Harters

Nice thread. This used to be quite an active board with fellow Britons posting right across the country but I visit only very rarely now. Just popped in to look up a chef's name from the "old days" and spotted it. Stornoway does have a reputation in the UK for its black pudding. Generally regarded (except by Scots) as in second place to the product from Bury.

The winner of this year's Fish & Chip Shop of the Year award is Millers Fish & Chips, Haxby, York. Runners up were the Burton Road Chippy, Lincoln and Harbourside Fish & Chips, Plymouth Regional finalists, etc here - http://www.fishandchipawards.com/images/pagebuilder/NFCA2018-WinnersandFinalistBrochure.pdf

North Yorkshire places we enjoyed in 2015: Anvil Inn, Sawdon Estbeck House, Sandsend Lanterna, Scarborough Star Inn, Harome White Swan, Pickering Willowgate, Pickering.

Another Monty's Deli in London, then? That'd be a two hour train journey. There's another in Leicester, as well as Birmingham. I wonder if it's a chain?

Yeah, but Birmingham would be a long way for me to go for a sandwich - easily an hour on the train.

I can think of several London places that offer better food than Tayyabs. Trishna and Moti Mahal spring to mind, as does Tangawizi in Twickenham. Tayyabs' day has long faded.

I'm assuming as this post is to the UK/Ireland board, then it'll be the only one we have - the city in north west England. As Chaihana Joe, I can't think of anywhere in the metro area which I'd regard as a seafood specialist, let alone a good one. This place, in Cheadle Hulme, has lobster salad on its regular menu but it's basically a pub - http://www.pointingdog.co.uk/#cheadle And, oddly, this Indian restaurant on the fringe of the city centre always has lobster thermador on the menu Which always seems to undermine its claim to be serving "authentic" south asian dishes - http://www.zoukteabar.co.uk/~zoukteab/speciality-seafood.php

Now, of course, Stockport is 200 miles north west of London, so may be a bit far for folks wanting recommendations in the capital. I've been to Aamchi Mumbai a couple of times. Food is good but there are service issues as I mention in this review, posted to another board - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/983454#9082377 We're fortunate in North Cheshire in having two places offering this sort of tiffin/street food type dishes. The other, literally round the corner from Aamchi, is the Indian Tiffin Room. Possibly the better of the two - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/991630#9226183 And then, only a few minutes drive away in Cheadle Hulme is Seven Spices - http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/989414#9190643 Best of the rest in the south of the metro area would be Dilli in Altrincham and Murghli in Rusholme. Both offering "proper" menus, rather than the "any protein with any sauce" gloop of the high street curry house.

And, even in central and northern England, most will be decidedly average and a goodly number will be awful. Pretty much all of them will taste pretty much as the next one ...and the next one.

I'd doubt whether any accurate figures would exist, let alone any estimate for the vague term of "casual". A search of the various trade newspapers' websites may turn up some estimates of totals but I doubt whether I'd want to rely on a journalistic guess.

Catherine/Megan Look forward to hearing about where you've eaten. Just started to think about restaurants for a 4 night trip in May - particularly interested in dinners.

Bear in mind that our country is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England is not a country just one region of a country.

Bad news. One of those places that I always promised myself to visit, but never got round to.

Tangawizi is a good bet (although it's horribly dark inside - I genuinely could not really see what was on the plate). I also like Pappadums, on the river at Brentford.

No personal experience but the Good Food Guide lists: The Auberge and Feast at St Martin La Fregate and Da Nellow at St Peter Port