GOOD KAI

This appears to be Richmond's secret that perhaps only locals know of - a pretty good Italian restaurant right next door to the Carluccio's chain restaurant. Fancy that! Bacco Italian is located opposite the train station and just a hop skip and a jump down the road you'll find the unassuming Italian Kitchen. Like so many of the established restaurants in Richmond, this is another traditional styled dining eatery, although some dishes do have a modern touch. Inside the restaurant the dining room is split in two separate left and right areas, we opted to the right. It is intimate dining, meaning that you are close together and conversation is stifled by this but later on the atmosphere lifts as more people arrived and it turns into a fabulously buzzing restaurant.   Octopus Carpaccio Our young waitress was pleasant, the service was good and attentive all round, I mentioned to chic geek about it being a little chilly inside (we were close to the door) and they discr

Ladies Xmas Luncheon What do you get when you have a bunch of Twickenham grown-up ladies from different nations together in December? Couple that with great food and the odd tipple of wine? Yep, you guessed it, an evening filled with a cacophony of gossip, reindeer meddling and general mayhem....actually that's not what happened, well not much anyway :) Glogg - Swedish Mulled Wine Beetroot Salmon Gravadlax So I am a bit of a gym bunny and a while ago when one of my fellow gym buddy's suggested a xmas dinner I jumped at the chance, add a few more like minded gym goers and we had our very own 'grub club' of sorts. The gathering itself consisted of a bunch of gals from Brazil, Britain, Canada, NZ and Sweden - the event itself spearheaded by a generous Swedish host, Saga. She bravely opened her lovely home to us ladies to enjoy, and on this occasion, a pot luck xmas dinner. The Challenge? Each gal brings a dish that represents, to s

Andina Peruvian Restaurant, London I recently was in Shoreditch checking out a normally very lively foodie festival but on this occasion the event at the Truman Brewery, East London fell short. Thankfully due to the area Spitafields, Brick Lane & Shoreditch high street, there were plenty of places on offer and we were lucky to secure a spot at the popular Peruvian restaurant, Andina. Before then we hit another hot spot (and all day hang out) Forge & Co, one of the many trendy bars in Shoreditch, please note that some bars require 'hipsters be accompanied by grown ups'. I couldn't help but wonder if these folk in Shoreditch really understand how lucky they are to have a mecca of great restaurants and bars with loads of square footage at their disposal. I am envious but then I remember how beautiful Richmond borough is, it is us who are the lucky ones with our tree-lined streets, Parks and a riverside that we enjoy so much. Malt Lager All day eating