Gus

One of my favourite restaurants in London is nearby (well, in Lamb's Conduit Street, near Cigala mentioned above). It's Ciao Bella, a laid back little piece of Italy in London. Unpretentious, unstuffy, but a great place to go with friends, and very reasonably price. There'll probably be a guy playing the piano, when you go to your table you'll get large chunks of parmesan and olives, and a friendly, warm as opposed to austere and formal welcome. A lifting place. And for a really good meal get the seafood spaghetti cooked in a paper bag (the flavours infuse and it's wonderful - and costs about £7).

As a complete amateur, who's just starting to be interested in wine, can i ask something? Is there any reasonable rule of thumb? Like "for wines less than four years old, open the bottle an hour before drinking, which runs very little risk of harming the taste and a fair chance of improving it"?

Don't suppose there are any specific wines or mixed cases you'd recommend? I've got the list, but a little lost, being a novice.

Allied Domecq did try Dunkin Doughnuts in the UK, I believe, in the early 1990s. But the doughnut place in Picadilly Circus is not a Dunkin, or at least isn't now. It's a misconception that AD strive to correct!

Apologies if this subject as been covered too much already. Tried to do a search and it didn't yield anything, and I tend to contribute to the UK restaurants board, not this one. Anyway, I've been given membership of The Wine Society (the UK co-operative), and wondered if it's any good. Should make clear that while I enjoy wine, I'm no expert, although want to learn more. If anyone else out there is a member, are there any particular wines from it that they'd recommend, preferaby less than £15 a bottle. One last thing - sorry if I'm asking too much - has anyone ordered the Exhibition mixed case (red and white mixed case of wines from their own Exhibition range)? How does it compare with the Dinner Party cases? They looked like a good way to get a flavour of what's on offer, without needing to know which wines to choose, making it easy for a novice like me. Grateful for any advice.

Funnily enough, I met the managing director of Krispy Kreme UK. They're only opening the Harrods store in the UK this year. Then next year they're going to open a couple more sites in the London suburbs, before starting to roll out across the country the year after that (in 2005). Also happen to have spoken to senior people at Allied Domecq, the drinks company that owns Dunkin Doughnuts. When I spoke to them a few months ago they said they had no plans to introduce DD to the UK. They reckoned that Brits didn't go for doughnuts like Americans did (for breakfast). Although the MD of Krispy Kreme UK pointed out that there are already large numbers of doughnuts sold in the UK. You can do for them what Starbucks has for coffee. On a positive note, the Harrods KK outlet will open at 7am, before the department store does. So if you live near Knightsbridge and want a sweet breakfast... One last point... I asked the MD of KK if, given his expertise, he or one of his business contacts could set up a decent Mexican restaurant in London (I and others have said how one is needed on this board). But he didn't seem that impressed by the idea. Maybe, with the cost of authentic ingredients here, it really is that hard :-(

Think your plan a great one. I managed to get posted to Glasgow for work for 6 months, and its vastly underestimated by many. You're in a city of culture that's got the best seafood in the UK and fantastic mountains on its doorstep. First, eating in Glasgow. I'd recommend Stravaigin (http://www.stravaigin.com/). The food is splendid, especially the seafood. It's not the most formal restaurant, but the menu is bound to catch your attention and it's very definitely pleasant. I'd choose this over Ammarylis (excuse spelling). Why go to Glasgow for a copy of Gordon Ramsey's London sites? Can also say that the Chip comes very highly recommended, although I never actually got round to eating there. See: http://www.ubiquitouschip.co.uk/ In terms of places to go.... To my mind the West Coast of scotland really becomes majestic near the coast. The railway up to Fort William is spectacular - of course it is - but not as stunning as the sea lochs of Argyll and the North West. The railyway journey after Fort William will probably be grandest. If you wanted somewhere near Glasgow, the area around Loch Fyne and Arrochar is amazing. It's also home to the restaurant of the Loch Fyne Oyster company. To see where I mean, see: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=20...p=newsearch.srf You're right, btw, to put a bulletin out on the web looking for advice on accomodation. It's hit and miss in the highlands, sadly, as is food. The best guidebook is "Scotland: The Best" by Peter Irvine. It's basically the top ten beaches, top ten restaurants, ten things you must see, ten great things to do, etc, etc. Really works as a guidebook. See: http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...7450801-2027818 North of Fort William I know of a brilliant B&B that also does dinner. It's in stunning scenery, the owner is full of enthusiasm for the hills, the bedrooms are great, all pine floors but in a traditional Scottish house. And the breakfasts... wonderful. It's probably too far north, in Torridon. But if you want to stay in perhaps the most beautiful bit of Scotland accessible by road, and in accomdation that is wonderfully relaxing and friendly, see: http://www.cromasaig.com/ Hope this is helpful. Have a good time.

Oh well, maybe I'm wrong about the demand for a Mexican. Certainly take on board the comment about it being regarded as an unsophisticated food to be had with beer. But that, ultimately, has done much to promote Indian restaurants in the UK, despite the food being far removed from traditional British. I'd have thought the way for a proper mexican to go would be somewhere close to visiting american tourists, and and to offer authentic street food with beers, rather than a mexican version of Gordon Ramsey. My thought is that a Mexican version of Tayyab would go down really well.

In general Canary Wharf is terrible for food, I reckon. The main reason is that most people eating there are on expenses, which means a lack of competition in terms of quality for your money. The other main reason is that the premises must be hugely expensive. You can't easily start a good Indian restaurant in a prime retail spot. And finally, I think the owners of Canary Wharf impose restrictions on what kinds of businesses can locate there. Ever noticed, for example, that there are no cheap sandwich bars in Canary Wharf, except Bene Bene which apparently faced much flak because it threatened to undercut other sandiwich places. You'll also notice that the Burger King charges motorway service-station prices, not that you'd want to go there. Anyway, the upshot of all this is poor restaurants. The only one I really have good words for is the Nicolas. You can choose your wine in the off-license, then eat it in the restaurant with basic French food. Go and choose good wine, and the lack of power in the food will be a pro, not a con.

When I first found this site, one of the first things I searched for was discussions about Mexican restaurants. Would I finally find a decent one in London? After all, in a conurbation of 10 million or so there must be one. But all I found was other people lamenting the lack of one. Personally I don't understand: all these chefs opening swanky restaurants with big debts, taking a huge risk, when all you'd need to do in London is to entice a couple of Mexican chefs over here and you'd be full every night. Instead we get absolutely awful so-called Mexican restaurants which are little more than bits of meet, pepper and onion with chili wrapped in pancakes. Pathetic.

Most of the time you're forced to take breakfast (it's included in the price). But in London, given the choice, I'd almost always go somewhere other than the hotel. Simpsons in the Strand for traditional full English, Charlotte St Hotel for fantastic American breakfasts (wonderful pancakes, french toast, etc), or for a cheap bite either a greasy spoon (traditional cafe) for a bacon sandwich and cuppa, or coffe bar for croissant and froth-coff. Some of the poshest hotels do good breakfasts, but they cost a fortune. But I can't imagine anyone would choose to go to 3star hotel for breakfast, unless they were staying there.