Aiden Byrne at The Church Green, Lymm

Silence was the first indicator that the food's great here.

The table across from us had by no means been rowdy, but a couple of conversationalists in the party were graced with naturally loud voices. Yet, as soon as the food arrived: silence. 

I recently travelled to Lymm, Cheshire, to visit The Church Green, a gastro pub owned and run by chef Aiden Byrne and his wife Sarah.

Aiden Byrne (second from left)

Byrne is famous for becoming the youngest person to win a Michelin star, aged 22, while at Adlards in Norwich. He also starred in the BBC Two programme ‘Restaurant Wars: The Battle for Manchester’ and can often be seen on MasterChef.

The Church Green is located within a stones throw from the beautiful Lymm Dam in the pretty village of Lymm. 

On arriving at the restaurant we were offered three menus; a Fish menu, a Beef menu (including a 25oz Tomahawk steak at £50) and a Bar, or Small plate, menu.

My friend ordered from the British Herefordshire Beef menu, a £26 10oz Sirloin steak with Port & Stilton sauce (£3 extra).

The steak is served with traditional grill garnish; chips, tomato, mushroom, watercress and herb butter.

The small plate menu is offered in a tapas style; smaller dishes which you are recommended to order 3-4 plates per person.

I ordered three dishes and requested that they all arrive at the same time; Roast Crapaudine beetroot, goats cheese and tarragon risotto (£5), Cheese and potato pie with Béarnaise sauce (£6) and Thyme and butter mash potato (£3).

The food was excellent, with the Cheese and potato pie with Béarnaise sauce being my particular favourite. The Béarnaise was so delicious that my friend stole some to go with her steak.

The portions are well judged, and my three dishes made for a good sized meal. If you’re particularly hungry then I would recommend opting for a fourth.

Feeling especially greedy we also opted for desserts. I had the Lime cheesecake with spiced pineapple while my friend had the Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream.

We arrived at midday and were one of only a handful of tables. Yet the restaurant soon filled up and it is clear that The Church Green is popular with the locals. Service was very good, and our waitress (Helen) was very helpful.

I am happy to recommend The Church Green. It is clear why it has been awarded its Rosettes. If my experience is anything to go by, they’re well deserved!

The Church Green

Higher Lane, Lymm, WA13 0AP

01925 752068

Luminous Landscapes: Spring Festival of Light

Last night I went along with my family to the launch of the Spring Festival of Light. 

Held at the Festival Gardens near Otterspool, next to the River Mersey, the show has been created by the Liverpool Lantern Company. This is the first time the festival has been held in the waterfront gardens, with previous events hosted at Sefton Park.

It was a magical evening which was underpinned by a serious message about the environment. Visitors see the world turned upside down. Humans change place with insects to give a new perspective on the natural world.

The aim is to raise awareness about environmental issues, such as landfill and recycling, in the hope that visitors will be incentivised to "reduce, reuse and recycle."

The whole show comes to life in the darkness with illuminated puppets, performers and light installations everywhere you look.

A secret woodland and waterway route transport you to a glowing wonderland. Everywhere you walk there is something waiting to be explored, giant insects, illuminated creatures and other astonishing sights. There was so much to see.

There are lantern-making workshops for visitors to make their own lanterns to carry during the show to light their path. 

The event is to be held across three days from 18th - 20th February and is open from 5.30pm till 9pm each night. Unfortunately the 9,000 allocated tickets have already sold out but the Lantern Company are hoping to return to Sefton Park in October for the annual Halloween event. 

If you have the opportunity to go you really should. Adults and children alike will be amazed by it. An utterly brilliant and unique event for Liverpool to host! 

The Lantern Company

The Monocle Café, London

While on trips away I prefer not to have breakfast at the hotel, choosing instead to explore smaller, less formal, eateries nearby.

On a recent trip to London I had a chance to visit The Monocle Café situated just across from Chiltern Firehouse on Chiltern Street, London W1.

Brought to you by the people behind Monocle Magazine - the global affairs, business, culture and design bible - and the Monocle 24 radio station (click here to listen), the café opened in mid-2013.

This is Monocle's second café - the first being in Tokyo, Japan - and it is clear, both in design and from the variety of food offered, that there is a strong influence from the original.

We sat at a table in the basement and watched the food being carefully prepared in the small but busy kitchen. Service is polite and quietly efficient.

I had the Avocado Halloumi sandwich, and my friend had the Japanese breakfast. Both dishes were well presented, tasty, and represented good value for money - especially when compared to some hotel breakfast prices.

The café is a cosy setting, with many nice design features, including a private 'lounge' area for subscribers to the magazine. 

I would have liked to have spent more time here but we were in a rush to catch a morning train at London Euston. We had just enough time to grab the latest edition of Monocle magazine and an Allpress Espresso for our journey home.

The Monocle Café is well worth a visit. 

The Monocle Café

18 Chiltern Street, London, W1U 7QA

020 7135 2040

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You may enjoy this interview between Monocle’s editor in chief Tyler Brûlé, founder of Monocle, and previously founder of Wallpaper* magazine, and the inimitable Karl Lagerfeld:

All images are courtesy of Monocle.

Mondrian London at Sea Containers

In mid-September of last year I travelled to London for a weekend away. I wanted a hotel with easy access to many of the main visitor attractions. 

The Mondrian London could hardly be better located. Situated on the south bank of the River Thames, the hotel offers easy access to the Thames Path river-side walkway and is within walking distance of landmarks such as Tate Modern, St Paul's Cathedral, Royal Festival Hall, the National and Globe theatres, as well as Borough Market, the London Eye and the Tower of London.

The art deco-inspired interior is beautiful. A big play has been made of a luxury cruise-liner theme, with a beaten copper hull welcoming you as you enter the lobby. Model boats are dotted around the hotel, and a large interlocked blue chain statue adorns the reception.

£100 refundable deposit lodged at reception, we were shown up to our room. We opted for a River View Deluxe Room. At 32sqm the room is compact but has plenty of nice little touches, including a Tom Dixon fortune cookie, bespoke designed furniture, mood lighting and a somewhat ‘individual’ splattered wall painting.

Yet it’s the view across the Thames to the majestic St Paul’s Cathedral which steals the show. I confess to having spent a good 20 minutes just staring out at the view, watching the tourist boats busily cruise up and down the Thames.

Though I didn’t get to use it on this occasion, the Agua Bathhouse & Spa looks stunning. The Spa has six private treatment rooms, including a couples’ suite and a private thermal suite. There are separate male and female steam rooms with rain showers, a spa lounge and curated boutique. Surely the most visually striking location in the capital in which to be preened and pampered.

Service at the hotel is faultless. I can highly recommend a trip to the hotels rooftop bar, the Rumpus Room, which features panoramic views across London. The dress code is smart casual, but I would suggest you dress to impress!

A highlight for me was a visit to the award-winning Dandelyan cocktail bar, which offers perfectly crafted potent cocktails. My personal recommendations: The Koji Hardshake (Mr Lyan scotch, Dewar's 12yo scotch, lemon juice, koji, cream sugar, liquorice bitters), or The Dandelyan Sour (Beefeater London Garden Gin, Lemon, Lime, Dandelion Capillaire and Garden Bitters).

Images courtesy of Morgans Hotel Group

The Mondrian’s interior is beautifully quirky. A perfect mix of style and glamour.

With its convenient location, spectacular rooftop bar, private cinema and fabulous spa, this hotel offers an excellent option for a leisure trip!

 

Mondrian London at Sea Containers

20 Upper Ground, Southwark, London, SE1 9PD

020 3747 1000

Paris - Part Deux

Following on from my recent post about having afternoon tea at the Peninsula, I thought I’d share a little bit more about our trip to Paris. 

Image by Małgosia Frej

Prior to my 30th I’d deliberated a lot about how to celebrate. My birthday fell on a Wednesday which meant that my friends would all be busy in work. I was adamant that I didn’t want the day to just pass me by without doing something memorable. A few weeks before the big day I was flicking through Instagram when I saw a quote saying “I want to wake up in Paris”.

And that was it, decision made! I’d been to Paris for my 18th and 21st so it made perfect sense to go again for my 30th. A few months after my birthday it was my mum’s 60th as well and so I didn’t have to think too long about who to invite with me to celebrate. 

Tickets were booked and Mum and I travelled down to London and across to Paris on the Eurostar on the Sunday, arriving in Gare du Nord just after sunset. The plan was to fill Monday will lots of sightseeing for my mum and the Tuesday was for my interests before waking up in Paris on Wednesday and then travelling back home to celebrate with my family. 

Once we arrived in Gare du Nord we hopped into a taxi and made our way across Paris to the Hotel Duminy Vendôme. It was easy to pick the hotel, I had one major requirement… that it had to be close to Chanel Rue Cambon (more of that in Paris Part Trois). 

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Source: Hotel Duminy Vendôme

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The hotel is perfectly situated in the 1st arrondissement, within a few minutes walk of the Louvre and the Jardin des Tuileries. It’s clean, contemporary and has a striking dining room. It’s very reasonably priced considering its location at about £110 per night (in contrast, the nearby Mandarin Oriental is roughly £700!). The bedrooms and bathrooms were on the small side but we had opted for single rooms and this is Paris after-all! 

As soon as we had unpacked, we went for a walk around the area, taking our time to admire the fabulous shop displays including Dior, Laduree and Chanel as well as visiting Pierre Hermé for some of his famous macarons. We walked to the prestigious square, Place Vendôme, to admire some of the most luxurious addresses in Paris. It is home to the Ritz hotel, where Coco Chanel lived for nearly thirty years, as well as designer stores such as Cartier, Bulgari and Louis Vuitton. 

We stopped at La Coupe D’Or for something to eat. It doesn’t get the best reviews on TripAdvisor but it suited us perfectly, perhaps due to the generous wine servings! We sat outside of the restaurant sipping our wine and eating chocolate dessert while watching Parisians go about their business. If you’ve ever been to Paris you’ll know that people watching is a sacred pastime. Tables and chairs generally face outwards so that each person can sit watching passers-by. After the vino we were ready for an early night so returned to the hotel ready for our early start the next day.

The following morning we set off to visit one of Paris’s famous flea markets. My mum loves antique hunting and has always wanted to visit the markets, of which there are several dotted around the city. We decided upon Marché aux Puces de Saint Ouen, a 20 minute taxi ride to the north. The market is held on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays. It’s vast with over 2,500 stalls attracting both tourists and antique dealers in equal measure. It sells everything from photo frames to huge pieces of furniture and is a complete maze, I don’t think we covered even half of it before our feet gave up on us. It’s also a bit misleading to call it a flea market. Nothing comes cheap (150 euros for a small mirror!). Apparently you’re expected to haggle, starting at about 50% of the original price, but even then it’s still expensive. We were also restricted to buying smaller items due to having to carry them back home on the train. I’d still recommend a visit though, it’s worth a trip even if you don’t buy anything. 

After the flea markets we grabbed a taxi and went to Basilica Sacre-Coeur. My mum had never been before and she was amazed at how beautiful it was. The Basilica is based on Roman architecture and took over 40 years to build. Despite the crowds, the view from the steps is the most spectacular in Paris, no wonder since it is the highest point at 130 meters above the city. Tourist favourite, harpist Hugo, was playing The Beatles Let it Be as we arrived. We stood together listening to him play while looking out over the city. We then went inside the church to light some candles. It’s stunning inside, you’re not really allowed to take photographs but I 'accidentally' took a couple.

We then walked down to Place du Tertre. This is a square behind the Basilica where lots of famous artists used to paint. Today, many artists still congregate and paint or draw caricatures for tourists. It has a fantastic atmosphere and you really feel the history of the area and of those who have stepped foot there previously. Picasso, Van Gogh, Hemingway and countless others lived and worked there. As you walk around you can see wall plaques identifying historic buildings and cafes. If you’ve ever seen the film Midnight in Paris, it captures the spirit of this area perfectly. 

Having navigated the steep steps and narrow cobblestone streets of Montmartre, all pretty with the classic lampposts and trees leading the way, we stopped off in a little restaurant for some pizza. Having topped ourselves up, we went on a little tour of Montmartre which has its own vineyard, famous cemetery and beautiful parks, not to mention the Moulin Rouge. However, I was eager for mum to see more of Paris’s sights and so persuaded her to head back into the city centre. 

We decided to take a boat cruise along the Seine which allowed us to see the main sights in one hour including the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral and Musée d’Orsay. I’d definitely recommend going on either a boat tour or a bus tour of the city. There are so many beautiful places to see, if you’re restricted on time it’s the perfect way to see the main attractions. Yes it’s a touristy thing to do but it’s touristy for a reason. Our boat ticket cost around 16 euros each but it was a two day ticket so not much more expensive than the underground and with much prettier views. 

Once we had finished on the boat tour we walked along the Seine stopping to view the lock bridge, Pont des Arts, and some more artists painting along the river bank. We then walked around the Louvre and the Tuileries. This part of Paris is really gorgeous. It’s has beautiful architecture with perfectly manicured gardens. It’s one of Paris’s only open lawns for picnics and was full of Parisians catching the last of the days sunshine.

We were exhausted from all the walking and sightseeing so went back to La Coupe D’Or for some crusty baguette with cheese, red wine and more people watching before getting an early night ready for the following day…