rich mustard rarebit, finished with smoked sea salt.

Though you can order with a member of the waiting staff, I went with using the QR code on the table. Alongside my dish I also ordered a flat white. The coffee arrived promptly. The food arrived a little later.

I thought it might be too hot to eat initially, but I think it had been under the hot lamp for a while, as it was at an eatable temperature. I found the rarebit delicious and a great dish to start the day. I think it was slightly overcooked, but not by much. Certainly I would have it again.

The coffee was excellent as well.

What I really liked was that this was rather relaxing, I wasn’t rushed and was a perfect way to prepare for the flight.

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Big Lounge Breakfast

Ritorno Lounge on the Bristol Harbourside

I have had breakfast and lunch at various Lounges before, but had never been to the Ritorno Lounge on the Bristol Harbourside. Having had a lovely walk around the Harbourside, it was time for brunch. I chose the Big Lounge Breakfast, which was  smoked back bacon, Cumberland sausages, hash browns, baked beans, roasted tomatoes, black pudding, flat mushroom, two fried eggs and two slices of toast.

Though the place was really busy, it wasn’t that long before our food arrived.

big breakfast

It was a massive plate of food, but then I was hungry. Actually it looked a lot bigger than it was (well that’s my excuse I am sticking to that).

This was a lovely breakfast, tasty sausage and bacon, nice mushrooms and tomatoes. If I was to make one minor criticism, for me the sourdough toast was a little dry. I did like black pudding and the eggs were cooked well.

It was, for breakfast, I think quite pricey, but it was a good quality breakfast, served to your table in a nice environment. Would I go again, yes I would.

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Japanese-Style Crispy Chicken

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. Having spent a few days in Delft at a conference, and meetings in Utrecht I took the train back to Schiphol Airport where I had booked a hotel, the CitizenM, which is literally next door to the airport.

I ordered some Japanese-Style Crispy Chicken, which was described as karaage inspired juicy chicken bites, served with lemon and Kewpie mayonnaise dusted with Japanese 7-spice.

This was beautifully presented dish and looked great. The chicken was cooked well, with a nice crispy coating. The spice level was perfect. I really enjoyed these.

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Orecchiette pasta

Cooked pasta for tea. I like eating Orecchiette pasta since eating it in London a few years back at the now sadly closed Paesan restaurant close to Exmouth Market. Orecchiette are a pasta typical of the Apulia region of Italy.

I cooked the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. I then in a large frying pan cooked off some pancetta. To this I added some crème fraîche, a portion of Laughing Cow cheese  and some freshly chopped parsley. I didn’t have any mushrooms. I added the cooked pasta and served with some freshly grated parmesan.

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Another Small Cod

On a previous visit to Minehead I had a lovely fish and chips from The Cod Shop. So, on a recent return visit to Minehead I sought out The Cod Shop to get some fish and chips. I was given a warm friendly welcome, there was quite a bit of choice. Like on my last visit I went with the small cod and chips, which I thought was good value for just £6.50.

I ordered my fish and chips and took a seat on the benches outside. It was quite mild for October, so was happy to eat outside. Having said that, there is plenty of seating inside if you want a more formal affair for your fish and chips.

It wasn’t long before the food arrived and I was pleased with it. Yes it wasn’t a huge portion, but if I wanted a huge portion I would have ordered a large cod and chips. The chips were better this time. The batter was nice and crispy and didn’t go soggy at all. I really enjoyed the food.

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CitizenM Margherita Pizza

CitizenM Margarita Pizza

I am never really a fan of hotel pizza, either it’s a ready made base, or a ready made pizza. However there are exceptions. The Drayton Court Hotel for example has a proper pizza oven and use proper fresh pizza bases. 

The last time I was in the Netherlands was in October 2022 when I visited Amsterdam for a conference. Having spent a few days in Delft at a conference, and meetings in Utrecht I took the train back to Schiphol Airport where I had booked a hotel, the CitizenM, which is literally next door to the airport.

I did wonder about out the pizza, but once I saw what they looked like (as another guest had ordered pizza) I decided to have one for my dinner. You would think that if I was in the Netherlands that really I should be eating Dutch food. However there wasn’t anything typically Dutch on the menu.

I ordered the margherita pizza, this was a hand-stretched pizza topped with tomato sauce and rich buffalo mozzarella, with fresh basil. 

It wasn’t long before it arrived, and I have to say I was quite impressed. The base looked good, and I liked the addition of the fresh mozzarella and basil.

It was a really nice pizza and I enjoyed it. The base was nice and doughy, with an element of crispness. The tomato sauce was tasty and there was enough cheese on the pizza as well. They do a range of pizza, so there were other choices as well.