St Malo was an easy choice for us as a little get away from London. I mean you could take the overnight ferry but we thought it much quicker to fly, it's just an hour from Stansted so we decided why not.
Langostine, View from City Walls St Malo, France
St Malo is located in the north western side of France and is a very picturesque old town secured behind the walls of a fortified city with plenty o' sea vistas. It also has one the highest concentration of restaurants for per area in Europe. It is really a foodies haven at the least, but St Malo also has a rich history and at one stage was a port magnet for Pirates. It also has great shopping with loads of pretty boutique shops.
Restaurant L'Acrage in St Malo
As mentioned, there are plenty of restaurants. They specialise in seafood and we were particularly impressed with one particular place called L'Ancrage on Rue Jacques Cartier (incidentally this road is named after the Famous French explorer who was instrumental in migrating the original French settlers into Canada). This is truly a great place to eat, its not for the faint hearted and is well suited for true seafood lovers.
Outstanding food, L'Ancrage - St Malo, France
The have fantastic platters of seafood, you can get all langoustine if you like or a mix like I did. They do a three course menu for 24 Euro which is an absolute steal because the quality and quantity is fantastic. Everything is fresh. I started with a platter of sea snails, prawn, oysters and langoustine - this is one of the starters - outstanding value. For mains I had a very basic moules a la creme and a sea bream cooked, scaled and presented to perfection in a lemon citrus and butter sauce. I can only say that it was beyond anything you get in London, the flavours are just so unique. It's one of those places you just really have to go there to experience it.
Cheese board part of set menu 3 course for 24 Eu, L'Ancrage, St Malo, France
To finish we also had a creme caramel and a plate of cheeses. Of course they had superb cheese on offer and as any usual proper French restaurant they come out with a selection from which you choose. L'Ancrage was suggested to us by our hotel (La Maison Des Armetuers) and it was fantastic. Eating in St Malo is something you will enjoy, there are loads of pastry places and everywhere does a very reasonable mussels with chips.
La Java cafe & bar, Quirky Decor with swing seats - See Video clip below
We've also found the shopping is quite good for foodie related gifts, they have a sweet shop entirely decked out in Pirate paraphernalia. We found the most delightfully quirky bar where you can swing 'til your hearts content. Not that kind of 'swing' but they literally have bar seats that are actual swings! They serve decent wine and its a great place to get lost in the heavily indulged and over the top doll lined walls and fittings.
Speciality food shops great gift idea's
St Malo is also great for getting out by the seaside and we enjoyed a wall around the town on top of the walled city itself. We had planned to try out the one Michelin star restaurant in the town only to discover last night that the restaurant was closed for the duration of our stay. I guess we'll have to come back another time..... Shame about that ;-)
Best performing restaurants in London borough of Richmond The Good Kai List is a list of restaurants in the London Borough of Richmond that are currently performing well. Uniquely, each restaurant has been visited within the last 90 days. *** -- T H E G O O D K A I L I S T -- Atithi Restaurant - Twickenham Jun 2014 Indian - ££'s The Duke - Richmond Jun 2014 Gastro Pub - ££'s A Cena Restaurant – East Twickenham May 2014 Italian – Gourmet Dining ££'s Jun Ming - Twickanham April 2014 Chinese Dining £'s St Margarets Tavern - Twickenham April 2014 Gastro Pub ££'s Recommend the burgers - Vennison Bouge at The Old Goat - Twickenham Mar 2014 Belgium Cuisine ££'s Go for the mussels a la creme and frites The Green Spice Feb 2013 Comfort Indian - £'s Cheap eats Aitithi Indian York Street Twickenham Jan 2014 Modern Indian cuisine ££'s Addesso Restaurant - RIchmond Jan 2014 Italian/Sicillian - ££'s Cote Restaur
Le Salon Prive Restaurant, St Margarets, Twickenham La Salon Prive (The Private Lounge) is actually a newly re-invigorated, and much needed refurbished Brula - a French Bistro restaurant based in St Margaret's, Twickenham for over 15 years. The restaurant went through an ownership change back in January (the former owners having connections with other Richmond restaurants, La Buvette and A Cena, as well as Covent Garden restaurant Joe Allens). The new proprietor happens to be the same owner of a very popular Italian restaurant, Bacco, in Richmond. Bacco is one of my top Italian fine dining eats and here's a review of Bacco here. Entrance to Le Salon Prive, Dining Room La Salon have kept the lovely glass stained windows but have totally redone the inside. Formerly the restaurant resembled something similar to your geriatric granny's living room - it might seem charming but it really felt like it had been under-invested, incidentally a similar theme also exist
Best places to eat Las Vegas! Las Vegas, I haven't met a single person who doesn't love this crazy town and although most folk may refer to Vegas as sin city, they'll be surprised to learn that the town we know it as now was partially funded by a syndicate of Mormon bankers post WWII. Something to think about while you enjoy quaffing down endless free alcohol while the casinos carefully lighten your pockets on the tables or pokie machines. I'm not much of a gambler but I do appreciate this city. It is so blatantly faux yet whimsical, its over-the-top, yet it feels grander and than anywhere else in the world and the food is on a level we don't get here in London - huge spaces filled to the brim with patrons and atmosphere and fantastic customer service you only get in the USA. So if you're looking for some of the best places to chow down while in Vegas here they are. Also, check out my short Vegas travel video below. Pancakes - Bacchanal Buffet, Caesars
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