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City of London Hotel Review – Malmaison London: Like the Tardis, just not in a good way.

The receptionist sang along to the muzak while checking us in, which tells you…

nigelnoshes.com/2026/04/10/city-of-londo...

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Taplow Hotel Review – Cliveden House: Astor la Vista, Baby…

They once asked me to park my Renault round the back. This time I arrived roof down and got the red carpet. Two nights, two restaurants, one…

nigelnoshes.com/2026/04/03/taplow-hotel-...

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Farringdon Restaurant Review – Moro: Don’t go to Moro. Go today.

My biggest problem with Moro's Sunday lunch is that I genuinely cannot find a single fault. Nearly 30 years on Exmouth Market and the…

nigelnoshes.com/2026/03/20/farringdon-re...

Bristol Hotel Review – Hort’s Townhouse: Hits the Trifecta Two nights for the price of one, a room with a cupola the size of a planetarium, and the best hotel service we've encountered all year. Bristol's Hort's Townhouse is bohemian, beautiful and borderline ridiculous value. Just avoid the accessible room unless you enjoy showering the entire floor.

Two nights for the price of one, a room with a cupola the size of a planetarium, and the best pub service we've encountered all year. Bristol's Hort's Townhouse is bohemian, beautiful and borderline ridiculous value. Just avoid the accessible room unless you enjoy showering the entire floor.

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Ten Places to Take Your Mum This Mother’s Day in London

Because she put up with you. The least you can do is feed her well. Mothering Sunday falls on 15th March this year, and if you’re anything like me,…

nigelnoshes.com/2026/03/09/ten-places-to...

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Bristol Restaurant Review – Ragu: Very saucy.

A review of Ragu, the Italian restaurant hidden inside a shipping container at Wapping Wharf, Bristol. Superb lamb, great anchovies, reasonable drinks, and a perfect spot…

nigelnoshes.com/2026/03/06/bristol-resta...

Richmond Restaurant Review – Tower House: Towers over the Competition Richmond-upon-Thames is supposed to be the happiest borough in London. Recently, as a professional curmudgeon, I have been contemplating the things that make me unhappy, perhaps to parlay that into a political career (because it seems like any idiot can be a politician these days). Among the things that upset me are people who hog the middle lane on motorways (arming the police with Predator missiles would be a real vote winner), the fact that men no longer wear hats (although I look ridiculous in a trilby), and the complete absence of decent food in Richmond.

Richmond Restaurant Review – Tower House: Towers over the Competition

Richmond-upon-Thames is supposed to be the happiest borough in London. Recently, as a professional curmudgeon, I have been contemplating the things that make me unhappy, perhaps to parlay that into a political career (because it…

Stow-on-the-Wold Restaurant Review – The Old Butchers: Knives out, I’m afraid Stow-on-the-Wold is a beautiful village, even when it is pouring with rain. Traditional stone buildings, a town square, all of the trimmings of a typical English village, down to a Roly's Fudge, Cotswold Company and the original Scotts of Stow. It had the makings of a magical couple of days. We were very excited about trying the Old Butchers which, despite its name, seemed to be more of a fish restaurant, albeit with a large slice of beef on the side, presumably for the local Young Farmers.

Stow-on-the-Wold Restaurant Review – The Old Butchers: Knives out, I’m afraid

Stow-on-the-Wold is a beautiful village, even when it is pouring with rain. Traditional stone buildings, a town square, all of the trimmings of a typical English village, down to a Roly's Fudge, Cotswold Company and the…

Stow on the Wold Pub Review – The Bell: Hits all the right notes. Never play pub cricket in the Cotswolds. I have never been past so many legless pubs in my life. And for some reason, many of them are called The Bell, or the Blue Bell, or similar, so this pub loses an immediate half a star just for inconsiderate naming. In three days' driving, we amassed about 16 runs between us, and I think one of those was for the Fox and Hounds.

Stow on the Wold Pub Review – The Bell: Hits all the right notes.

Never play pub cricket in the Cotswolds. I have never been past so many legless pubs in my life. And for some reason, many of them are called The Bell, or the Blue Bell, or similar, so this pub loses an immediate half a star just…

Chiswick Restaurant Review: The Whistling Oyster – What a Mouthful… Chiswick is not a place, more a collection of roads held together by Victorian terraced houses. It seems to encompass about 90% of the land mass between the Chiswick and Hammersmith flyovers, with multiple competing eponymous stations (Chiswick and Chiswick Park), and roads (Chiswick High Road, Chiswick Lane and Chiswick Staithe to name a few) so it is ironic that the bit most people would think of as Chiswick is actually in Turnham Green.

Chiswick Restaurant Review: The Whistling Oyster - What a Mouthful…

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New post: Duff Boozer, Top Snoozer. What happens when "Fox & Anchor" turns out to be Cockney rhyming slang? 🍺🛏️

nigelnoshes.com/2026/01/30/smithfield-ho...

Emsworth Hotel and Restaurant Review – The Ropemaker: Knot what I expected… At the end of last summer we hung up our walking boots, vowing never again to walk the coastal path during a British winter. Every year, we pre-book a few weekends away and curse ourselves for somehow choosing the rainiest/windiest/coldest (delete as applicable) weekend in human history. A day in Dungeness last February really was the final straw... So, we didn't quite keep our self-promise, but at least we waited until the very last moment to book a night in Emsworth, hoping that the forecast of sun and no wind would hold.

Emsworth Hotel and Restaurant Review – The Ropemaker: Knot what I expected…

At the end of last summer we hung up our walking boots, vowing never again to walk the coastal path during a British winter. Every year, we pre-book a few weekends away and curse ourselves for somehow choosing the…

Kings Cross Hotel Review – St Pancras Hotel, Autograph Collection: I’m signing off… If you had asked me a few weeks ago what is my favourite, absolute go-to hotel anywhere in the world, it would have been the hotel located in the heart of St Pancras Station in London. If you have not seen it, it is without question the most striking and most beautiful building in London, the absolute epitome of Victorian High Gothic: And one that British Rail wanted to rip down in the 1960s and turn into another concrete monstrosity like Euston.

Kings Cross Hotel Review – St Pancras Hotel, Autograph Collection: I’m signing off…

If you had asked me a few weeks ago what is my favourite, absolute go-to hotel anywhere in the world, it would have been the hotel located in the heart of St Pancras Station in London. If you have not seen it, it…

Borough Market Restaurant Review – Mallow: Drama? Absolutely not. Being a parent is hard work, but mainly for your children. To make up for being embarrassing, lacking in self awareness and generally being a pain in the arse, I like to treat them each to a lavish birthday meal every year (Mrs Nigel is also engaged in treating them, of course, but she has nothing to make up for...). As discussed in previous reviews, #1 son is a vegetarian, and so all meals have to be planned accordingly.

Borough Market Restaurant Review – Mallow: Drama? Absolutely not.

Being a parent is hard work, but mainly for your children. To make up for being embarrassing, lacking in self awareness and generally being a pain in the arse, I like to treat them each to a lavish birthday meal every year (Mrs…

Piccadilly Circus Restaurant Review -Brasserie Zédel : Sugar Côted… I am in the middle of a dispute with one of the few places you can get decent French food in this country, or at least could, until very recently. As far as I can tell, my photo and description have been placed at the door and till of every Côte restaurant in the UK, with regular training given to staff as to what to do when tackling an unstable food critic.

Piccadilly Circus Restaurant Review -Brasserie Zédel : Sugar Côted…

I am in the middle of a dispute with one of the few places you can get decent French food in this country, or at least could, until very recently. As far as I can tell, my photo and description have been placed at the door and…

Malaga Cafe Review – La Casa del Perro: Well worth the detour Wondering where Nigel has been hiding for the last few weeks? Well, a friend of mine sent me on a wild pig chase... When I mentioned I was off to Malaga for a few days, my friend G, sent me a vast array of recommendations to eat and drink, spread across the Malaga area. G is trilingual (in English, Spanish, and I was told by one of his fellow countrymen a few weeks ago, Glaswegian), and so has seen Malaga from a local's perspective, which means some of the places were a little inaccessible to us (knowing 100 words of Spanish only gets you so far), but we were keen to try.

Malaga Cafe Review – La Casa del Perro: Well worth the detour

Wondering where Nigel has been hiding for the last few weeks? Well, a friend of mine sent me on a wild pig chase... When I mentioned I was off to Malaga for a few days, my friend G, sent me a vast array of recommendations to eat and…

Fitzrovia Restaurant Review – Riding House Fitzrovia: Fits somewhere, just not here It is not often you get offered two free lunches on the same day, but such is the lot of the famous restaurant reviewer. This is a story of one of them (the other requires me to break my "no noodles" policy, which I may soon be prepared to flex as I am a notorious tightwad...) The Riding House Fitzrovia lunch was at the behest of a very dear friend of mine, who used to work just up the road, and for whom this place used to be part canteen, part people watching space (as the BBC is just up the road, and part canteen for them as well...).

Fitzrovia Restaurant Review – Riding House Fitzrovia: Fits somewhere, just not here

It is not often you get offered two free lunches on the same day, but such is the lot of the famous restaurant reviewer. This is a story of one of them (the other requires me to break my "no noodles" policy, which…

Chelsea Bistro Review – Josephine’s: Maybe not tonight… Picking restaurants for other people is always a nerve-wracking experience, especially if you have not been there before yourself. Picking restaurants for highly sophisticated Americans with refined palettes and high expectations is even more tricky. Fortunately my (probably now former) friends were not that discerning, but nonetheless I wanted to make a good impression. So it was back to the Michelin Guide, as we had a very specific set of geographical restrictions to deal with, and it turns out there are not that many places recommended in the Guide "out West".

Chelsea Bistro Review – Josephine’s: Maybe not tonight…

Picking restaurants for other people is always a nerve-wracking experience, especially if you have not been there before yourself. Picking restaurants for highly sophisticated Americans with refined palettes and high expectations is even more…

Lyme Regis Restaurant Review – Strawberry Tree and Fennel: A Tale of Two Tapas… Had Meryl Streep not almost got swept off the harbour wall in Lyme Regis, it is possible no-one would ever have heard of the place. I was, I have to say, very disappointed when the kids failed to identify the famous scene from the French Lieutenant's Woman that Mrs Nigel and I tried to replicate on the Cobb. I took an amazing photo of her looking moodily over her shoulder, although the weather didn't play ball and was stubbornly (and unusually) sunny.

Lyme Regis Restaurant Review – Strawberry Tree and Fennel: A Tale of Two Tapas…

Had Meryl Streep not almost got swept off the harbour wall in Lyme Regis, it is possible no-one would ever have heard of the place. I was, I have to say, very disappointed when the kids failed to identify the famous…

Weymouth Hotel Review – Moonfleet Manor: Bit of a Pig’s Ear… Do you remember when children were meant to be seen and not heard, and actually, where possible, not seen at all? Certainly feels like my childhood, but while the modern world was catching up to a more inclusive parenting, 25 years ago many hotels still lagged far behind. I will never forget having to dress my children for dinner at a hotel in Corfe Castle (even I was not allowed to wear jeans, having had to purchase a pair of trousers in a local "Men's Outfitters" after Mrs Nigel made me put the dead man's trousers back on the rail at Oxfam), and watching the waiters lift "silver" platters from each dreary main course, charged at full price if I wanted the kids to eat with me in the evening.

Weymouth Hotel Review – Moonfleet Manor: Bit of a Pig’s Ear…

Do you remember when children were meant to be seen and not heard, and actually, where possible, not seen at all? Certainly feels like my childhood, but while the modern world was catching up to a more inclusive parenting, 25 years ago…

Copenhagen Hotel Review – Zoku: Wonderful, Wonderful. Just Wonderful… The Zoku is that good, this could end up being a really short review! I realised when booking this trip that while I have ticked off almost every major European capital on my list of places I have travelled to (and many more minor cities), I didn’t think I had ever been to Denmark. This turns out to have been a major oversight.

Copenhagen Hotel Review – Zoku: Wonderful, Wonderful. Just Wonderful…

The Zoku is that good, this could end up being a really short review! I realised when booking this trip that while I have ticked off almost every major European capital on my list of places I have travelled to (and many more…

9 Coastal Stops to Eat, Stay or Avoid Along the English Coastal Path From Folkestone to Rye, discover 9 coastal stops reviewed by Nigel Noshes - 5 worth the hike, 4 to approach with caution along the English Coast Path.

9 Coastal Stops to Eat, Stay or Avoid Along the English Coastal Path

From Folkestone to Rye, discover 9 coastal stops reviewed by Nigel Noshes - 5 worth the hike, 4 to approach with caution along the English Coast Path.

London Restaurant Review – Ochre: Anything but beige… Looking for a Central London Restaurant near Trafalgar Square. Get an (almost) excellent set menu at a really good price at Ochre.

London Restaurant Review – Ochre: Anything but beige…

Looking for a Central London Restaurant near Trafalgar Square. Get an (almost) excellent set menu at a really good price at Ochre.

9 Places to Eat (or Avoid) in London A curated list of 9 London restaurants, 5 worth visiting and 4 to approach with caution, based on recent Nigel Noshes reviews across the capital.

9 Places to Eat (or Avoid) in London

A curated list of 9 London restaurants, 5 worth visiting and 4 to approach with caution, based on recent Nigel Noshes reviews across the capital.

Folkestone Restaurant Review – Marleys: A big dog on the local scene I wasn't expecting to like this place. We had a fabulous meal the night before at Little Rock on the Harbour Arm, and the general rule is that for any given town, there is only one horse. Mrs Nigel had attempted to describe Marleys me to (unsuccessfully), and all I had in my mind was that it would be a local equivalent of Bill's (and that is not a good thing as far as I am concerned).

Folkestone Restaurant Review – Marleys: A big dog on the local scene

I wasn't expecting to like this place. We had a fabulous meal the night before at Little Rock on the Harbour Arm, and the general rule is that for any given town, there is only one horse. Mrs Nigel had attempted to describe…

Folkestone Hotel Review – The Relish: Does not cut the mustard Why does anyone go to Folkestone? It's an issue that this seaside town has been struggling with since the ferry port closed in 2000, killed by competition from its nearby neighbour, the Channel Tunnel. In recent years, a real effort has been made to promote the town as a destination, and as I will show in a couple of later reviews, it has managed to do so, with some amazing food, and the most beautifully reimagined "Harbour Arm" which has taken over the old Harbour Station where once you could step almost directly from the train onto a ferry (sounds magical, was in fact reasonably crap as you had to try to get a few hours' sleep on a bucking boat!).

Folkestone Hotel Review – The Relish: Does not cut the mustard

Why does anyone go to Folkestone? It's an issue that this seaside town has been struggling with since the ferry port closed in 2000, killed by competition from its nearby neighbour, the Channel Tunnel. In recent years, a real effort…

Staveley Pub Review – Eagle and Child: Shows a few Craics… I had more fun in two nights in the Eagle and Child in this delightful Lake District village than I have had in the pubs of Richmond and environs in two years. Perhaps we were lucky, or perhaps this is where all the cool kids hang out. You would not think of this pub as the den of iniquity it clearly is by looking at it from the outside, or in fact the inside.

Staveley Pub Review – Eagle and Child: Shows a few Craics…

I had more fun in two nights in the Eagle and Child in this delightful Lake District village than I have had in the pubs of Richmond and environs in two years. Perhaps we were lucky, or perhaps this is where all the cool kids hang out. You…

Portsmouth Cafe Review – The Canteen: A Little Tower of Foodie Power Portsmouth is not a place you go to, rather it is a place you pass through. You can get ferries and ships to all sorts of exotic places (and the Isle of Wight), but a little like Bilbao, it is not a place you really linger for any period of time. In fact, wherever you go in Portsmouth, there are prominent signs which direct you "Out of CIty": It is not a good portent at all!

Portsmouth Cafe Review – The Canteen: A Little Tower of Foodie Power

Portsmouth is not a place you go to, rather it is a place you pass through. You can get ferries and ships to all sorts of exotic places (and the Isle of Wight), but a little like Bilbao, it is not a place you really linger for…

South Bank Restaurant Review – OXO Tower Brasserie: OXO? More like OMG… Family legend says that someone had something to do with the construction of the OXO Tower. We used to drive past it a lot as a kid on our way "up to town", especially in the bad old days when moving from East to West was either a grim slog on a set of side roads that happened to share a name (the grandly-named "North Circular"), or a straight shot up the A13 into a 15 mile long traffic jam from Canning Town to Heathrow.

South Bank Restaurant Review – OXO Tower Brasserie: OXO? More like OMG…

Family legend says that someone had something to do with the construction of the OXO Tower. We used to drive past it a lot as a kid on our way "up to town", especially in the bad old days when moving from East to West was…

St Margarets Restaurant Review – The Crown: Still reigning champion I live in a terrible place for a food blogger. My nearest large conurbation is Richmond, and apart from a handful of reasonable chain restaurants, and of course Mignonette, it is pretty devoid of anywhere decent to eat. No 1 Duke Street has pretty good food (but appalling and appallingly priced drinks), and the Britannia just can't help being a pub, no matter how hard it tries.

St Margarets Restaurant Review – The Crown: Still reigning champion

I live in a terrible place for a food blogger. My nearest large conurbation is Richmond, and apart from a handful of reasonable chain restaurants, and of course Mignonette, it is pretty devoid of anywhere decent to eat. No 1 Duke…