hornet

I can recommend L’Eglise for an informal meal. We went on Saturday lunch and it is a friendly local restaurant worth the walk from the many mediocre places in Brighton. None of us went for the lunch special but it was still reasonable at £68 incl service for 4 people with a bottle of wine and 2 teas. I had the onglet steak that came with excellent duck fat chips that are worth the walk by themselves. This corner of Hove seems to be on the up with the openings of the Forager and the Ginger Pig (both full when I went to try them). I haven’t been to the Arrogant Frog, but the prices are on a par with the unfailing Gingerman so I doubt I will ever be tempted in.

We went to the Waterloo Brasserie, a newly opened restaurant opposite the Old Vic. A couple of irritations. First they have some sort of system which means there is a large beep every so often (for service?) that was incredibly irritating. Then there was the side order issue that plagues many restaurants: Waitress: “would you like a side with your main course?” Me: “does it need one?” Waitress: “no” Me: “I wont then” The sides were £3.50 each which seems steep but I didn’t get to see the portion size. I would have gone for some green beans and then would have been even more annoyed as the main dish came with some unadvertised green beans anyway. I noticed that the steak had no chips advertised and so I saw one customer who had ordered some chips as a side and then had some unadvertised chips arrive with the steak (or he knew and liked chips!) The food, though, was generally good. My lamb shank (cooked for 7 hours) was melt in the mouth tender and the confit duck cassoulet was good. The low point was my fish soup that was too watery but the terrine was good. Puddings, a chocolate fondant and an apple and calvados pain perdu were both good. £80 for 2 incl service and a £19 very drinkable rioja seemed good value. Service, other than the sides issue, was good and they seemed to cope with everyone turning up at 8pm when the show at the Old Vic finished.

Article on Koffman at The Don and Bleeding Heart in this weekend's FT.

I would second Pintxo People and The Gingerman who have now added a gastropub, The Ginger Pig, in Hove (I haven't tried it yet). Also Riddle and Finns is good, but they don't take bookings and you may have to share a table. Due South does good seafood on the beachfront. Whatever you do, it gets very busy at the weekend so you should book ahead.

Thanks for the responses. Kitchin is being refurbished over the next couple of weeks and Martin Wishart is fully booked so we will be trying Fishers, Atrium and Olorosso over the course of next weekend.

I am going to Edinburgh in a couple of weeks and have not seen any recent recommendations for places. Has anyone been anywhere good recently?

I happened on this place last week and had lunch downstairs. An added bonus is that it is one of the few pubs in London serving Landlord bitter. I went for fish and chips (downstairs has a smaller selection). No-one else was eating so I didn't know what to expect and was in my normal fearful state of 'heated up brake brothers'. But I needn't have - big flakes in a light batter and good chips. Will try upstairs next time.

Does anyone know where I can buy argentine beef in London?

Can anyone recommend a suitable restaurant in Bournemouth for a large group (good food, not too tacky, but reasonably priced)?

Planet Organic stock Shipton Mill flour as well as some others. Robert Dyas have oven thermometers.

I went to the one that Bapi mentioned and got some great fruit. Tip - wear shoes/boots that you don't mind getting muddy. It is called Parkside farm and has a website with all the location and produce details here.

Wendells deli (in Cannon St and London Bridge stations) do great toasted baps. I think their bread is from degustibus.

Any suggestions of good restaurants in Antwerp? I am looking for 1 relaxed place and a more formal one for a group of 5.

The 3 places worth considering for a more serious meal are Hotel du vin (bit pricey but good food and buzz), Sevendials, and Quentins (I posted on this recently). I was also impressed with the vegetarian Terre a terre if there is a veggie you want to impress. There are lower end places that are good: The Eagle Pub and bakery is 'normal pub' food rather than gastropub poncyness (not a jus in sight), Sanctuary cafe serves (mostly) veggie food and Billies does the ultimate hangover breakfast. I'm sure I have missed loads but these are my faves.

The fish stall was good - I got some crab for a salad. It is fresh from Dorset. I would give this Sunday a miss as most stalls wont be there as it is Easter Sunday.