I am known among friends for having a discerning taste in food, so I list my recommendations here.
Restaurants
- Swansea, Wales, UK:
- Flynn’s Deli (££): a marvelous local establishment. Excellent bagel sandwiches (particularly the Reuben), a lovely brunch menu, and monthly events worth keeping an eye out for.
- Tim’s Sushi (££): wonderful sushi, I particularly like the unagi prawn dragon roll and the smoked salmon roll.
- Luigi’s (££): Swansea is fortunate to host many quality Italian restaurants, but this is the best. My partner and I have committed to trying a new dish every time we visit, and they haven’t failed us yet. A bargain!
- Thai Taste (£): excellent Thai food in Swansea Market, a very filling and delicious Pad Thai, spring rolls and a drink runs you £10.
- Grandad Needs His Medicine (££): fantastic sandwich joint in Sketty. Their cubano special on Thursdays is immensely good and faithful to the style I grew up on. Note that the restaurant itself is very small so one may have better luck having it delivered than attempting to venture in-person for a table.
- Cardiff, Wales, UK:
- Pasture (£££): worth a visit for special occasions. Marvelous chateaubriand steak.
- West Pizza (£): criminally good New York-style pizza in Canton/Pontcanna, adjacent to Chapter Arts Centre. Tremendous value. Also leave room for dessert: their ice cream sandwich with homemade choc chip cookies and their Basque cheesecake are both excellent.
- Taco Bull (£): for three years I searched high and low for good Mexican food in Wales. I found it here. Fantastic birria tacos and churros.
- Bristol, England, UK:
- Under the Stars (££): tapas on a boat! The banana cocktail was delightful.
- Taka Taka (£): massive bowls of incredible souvlaki chicken. A great late-night trip.
- London, England, UK (note that these are pricier than they would be elsewhere, as expected):
- Banh Mi Keu Soho (££): delectable banh mis. Watch out for the red peppers if you lack spice tolerance!
- Speedboat Bar (££): nice joint for Thai food with eclectic decor. The deep-fried pineapple pie was particularly memorable.
- Lutong Pinoy (££): great Filipino food. The sisig is quite nice, and the fresh-squeezed calamansi juice was incredible.
- Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain:
- Vinitus (€€): everything you’d want in a Spanish tapas experience. Lovely small plates, refreshing sangria, and a relaxing atmosphere. The squid ink croquettes and octopus were superb.
- Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
- Chez Marius (€€): come here for the best bœuf bourguignon I’ve ever had in my life.
- Bouillon Archers (€€): lovely spot in the city centre. I had the andouillette (surprisingly tasty considering its origin), and it was here I first sampled the delightfully-complex Suze bitter herbal liqueur.
- Pain&Cie (€): amazing breakfast. They have a breakfast deal for about €10 that comes with a basket of fresh bread with fruit jam and Nutella, a viennoiserie pastry, orange juice, and a hot chocolate. Can’t beat that for breakfast!
- Also be sure to try brioche aux pralines roses, the local boulangerie specialty from Lyon! It’s a sweet brioche pastry, with distinctive red streaks from the pralines mixed in.
- Walton County, Florida, US:
- Louis Louis ($$): their food menu is quite limited but for good reason - what they do, they do well. The panne chicken is a treat, and the Blu Lou cocktail is potent in the best way. Check the walls for a myriad of music and film posters from the past!
- Bistrology ($$): fantastic Peruvian breakfast establishment with an extensive menu. I particularly enjoy their filled croissants and fresh fruit smoothies.
- Pepitos ($$): this is the type of Mexican food I miss from the US that the UK just doesn’t have sadly. The chorizo queso and the “handmade quesadillas” (with corn tortillas made by an abuela) are mouthwatering.
- Burlington, Vermont, US (it’s been forever since I’ve been to these):
- Kountry Kart Deli ($): I believe this ranked #1 on a nationwide list of college-town restaurants catering to students. The praise is warranted; the “shiners” (breakfast sandwiches on a roll) are very tasty and cheap, and hit really hard when you have the munchies at 2 a.m.
- American Flatbread ($$): try the Medicine Wheel pizza with chicken breast.
- The Skinny Pancake ($$): ubiquitous local crêperie with a number of locations across Burlington (including on the UVM campus and at the airport, though the nicest location is on the Lake Champlain waterfront). Nearly everything there is nice - you may be enticed by the sweet crêpes but try the savoury ones too!
Bars
- Swansea, Wales, UK
- Prohibition, speakeasy on Green Dragon Lane. Open Weds, Fri, Sat late nights from ~8/9pm. No sign, look for the bookcase!
- Cardiff, Wales, UK
- Lowkey: in Duke Street Arcade. Nice selection of original drinks themed by decade.
- Nightshade: underneath Pasture (ask at the front desk for access). Fantastic drinks and a nice place to seek refuge from the hustle and bustle of Cardiff city centre.
- Birmingham, England, UK
- Fox & Chance: in the city centre. A lovely selection of house-special cocktails as well as an expansive classic cocktail menu. It has a cosy neighbourhood bar-type feel which undersells how deep their cocktail knowledge runs. Always a treat to visit when I’m in town.
- Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
- Kahala: lovely Tiki bar well worth a trip. Warning: the house Mai Tai is extremely potent!!
- Grenoble, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France
- Caves de la Chartreuse (in Voiron): a fantastic museum dedicated to my favourite liqueur. Really informative guided tour on the history side, and enjoyable even if you’re not as familiar as I am with Chartreuse. The bar at the end was lovely - I had hot chaud (hot chocolate with green Chartreuse, a killer combo) and a small glass of Green Chartreuse VEP (well worth it despite the hefty price tag, and will be on the lookout for this).