Cafe 404 (Not Found) made me feel like a punk-rocker from the 1970s. It made me feel like an 11 year old living through her emo phase and loving every second of it. And that was before I even walked through the door. Photo courtesy of Google Maps It had plants everywhere. Distressed walls, edgy …
Author Archives: virginiagcampbell
The Good Egg
Kingly Court, Ground Floor, Kingly St, London W1B 5PW Carnaby Street. A sunny day. A beautiful square filled with flowers and smiling people. Already this combination is a recipe for a successful day. Follow that starter with the actual recipes used in The Good Egg, and you’ve reached a climatic moment. The menu at TGE …
Brozen Bar
43 St Nicholas St, Bristol BS1 1TP Once the first rays of sunshine begin to appear over British soil, you can be sure of two things. One, ice-cream trucks will be in abundance. Two, day drinking is deemed to be more than acceptable. What a joy then, to have somewhere that effortlessly combines the two, …
The Ivy
St. John’s Wood branch I am a firm advocate of trying independent restaurants and cafes. Chains are often guilty of becoming amusement parks with universal expectations of mediocrity and over-priced fun. They are the dodgem ride you pay a fiver for only to find out that the ride lasts 30 seconds and would be better …
HUMAN FOOD nutrition bar
https://humanfood.coop Forgive me for being presumptuous, but a food product with specific instructions as to whom it should be eaten by is markedly suspicious. Is it so far removed from normalcy that it needs confirming that it is indeed edible? Have our politics finally desensitised our brains to the English language? Thankfully, not quite (though …
Mary Jane’s Coffee
50 Whiteladies Rd, Bristol BS8 2NH Bristol is progressive. It’s ‘hip’, it’s forward thinking, it’s the embodiment of a screaming toddler trying to escape from the confines of its high chair. Why I was surprised when a CBD cafe opened up on Whiteladies Road therefore, I don’t know. Perhaps because I didn’t really understand what …
Machiya
5 Panton St, London SW1Y 4DL A sweet and sticky Pan-Asian paintbrush has often been brushed over the diverse dishes hailing from the continent. Anglicised interpretations have been more detrimental than good: flavours are often emphasised to suit an oft-crude British pallette. It is so refreshing then, to visit a restaurant which basks in its …
Pasta Ripiena
33 St Stephens Street, Bristol, BS1 1JX This is the second time I’ve visited Pasta Ripiena, and, somewhat incredibly, the second time I’ve been wholeheartedly blown away by the standard of…well, everything. There are limited words that will do justice to this establishment; alas, I shall try. Having visited the restaurant for both dinner, and …
ANNA Cake Couture
7A Boyce’s Ave, Bristol BS8 4AA The aesthetic of this little cake shop was what first drew me in. Stunning countertops of perfectly formed, delightfully bright squares of cake – or as they’re patented: ‘cubicakes’. The bright, plant filled seating area was just as successful at creating an ambiance of peace and indulgence. To uphold …
Just a Taster 