Happy 2020 everyone! 🌟

December in Bath was festive as ever with the annual (but bittersweet, for many Bath residents 😌) Christmas Market, pop-up themed taverns, bars and street food markets. 

Although the magic (and madness) of Christmas has passed for another year, there's no reason why your January needs to be accompanied by the 'January blues'. Here's our roundup of some of the best interesting, (somewhat) educational and exciting things to do this month; all food or drink related, of course. 😉

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The butchers believe in quality over quantity when it comes to their meat and you can really tell in their products. With Christmas approaching, we were kindly given some items to cook up at home.⁣

The Kingsmead Square Street Food Market came back to Kingsmead Square from 29 November to 15 December this year. Filled with 18 different local traders, mulled wine, live music during the day and a DJ at night, it was a great way to sample different foods in a fun environment. 💃🏼

Now that the market is over, we thought that we would do a roundup of all the places that we tried while it was on. These street vendors often pop up at markets around Bath & Bristol so make sure to click on their instagram accounts (linked) to keep up with them. 😋

If you've ever rowed your way down the River Avon in summer, you may have seen the Bathampton Mill on the riverbank filled with lots of people drinking beer and lapping up the summer sun on the terrace. In wintertime, it's equally as popular with cosy interiors and a roaring fire. 

This year, the Bathampton Mill has a great three-course festive menu available starting at £26.95. There are different upgrades available including a glass of prosecco or champagne, cocktails etc, but we checked out the standard one.

We recently had the pleasure to visit the Gainsborough Bath Spa for lunch. The chef of the restaurant, Dan Mood, is critically acclaimed both locally and nationally and the restaurant has been awarded three AA Rosettes. Having tried it last year (review here 👈🏼), we were very excited to try the menu this year. 

The lunch menu has a choice of three appetizers, three main dishes and three desserts out of which someone can choose three courses [£38] or two courses [£29]. For large groups over six guests, there’s an option to share three courses between two people. 

As the festive season approaches, lots of you have been asking about special set menus in Bath. Comptoir Libanais is the go-to place in Bath for Lebanese food, and last week we got to try out their Christmas set menu. 

The menu is £24.95 per person and includes four mezze to share as well as a main and a dessert each. Here are our thoughts (for a review of their main menu, click here and here 👈🏼).

Situated just along the riverside is a fitness studio named CLASS. Having recently opened in February of this year (2019), it's a stunning location, especially on a warm, sunny day when you can sit outside.

CLASS opened a cafe shortly after, however, they've recently had a complete revamp and are now serving brunch every Sunday 9.30-11.30. You can get a main, smoothie and a coffee all for £9.50 which is great value.

 Everyone knows that Neptune Home is one of the most beautiful home shops in Bath (and the UK - a dream of ours is to have one of their kitchens one day)! What you may not know, is that in their Bath store is also home to The Provenist, a cafe focusing on breakfast and lunch. By supporting independent British producers, their menu is wholesome, nutritious and seasonal.

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You have probably walked past the Royal Crescent Hotel several times, particularly if you like strolling along the Royal Crescent. Earlier this year we checked out one of their restaurants for afternoon tea, which we really liked (click here for our review 👈🏼), but this time we paid a visit to the Montagu Bar for lunch.

The Montagu Bar has an all-day dining menu focusing on comforting favourites such as fish & chips, croque monsieur and a burger, while incorporating more unique dishes into the menu such as arancini.

We started with the tomato and basil arancini with tomato sauce and marjoram 🍅 [£10.95]

These were lovely - really nice and crispy on the outside, but soft and a little bit cheesy on the inside. Saffron was used to create this beautiful yellow colour and it was overall the perfect nibble. The green thing on top is the marjoram, a herb that added a citrusy flavour to the dish.

Sweet Little Things tea room and bakery is probably one of the most 'instagrammable' cafes in the whole of Bath. Having already tried out their afternoon tea (review here 👈🏼 - spoiler alert: we loved it), we came back to the cute cafe this week to try out their breakfast. 

With lots of different options to try, we didn't know where to start! In the end, we decided to go for a couple of favourites to see how Sweet Little Things did classic breakfast staples.

Ever since Beckford Bottle Shop opened last year in Bath, it's been packed. A wine bar focusing on delicious and unique sharing plates, it's always been the perfect spot to enjoy great wine and food in good company (review here 👈🏼). They had previously always focused on lunch and dinner, however a couple of months ago they started doing brunch. Having been to the restaurant for food several times before, we had high hopes for their brunch menu.

Unlike its normal menu, the portions are a bit bigger and you can order just one thing per person. Everything looked really enticing (and much more unique than the standard brunch options), but in the end we went for one sweet and one savoury option.

Well-known for its Sunday roasts and cosy interiors, The Chequers is one of Bath's favourite gastropubs. Back in the summer, we reviewed their lunch set-menu (click here for our review 👈🏼) and now that it's a little colder, we finally got to try their Sunday roasts.

Nestled in the hills of Box, just outside of Bath (20-minute drive), the Quarryman's Arms is a charming country pub with great food. Although it was bought by the Butcombe group of pubs a few years back, the pub has maintained its individuality and has even undergone recent refurbishment, lifting it into a modern space which retains the authenticity of its history as a local pub. While we didn’t see them, we hear that the pub’s four bedrooms have also had recent refurbishment and the team sounded very pleased with the improvement.

Whatley Manor Hotel & Spa is a luxury manor house hotel located just on the edge of Malmesbury in the Cotswolds, just a 35-minute car journey away from Bath or 1.5 hours on the train from London. With beautiful bedrooms, a relaxing spa, 12 acres of garden to explore and three fantastic restaurants, it's the perfect countryside escape to destress and unwind.  

Key Facts ✏️

Founded by a couple of Bath University students who liked making pizza in their spare time, Matt and Ryan decided to open their very own pizza place: The Smoking Chimney. Opening a couple of weeks ago, the architecture student duo focus on affordable sourdough pizza, served in the comfort of their very own garden.

As you walk up to their house on Coronation Avenue in the heart of Oldfield Park, you can smell the delicious aroma of the stone-baked pizza. When you get to the back of the house, you're given a warm welcome by the two students. 

We recently had the pleasure of visiting the Ivy Bath Brasserie to try out their new Halloween-themed  cocktails. They were originally created by the Ivy team to give a spooky twist to their menu until 3 November (this Sunday) 🎃.

Whatley Manor has become one of my absolute favourites not only in the UK, but worldwide. This summer, we were invited to check out two of their restaurants, Grey's Brasserie and The Green Room which we absolutely loved (the Chateaubriand is incredible - review here 👈🏼). This time, we were invited back not only to stay in one of the hotel rooms (more on that soon), but also to try out The Dining Room. 

With Niall Keating as the executive chef and having just won his second (!!) Michelin star, we couldn't have been more excited to try it out. Niall's menus focus on using high-quality seasonal produce to create exquisite dishes tying Modern British cuisine with Asian influences from his travels. 

Last night we got the first peek into Dos Dedos, Bath's newest food & drink establishment and the only Mexican place in the city. It focuses on Mexican food and drink, including tequila and mezcal-based cocktails. 💃🏼

Located inside Milsom Place, the Botanist is the perfect addition to Bath's bar scene. Everyone went crazy when it first opened. Already famous for its amazing cocktails, they recently launched a new food menu which we were excited to try. It's inspired by comforting food and flavours of home, including many winter warmers.

On the corner of Moorland Road is a new fish and chip takeaway, the Oyster Shell. With a lovely modern interior, this is a far cry from your typical chippy. In fact, it's sisters with the well-known and loved Scallop Shell on Monmouth Street (click for a review of that here 👈🏼). 

Dan, the part-owner showed us around the impressive kitchen. Everything is done in-house from the filetting of the fish to the peeling of the potatoes (all of which are British - yay 🥔). Fresh, quality food is a passion and priority of his. 

Last night we went to another of The Mint Room's supper clubs with one of the UK's finest Indian chefs, Saurav Nath, formerly at London's Michelin-starred Benares & Gymkhana. Named an Indian in Autumn, the menu consisted of dishes that exemplified autumnal British ingredients which was created a co-hosted by food and hospitality consultant Humayun Hussain. 

We had been to their Bombay Feasting supper club in Bath a few weeks ago which was absolutely delicious so we had high hopes for this one (read about that here or read a review of the Bristol menu here 👈🏼)! 

We started with an amuse-bouche. 

Charred chicory, tangy potatoes and sprouted beans with pomegranate, watermelon and sweet melon salsa, tamarind jelly, sweet yoghurt foam, nylon sev, vinegrated onion ring and edible flower. 

This was amazing and had such an array of flavours. The chicory was bitter but not in an overpowering way and was complemented by the sweetness of the pomegranate seeds and melon salsa. 

Situated on the A4 towards Box, The Northey Arms is a lovely pub in Box, around a 15-minute drive from Bath. As soon as you enter the pub, you're transported to a warm, cosy environment with modern interior and chilled music playing.

The Northey Arms is from the same Pub Company as The Bear & Swan in Chew Magna (read our review here 👈🏼) and is the perfect pub to visit on a rainy day when you're in need of some hearty food.

As you know, The Grapes recently opened in Bath. What you might not know is that The Secret Izakaya, a Japanese supper club, started hosting some of their Japanese food and drink filled evenings there.

Izakayas are Japanese local taverns serving small plates of food to accompany drinks with friends to make the whole event more enjoyable - similar to tapas in Spain! The food is normally shared to give everyone a variety of flavours over the course of an evening. These dishes can vary from the traditional to the unexpected and The Secret Izakaya has created their own version of this marrying an informal food setting with friends, fun and sake! 🍶

Apologies for the low-quality photos - the whole evening was candlelit which was super vibey and added to the ambience, but it meant that it was very difficult to take photos.

Time and time again we've been asked for Bath's best dog-friendly restaurants, pubs and cafes. Luckily for canine lovers in the city, there are lots of places to choose from - and why not? You should be able to enjoy a family meal with all of your family members, including your pooches. 🐕 

Here are a couple of our favourite places to eat and drink. At the end, we've included a couple of our favourite dog-friendly hotels in and around Bath just in case.

Bath Brew House

With both inside and al fresco dining options, Bath Brew House is great in the summer months when they put on summer BBQs with lots of drinks, food, games, music and sunshine ☀️. Not to mention, it has an on-site brewery perfect for those who love their beer. 

14 James St West

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@sophiaisobelhall's sweet dog Poppy at one of the summer parties in 2019

Last week we were invited to No. 3 Cafe in Weston. With empty bellies and just a 15-minute bus ride from Kingsmead Square later, we arrived at the cute cafe (map below).

We decided to order a couple of things to share between us.

As you walk into Comptoir Libanais you're instantly transported to a Lebanese bazaar filled with the most colourful lights, bags, teapots and brightly tiled floors.

Comptoir Libanais has been in Bath for a couple of years now, but it remains to be one of the go-to spots for Middle Eastern food with a strong focus on meat, falafel and hummus (yum - dream).

8e Chelsea Road has been running for a while in various forms. They originally served a whole menu and then stripped this back to focus on cheeses, charcuterie, salads and sandwiches while they focused on coffee, craft beer, wine and live music.

However, they recently found an incredible chef! So, the local favourite is now serving a daily changing menu featuring high-quality, simple and delicious ingredients. We were super excited to try it out so hopped on the bus from central Bath and around 10 minutes later were sat in the cosy café/restaurant.

The Mint Room is a firm favourite in Bath and Bristol for Indian dining with flair, providing a modern dining experience which is complemented by both traditional Indian dishes and those with a thoughtful modern twist (click here 👈🏼 to read our coverage of their new menu in Bath and click here 👈🏼 for a review of their Bristol restaurant).

We, therefore, were delighted to be invited to sample a new component of their offering: supper club dinner events. We were invited to a Night of Bombay Feasting at the Mint Room in Bath; promising Bombay cuisine with a unique modern twist. Saurav Nath was the award-winning guest chef responsible for the evening and has an impressive background, bringing Michelin-starred experience from restaurants such as Benares and Gymkhana to the table.

The event was coordinated by prominent food & hospitality consultant Humayun Hussain, who has worked as a journalist, on Television shows and as an AA Restaurant guide inspector. It’s safe to say we were in good hands!

Arriving at the Mint Room, we were greeted by the enthusiastic team. The place was packed, the atmosphere was buzzing and we were directed straight to the bar for drinks. The barman, Louis, was on hand to help with suggestions – he was clearly in control despite the endless stream of drinks orders coming through. 

Behind the Assembly rooms right in the city centre lies a rum lover's paradise. The Common Room is a tiki-style cocktail bar which makes creative, delicious drinks with over 100 varieties of rum. You may have seen our review of it last month (click here 👈🏼 if you want to read that), but this week we were invited back to try out their new cocktail menu.

We had the pleasure to visit Ole Tapas recently, a family-run, cosy Spanish restaurant located on John Street. Bath has a couple of different tapas places, but this seems to remain one of the city's firm favourites. 💃🏼

We were welcomed with two glasses of sangria [£6.95], followed by a variety of delicious traditional tapas dishes and drinks. 

Situated on New Market Street overlooking the water, Cappadocia has only been open for just over a month. The Turkish restaurant has a brilliant menu filled with typical, traditional Turkish dishes.

To begin, we had the mezze for one 🥣 [£6.95]

This included eight different dishes selected by the chef. Ours was a mix of tabbouleh, hummus, baba ganoush (eggplant dip), tzatziki, saksuka (a kind of eggplant and vegetable ragout), taramasalata (fish roe) and havuc tarator (carrot dip).

It was served with delicious flatbreads and juicy olives and was the perfect starter to share. We tried so many different authentic Turkish dips; things that we probably would never have ordered on their own but ended up being delicious. Our favourites were the hummus and the taramasalata.

Last week I went to NYC for the first time... and only had 2.5 days there. This meant cramming in the best of what the city had to offer including, of course, the famous pizza, bagels and cronuts in between all of the city sights. 🗽

This is by no means a "best places to eat in NYC" guide, as I was only there for 2.5 days. That being said, we went to some pretty cool places including some of the most famous ones, so here's my $0.02 (so American - I've always wanted to say that haha). 

Dominique Ansel Bakery

The birthplace of the cronut! A doughnut x croissant hybrid, resulting in a beautiful flaky doughnut-shaped pastry filled with ganache. If you want to try one of these babies, you need to get there when the store opens. Luckily for us, we were super jet-lagged and ended up waking up at 5am anyway. Once you get there, there's a list of rules to follow (lol): they're $6, no cutting the line (read: queue) and only two cronuts per person. 

There's only one cronut flavour which changes monthly. September's was plum and toasted almond ganache and it was absolutely incredible - buttery, flaky, rich and sweet. We also tried their pain au chocolat which were out of this world ($5.50). If you want to try one but don't want to hop across the pond to get one, the famous New York bakery opened a location in London a couple of years ago. They're very, very sweet so we would only recommend one max per person.

189 Spring St (Soho)

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On the corner of Walcot Streets lies a very unassuming restaurant, F.east at Walcot, focusing on Hong Kong and Chinese cuisine. Having recently opened in May, their aim is to bring fresh, home-cooked and authentic food to all in Bath. We couldn't wait to try it!

The Coffee House Project is Bristol's First Coffee Festival! Starting in 2018, it was set up by two coffee connoisseurs, Louisa Parry and Sofia Simou and after a very successful first year, it came back for another! You simply pay for entry, and then you go round sampling all the coffees from the different stalls. This year, we were kindly invited by Heyday Maté. More on them later! ☕️

At the festival, there were workshops, talks, free sampling, food, music and competitions including the baristas vs bartenders cocktail competition.

If you forgot your keep cup (reusable coffee cup), you could 'rent' one for the day for £5, refundable on return of the cup. A great way to make sure thousands of single-use cups weren't thrown away, which is exactly what we did!

Dough is a staple on both Bath and Bristol's pizza scene. What you might not know, is that its bases make it a little bit different to your traditional pizzeria, hence its name. The dough is made in house in the Neapolitan style by specialist artisans from Puglia to make for truly authentic Italian pizza - but there's a twist! Dough has 13 different types of dough to choose from, ranging from a classic sourdough to wheatgrass, hemp and gluten-free purple corn. Aside from the fact that they look super cool and a taste a little bit different, it also means that Dough has pizza for everyone, whatever their dietary requirements 🤩🍕.

We started with a couple of Aperol Spritz' 🍊 [£8.75]

These were refreshing and the perfect authentic Italian drink to hit off the evening.

Phat Yaks might be a familiar establishment to those acquainted with the central Bath food scene. Situated in Kingsmead square, it’s the sister café to the Yak Yeti Yak restaurant and offers eat in and takeaway Nepalese street food. 🇳🇵

This energetic café overlooks the hustle and bustle of Kingsmead Square and has so much to offer. From freshly made curry, Buddha bowls and vegan delights to speciality coffee and lassi (Nepalese milkshakes), Phat Yaks is well worth a visit if you are looking for lunch in Bath.

Bath is full of fantastic romantic restaurants and bars. With low, ambient lighting and a killer drinks list to match, lots of these would be absolutely perfect for a first date. We've included both restaurants, bars in here so that you have a range of options to pick from. Have fun on your date! 

Beckford Bottle Shop 🍴🍷

A modern wine bar with a menu consisting of sharing plates that changes on a regular basis to ensure the freshest, most seasonal ingredients. Order a couple of plates to share, get a few glasses of wine and chat away in a cosy and dimly lit restaurant. This is one of our all-time favourites in Bath and we would highly recommend the chocolate mousse. Click here for our full review.

5-8 Saville Row

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Last week we joined the self-proclaimed gin connoisseur and head-barman, Ian, at No. 15 for an evening of gin tasting with Pixie App.

We got a breakdown of the different styles of gin along with an explanation of which and why each botanical is used in the chosen chosen. We also learnt how gin is distilled before trying all of the different gin combinations - the best way to learn, of course 😉.

Kingsmead Square is one of my favourite spots in Bath, with such an eclectic mix of independents, something very different to the 'main' city centre itself which is becoming dominated by chains. Next to Society Cafe, you may have noticed a fabulous underground bar named 'The Dark Horse'. 

If you want to support your local economy and businesses, the Dark Horse is an excellent place to do so. In fact, they couldn't really be any more independent and local if they tried. The menu has several local products and ingredients from English wines and South West beers, to some fruits and herbs which have been "foraged from the lush and bountiful hills that surround this fine city". Even some of the furniture has been sourced by antique dealers in Bath, or created by the owner himself. 

Fish, seafood, piri piri chicken and pastel de nata all might come to mind when you think of food on the Algarve in Portugal. For the last two weeks, I've been on holiday in Vale do Lobo. Other than soaking up the sun, I've also been indulging in some of the *best* fish I've ever had! 🐟

Bath Sushi is located just outside of the city centre on Lower Bristol Road. If you have ever heard of Bath Sushi before, you probably know it as a takeaway sushi place or somewhere that pops up on Deliveroo if you search for 'sushi' in the area.

I used to order from this place all the time back when I was a university student living in Oldfield Park, but I had never eaten there before. Until now! We decided to go for a range of different dishes to try out all that they had to offer, rather than sticking to the usual hosomaki mini rolls of salmon and avocado.

The California Roll (crab meat, cucumber, avocado, fish roe and mayo) 🦀🥑 [£5.50 for 4 pieces]

Salmon Cream Cheese Roll (salmon, avocado, cucumber, omelette, mayo and cheese) 🍳🧀 [£6.60 for 4 pieces]

Both of these tasted amazing! Both the rice and the fish were super fresh, and the rolls were very flavourful. You could tell that these were freshly made with high-quality ingredients. All of the flavours complemented each other perfectly, and we especially loved the combination of the salmon and cream cheese. It's a love/hate one, but it was one of our favourites.

The Mint Room is one of Bath and Bristol's favourite Indian restaurants, marrying classic Indian dishes with a modern twist to create a high-end dining experience. The Mint Room's Executive Chef, Saravanan Nambirajan, has a Michelin-rated background which shines through the meals.

The Mint Room has recently rolled out their new menu (click here for coverage of the menu tasting in Bath 👈🏼) and this time we were invited to try it out properly in Bristol! When we entered the restaurant, we were greeted and offered drinks in the light and airy bar area whilst we waited for our table.

After driving 25 minutes out of Bath and into the countryside, we arrived at the picturesque Corsham, an idyllic town just outside of the Cotswolds. Situated right on the high street is Mother & Wild, a quaint restaurant, cafe and bar, which was packed considering that it was a Tuesday evening. 

Mother & Wild focuses on wood-fired sourdough pizza and sharing plates, creating the perfect atmosphere for friends, family and loved ones to catch up over a variety of delicious food in a non-pretentious environment. We couldn't wait to get stuck in! 

The Curious Kitchen is a new restaurant at the Aztec Hotel & Spa in Bristol. The menu changes four times each year to make sure that the most fresh and seasonal ingredients are used to create delicious and innovative dishes. To celebrate their new menu and restaurant, we were kindly invited down to try it out.

Tucked away behind the Assembly Rooms and the Fashion Museum, you will find The Common Room, a fun and quirky cocktail bar with an exotic interior.

Spoiler alert: after going, we've decided that it's one of Bath's best bars. 

Sweet Little Things tea room and bakery is centrally located, just next to Southgate, and is probably the most 'instagrammable' cafe in the whole of Bath. They offer breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and a selection of sweet little things, as the name would suggest. 😉

When walking up to the cafe, the beautiful flower-adorned décor immediately catches your eye. The place is very girly, cheerful and flowery. The pink flower wall with the neon sign is definitely the cherry on top, and for some it might be *too* girly, but we love it! It's something a little bit different in our city. 🌸

Today, we went to Sweet Little Things to try out their classic afternoon tea 🧁 [£16.95 per person].

If you have ever passed the Kingsmead Square area at lunch time, you will probably have seen a massive queue outside Chaiwalla and lots of happy customers leaving the place with a warm wrap in their hands and a massive smile on their face. 

If you're looking for a new lunchtime spot, love Indian food, or are curious about what all those people are eating and why they look so happy, keep reading. 👀