Sarah74

Ah - Sam is one of the reasons my friends and I are going so often Mojitos there are lovely and he is an absolute star.

Went back on Saturday, place was buzzing which was lovely to see. Himself had the liver on my recommendation (which I now remember was 'calves liver saltimbocca') and the only surprising element was that they had cut it up. Seemed quite bizarre to me. I had plaice with capers which was just lovely (gentle really) and a good fishy taste. Pudding was cheese board (choice of five - he chose westcombe cheddar and westcombe caerphilly plus a Somerset brie) The pieces were small but came with some great rough sesame seed biscuits and some chutney and all was finished so clearly was good! I had chocolate nemesis which was very soft and as I haven't ever had the original I'm not sure how correct or not that is. But it was fab. Just pure chocolate indulgence with a bit of creme fraiche and a shortbread biscuit. Lovely lovely meal plus one glass of wine and some Diet Cokes. £56. Brill!

It's been over two years since I posted a snivelling little post about having nowhere local to eat (well) and now, as of last Friday, my prayers have been answered! The Archangel in Frome - a labour of love for the renovation team and a stunning result. The bar/restaurant looks fantastic and the food is lovely. Cocktails in the garden then melt-in-your mouth liver with mash and for my friend duck, a duck confit pie and thick wedgy chips. Add a bottle of rose prosecco and the evening was perfect. http://archangelfrome.com/home.html PS The chef is John Melican who has a very good pedigree I believe but it's actually all the staff and the obvious passion that has gone into the place that make it such fun. PPS I'm in no way associated with this place (more's the pity!) Their PR team - local networking, Twitter etc, seems to have spread the word probably more effectively than any agency could have done.

I'm quite taken with my newly adopted home town of Frome actually - there is Cheap Street with a grocer, deli, cheese shop, health food shop, old fashioned sweet shop and a baker - then Catherine Street with some quirkly little vintage shops (not vintage food!) and some cafes as well as the best butcher around. I managed to do all my Christmas shopping there last year - didn't spend any money in high street conglomerate type shops. Felt most chuffed! Sarah

Thanks everyone (particularly PhilD ). Lots of ideas and no need to have too big a pocket I think. Cheltenham is a bit of a trek to be honest but Bath is do-able, particularly when they deign to open the A36 again..... Happy. Thank you. Sarah

117 views and not one response. Seems there is a need for somewhere delectable to eat. I feel a change of career coming on.....

Have moved slightly away from my base for the last 4 years (between Shepton Mallet and Wells) to Frome. Oh. It's closer to Bath (yippee - handbag shopping) but it seems to have nowhere brilliant to eat. We went to the Mill at Rode on Friday night. Oh dear. Style over substance which is a shame because it's in a great spot on the river. Bland, boring food. Bland, boring food which cost us £41. We have been twice to Bruton House which is lovely - it is like eating great food in someone's dining room and they are brilliantly friendly and it is lovely (have I said that?) but it does cost us about £80 and that is with one of us not drinking. All I am asking for is somewhere to have a good evening meal out for not too much money within 5/10/15 minutes of BA11. Or, if anyone is wavering about opening such an establishment near me soon PLEASE DO. And I promise I will frequent it. Thanks in advance if anyone has any ideas. Sarah

Can't vouch for awards and the like, but have always enjoyed eating in Cafe Romna in Wells. Interesting Indian food and usually packed, as it has been since it opened.

Hi - just an update to say we tried the Ship in Distress at Mudeford but were really disappointed and wondered whether anyone had any thoughts? The fish was good - I had monkfish and scallops which was really well cooked, sweet and just enough food to keep me happy. He had brill fillets with chinese vegetables (and samphire) and a green salad which again was really good. The problem was the atmosphere, ambience, feel etc etc. It was like eating in an old people's home. Terrible canned music, terrible pink and cream decor, old fashioned (and not in a good way) service. We were really rushed through as well - arrived at 8pm out by 9pm!!! We weren't drinking (school night and all that....) and the bill for two mains and two puddings (again - lovely) was £50 + £5 which isn't bad. On a Tuesday night the place was half full with older couples and a family which I'm sure speaks volumes for the food. It is just such a shame that I felt like I was in a canteen. We won't be going back.

Great - lots of options. Thanks so much.

I've recently started seeing a nice chap who lives in Bournemouth and we want to try and have a summer of eating! A shared passion really. I did a search on here but the threads were fairly old so I was wondering whether anyone had any up-to-date thoughts? I would like to try Pebble Beach at Barton-on-Sea for the seafood and I know that the Ship in Distress at Mudeford is rated by a few. Thanks in advance oh wise ones. Sarah

We ate at the Old Spot last night to celebrate my birthday. Was chuffed to pieces when it opened on the site of the once okay local Market Bar which went downhill extremely fast when they thought £13 was good value for a badly cooked burger. Anyway, Wells is my local town and basically there hasn't really been anywhere to eat unless you felt like a curry (Cafe Romna - lovely) or some amazing fish (Goodfellows - run by Adam Fellows ex-Charlton House/Michelin star). So the Old Spot is very, very welcome. Arrived to be greeted by two nice glasses of champagne as a girl friend had dropped in earlier in the day to request them (so sweet!). I started with Chicken livers on toast, mushroom duxelle and green peppercorn sauce. Hearty, tasty, pink liver with lots of mushrooms. A really autumnal starter and it hit the spot. Husband had Steamed mussels with cider, thyme and cream which were good. Very small mussels (time of year perhaps? or just because they are sweeter?) with a rich sauce. I couldn't really taste the cider (for some reason I thought they had ginger in them!) but other half wolfed them down. Good portion sizes too - really decent amount of food for a starter. I then ate Monkfish poached in Pistou broth which was delicate - tasted very pesto-ey (word?!) and the broth was good, full of beans, cucumber, tomato and A.N. Other pulses. A light dish - good chunk of monkfish and lots of soup. Himself had Bavette steak and calves kidneys with red wine sauce and horseradish (and a large dollop of mash). Yum. Good, chewy meat very rare with a smokey taste and the kidneys were delicious. Again, hearty is the word I would use here. A lot of horseradish I think mixed with creme fraiche so it wasn't too strong. We had a bottle of Pouilly Fume something something (sorry, I'm not good with remembering the names of wine) which was perfect for my meal. He wasn't drinking much and anyway, it was my birthday..! He had a coffee and I had Chocolate fondant, caramel sauce which was perfection. Crispy outside sponge, oozing, gooey chocolate. I know it's been done to death but it really is such a star pudding. The caramel sauce was lovely too although there was masses of it. Total £62 which wasn't half bad. It's 2 courses for £20, 3 for £25 if you are interested. Also on the menu: Potato soup with duck confit and truffle oil Spiced aubergine salad Pork terrine Butternut squash risotte Fillet of place with samphire, brown shrimps and beurre blanc Roast partridge with cabbage and bacon and bread sauce Boiled orange cake with blueberry compote Plum and almond tart Red wine jelly with strawberries, creme Chantilly and pastry wafers Cheeses Can't wait to go back again. Maybe I should have a weekly birthday?

Laugh out loud - thanks for that.

I ditto everything that everybody says - I am 19 weeks pregnant and it is only in the last two weeks that I have been able to even read about food, let alone eat anything. Oh, and the smell of alcohol - BLEARGH!! I found cold food the best and also, as soon as I decided that I should eat, I had to go for it. Any wavering and the desire was completely gone. I really enjoyed mashed potatoes and peas when hot food was called for but the smell of the oven heating up was almost enough to put me off. My poor husband made lots of things that I thought I wanted and then ended up eating two portions himself! Good luck to you both - it does pass.

He is starting to take over the world....(well, the media/person-in-the-spotlight- right-now world) The Independent - Hell's Kitchen I thought last night's programme was so positively tame that it felt like a different show - and what about the gratutious 'Gordon takes off his shirt' shot?!