Sotto Sotto, Bath

I have to admit 'Trip Advisor' has become somewhat of a necessity for me when I decide to visit a new city nowadays, and whilst I appreciate this online search tool leaves some of the best restaurants and bars in certain locations (quite rightfully) 'hidden', I must say I have had some of my favourite meals at places recommended to me by avid online reviewers. 'Sotto Sotto' in Bath is one of those places.

I was looking for a restaurant in Bath to celebrate my boyfriend's birthday, so despite wanting excellent food I didn't want anything too fussy, and Sotto Sotto took no finding at all being number one on the review website for the city. It looked perfect, people were raving about the authenticity of the food, the friendliness of the staff, and the quirkiness of the underground cellar that the restaurant was situated in, so I knew I must book - and I was right in doing so. Despite being a freezing November evening, the Christmas market (which is phenomenal in itself) was on so I knew it would be busy, and rang at least a month prior to secure our table.

Outside of the Restaurant (entrance downstairs)

The restaurant is extremely central which is absolutely perfect if you're looking for a place not too far from the Roman Baths or cathedral, and very easy to find - in fact we kind of just landed upon the sign (see above) by accident! The entrance, as was mentioned previously, is down some steps and as you enter the rather inconspicuous door at the bottom you are greeted with smiles from all directions. The staff are wonderful, you can really tell that all of the people love to work there, and it has that very home-reared feel, in a very up-market setting - something I think must be a very difficult balance to achieve.

Although arriving some 30 minutes early, we were asked whether we would prefer a cocktail in the bar area or to go straight to our table and order food - to which we quickly replied the latter - we were cold, and starving, and the food smelt wonderful! So we were shown by the waiter through a rather dramatic corridor and arrived at our table within the spectacular dining room. The photo below doesn't really do it justice, they had the ambiance and lighting absolutely perfect, and it really was unique!

The dining room

The menu has a very authentic Italian feel, with plenty of choice. For starter I opted for the mushrooms and goats cheese with a balsamic glaze. I don't usually opt for the vegetarian option, but i'm a total sucker for goats cheese so it had to be done - and my boyfriend ordered the calamari so I thought I could pinch a few of his!

Mushroom with Goats cheese and Balamic

The portion sizes were really huge, and I can speak for all of the table when I say the food was outstanding. My mushroom had a slightly charred taste which complimented the creamy cheese and sweet tangy balsamic very well. The 'token' lettuce leaves, although sometimes unnecessary on a starter I feel, added a crunch to the dish alongside another favourite of mine - a scattering of pine nuts!Calamari was perfectly cooked, no chewiness in sight, and had a very light batter which is so important I feel with such delicate flavours. All in all, if the mains and desserts followed suit I knew we would be in for a fantasic evening!

Throughout the evening we decided we would try and work our way down the cocktail list instead of ordering the conventional bottle of wine! I think I tried 4 different ones, including a 'long island iced tea' (tangy and strong - just how it should be) and their creamy 'toblerone' inspired creation which was a dessert in itself! At a fiver each you really couldn't go wrong, and after our meal, instead of finding a bar in bath we decided to retreat to their bar and finish our evening there (more about that later)!

Swordfish Steak with roasted vegetables

All of the cocktails were really wetting our appetite for our mains, so when they arrived we dug in pretty swiftly. I ordered the swordfish steak (after working in a fish restaurant for 3 years in Oxford I know how easy it can be to make swordfish dry) and this was far from it. In my opinion swordfish should be pink in the middle, hardly cooked in fact, and charred on the outside, and this was done to perfection. The peppers were a nice addition to the dish, but I felt they were quite oily, however not enough for me not to gobble them all up in one fell swoop. I also tried some of my partners Osso Bucco which was so rich and meaty I had to go in for a second try (just to make sure it was 'fine' of course!!) and, as expected, neither dishes disappointed.
Worth a mention is asking the waiters for recommendations of side dishes...if I remember rightly we ordered a side of potatoes as mine did not come with any, however I think some options do, so it's definitely worth asking if they are necessary!

Finally it came to ordering the dessert. Now...the dish that the restaurant is known for is their lemon and white chocolate profiteroles. However due to a very bad episode of me devouring far too many when I was a child and being violently ill, I had been put off trying them again ever since.
On the advice of the waiter, and the persuasion of my table I bit the bullet and decided to give them a go.

White Chocolate and Limoncello Profiteroles

I didn't regert it. The picture doesn't show their size very well but they were really much smaller than I imagined, and, as the saying goes, perfectly formed. The pastry was sweet and light, crunchy on the outside and squishy in the centre. The inside was filled with lemony cream and was suited perfectly to the seriously sweet white chocolate sauce drizzled over the top. I polished off the lot rather quickly, and I have to say I think facing my fears has cured me...as long as all profiteroles taste like these ones did!


As I mentioned earlier on in the review, after completing our meals we had a long chat to the waiter and he suggested we go into the bar and speak to the cocktail man who'd be happy to make cocktails on request if we had one in mind, so we took him up on the offer and settled down for a couple more hours! This is where the staff really came into their own in my opinion, the bar staff were joking and laughing like brothers, and one of the waiters even made a rose for myself and a friend of ours out of a paper napkin - italian charm you see!

The meal at Sotto Sotto was excellent and I would whole-heartedly recommend a booking there for anyone visiting the stunning roman city of Bath, even if it's just for a cocktail and a chat to the staff, you definitely would not regret popping in! 

'Yo! Sushi' School

Sushi, or indeed Japanese cuisine in general is one of those things that I have really gone quite crazy for over the past few years. I love the fresh flavours, its' 'transport-ability', and also how it serves it purpose perfectly as a handy healthy snack to munch on.

My boyfriend and I had always wanted to have a go at making Sushi for ourselves (probably our competitive streak emerging if i'm honest!), so I thought for his birthday we could book into our local 'Yo! Sushi' and give it a go - I mean, how hard can it be hey?!

At £25 each I felt i'd got a really good deal, especially if you look at some of the high end schools in London pushing the £150 mark at the moment (clearly its a 'fashionable' thing to do), so I have to say our expectations were relatively low, however these were soon changed when we realised just how much sushi we were looking to take away with us - pictures to follow!

The 'students' (there was approximately 8 of us) were positioned around the conveyor belt at one end of the restaurant as to not disrupt service, and to start our instructor took us through the basics of cooking sushi rice (slightly different to the normal method - and somewhat more time consuming that our class would allow), and selecting the best fish to get the freshest sushi. He then showed us how to fillet a large piece of salmon selecting the ideal cuts for the sashimi (the meatiest part) and nigiri, as well as explaining that hardly any is wasted including the skin, which is crisped up and used in  rolls at the restaurant.

Then it was our turn, we had the seaweed sheets all to hand, the rice, and a smorgasboard of ingredients from sweet omlette, to crab sticks, and salmon, and all of the vegetables you may need to get yourself started. We worked through the book (see above) given to us at the start of the session, and made a variety of rolls, sashimi and nigiri to our liking. I have to admit, knowing that we were taking the stuff home, my 'offerings' were possibly not the prettiest, and instead stuffed full of as much stuff as I could possibly manage - but they tasted lovely!

My attempts before they were sliced up!

Once we had finished with the varying levels of difficulty the instructor sliced up our rolls (see above) so that we could take our 'lesson' home. As you can see, my initial concern about not having much to eat was pretty pointless. We were starving by the time we left, and couldn't wait to break into our FOUR boxes of sushi, however in a poor effort we could only devour about half of them, which meant a sushi lunch for me the following day!

From start to finish it was approximately two hours long, and I honestly didn't stop smiling! Whether it was at the fact another student put a thick layer of chilli powder instead of 'sprinkling lightly' as was initially suggested (and then regretting his attempt at being alpha-male when he couldn't swallow without choking), or my poor attempt at squeezing 8 crab sticks into a roll...it really was a great evening out, and something I will definitely attempt to try at home (we got our bamboo mats to take home with us, so that's one less thing to have to buy!)

Petrus, London

It's taken me a while to pluck up to courage to start this blog, so I thought for my first review I'd talk about a restaurant close to my heart - Petrus in London.
For my 21st birthday I decided that instead of opting for an almighty night on the town, I wanted my first taste of Michelin star dining, and after much researching on my Mothers part it was decided that Petrus - situated in the swanky area of Knightsbridge in London, would be the ideal establishment to wet my appetite.

Since our first visit in 2011 (I visited once again for my 22nd birthday and I mention both trips within this report), Petrus has moved to number 1 of 11,000 odd restaurants in London on the ever popular 'Trip Advisor', which in itself must suggest an experience unlike any other, and hopefully throughout this review I'll hope to shed some light into the numerous reasons for its many glowing reviews.



The Exterior of 'Petrus'

The name 'Petrus' - a Bordeaux Wine Estate, suits the interior of the restaurant perfectly, with funishings in Champagne and rich Burgundy, however the real show-stopper inside is the wine cellar. A circular vault, right in the centre of the restaurant floor, serves triple purpose, obviously it stores the wine from the extensive wine list, looks incredibly beautiful and also splits the restaurant into two halves making the experience feel all the more intimate.

I booked in for lunch both times I have attended, once eating from the A la Carte menu (which was £60 for three courses) and another time choosing from their excellent lunch menu (an absolute steal at around the £40 mark). Unfortunately I do not have photographs of all of the courses however I can assure you, that of the 6 dishes I have tried (plus lots of little extras, including the cheese course - well it has to be done doesn't it?), the food at Petrus has been truly outstanding.

Terrine of Foie Gras and smoked chicken with apple and toasted almonds

Prior to the starter both times we were bought freshly baked bread and butter, and an Amuse Bouche - on our initial visit we had some sort of pea veloute with smoked salmon - absolutely delicious (and even bought tears to my eyes) and on our second visit we had a crispy pork ball on a kind of tartare sauce.
1st visit: I opted for Pan-fried sea scallops with cauliflower, anchovy and caper beurre noisette. The scallops were cooked absolutely perfectly, and the sweetness of the cauliflower puree complimented the salty anchovies extremely well, it was like a party on the tongue.
2nd visit (see photo): I chose the terrine of foie gras. It came with a kind of apple sauce puree and caramelised nuts which as well as adding texturally to the dish, worked brilliantly on top of their homemade bread!

Fillet of Pollock, with broad bean risotto and pea veloute

Its definitely worth mentioning now that the service at 'Petrus' is impeccable. It was as if the waiters moved around you like ghosts, one filling your water, the other sweeping your table of crumbs and another making sure your napkin was retrieved from your seat and re-folded into its original shape before you returned from the toilet. And while this could seem rather fussy, they did it with such elegance that it came natural to them, due in part to the fact the waiting staff work as an extremely well oiled machine.

Another area where service was outstanding was upon arrival of my main course on my first visit to the restaurant; 'Roasted Vendee pigeon with creamed cabbage, pancetta and prune sauce'. I did not realise before ordering the dish that it would be hand carved at the table - but it was such a spectacle the distraction meant I didn't even think about photographs unfortunately! The food matched the surprise, being meaty and rich with a perfectly star shaped potato crisp to add some height to the dish.
I opted for the fish option from the lunch menu on my second visit (see above) and as you can tell it screamed the flavours of spring with pea shoots (my new favourite thing) a wonderfully creamy risotto, parmesan shavings and this bright green soup which was zingy with fresh herb flavour.

It's definitely worth mentioning here as well that this was a large portion of food! Both times I have been to Petrus the quantity of food you get to try throughout the courses is outstanding...and definitely not something I was expecting before visiting such a highly acclaimed 'fine dining' establishment. For this reason in my opinion Petrus is the perfect restaurant for people unsure of the sometimes 'mamby pamby' impression these kinds of eateries give. It never ceases to amaze me how chefs of this callibre can judge the amounts perfectly so that you feel just capable of a few pieces of cheese, and a dessert, without needed to be rolled out of the door, although you definitely will not leave hungry!

Pre-dessert - Passionfruit mousse with popping candy

We opted for the cheese course both times, which I am absolutely gutted we did not get a picture of as it really is unbelievably impressive! Just hearing the waiter recite them all and then tell you all about each of them in detail is a show in itself - but unless you really do hate a certain type of cheese, I advise just leaving it down to them. They will of course ask for your personal preferences, but both times I have tried some of my all time favourite cheeses just through giving them free reign, and of course it comes with homemade jellies and chutneys, grapes and crackers.

Prior to our desserts the waiter bought us a teeny ice cream filled with a passionfruit and cream mousse, complete with a sprinkling of 'fairy dust', it not only did a great job of readying our taste-buds for the delights to follow but also gave me a bit of a giggle watching the faces around the table when the popping candy started taking effect, something the waiters clearly liked to see too - really enhanced the, already lovely, atmosphere.



Banana Millefeuille, Caramel creme patissiere and peanut ice cream

The choice of desserts at both of my visits have been really impressive. This is coming from a person who really doesn't have a sweet tooth - give me a starter, main and starter anyday! However, as an avid fan of 'Banoffee...anything' I opted for the Millefeuille. It was lovely and light, although I did keep eyeing my mothers chocolate sphere (a dessert which seems to be a firm favourite of the restaurant!) and toying with the idea that I may have made the wrong choice, however the peanut butter ice cream was totally scrummy so that thought soon left my mind!

Vanilla Ice Cream and White Chocolate lollipops

To finish with food, a bowl of ice cream lollipops was bought out adding a unique and theatrical element spilling out dry ice onto the dinner table - something I will never forget.
Finally we opted for coffees, so in turn was bought out a miniature box containing little sleeves of chocolate each with varying strengths of cocoa, and pistachio and coffee macaroons.

Just to include a little about the wine list - it is absolutely huge (to be expected if you see the size of that cellar I mentioned at the start!) With prices to suit every budget, and an excellent sommelier if you need any advice or wish to have a glass matched to one of your dishes you shouldn't have any problems finding the perfect glass.

So, to conclude, if I was to advise anybody at all of a place to visit in London for fine food 'Petrus' would be it. The decor, and the service really gives you a sense of occasion without being pretentious or judgemental, and if you go at lunch the option of the lunch menu is fantastic value, especially considering you get a few little extra surprises thrown in.