Category Archives: Restaurants and hotels

A treat of a meal in Manteca, London

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“The trouble with eating Italian is that 5 or 6 days later you’re hungry again.” George Miller

It was a windy, wet mid-week day when I stepped off the pavement into Manteca. Instantly all was warmth, and relaxed chat.

Our table was in a long row of tables for two. They were close together, but the restaurant so filled with activity that there was no chance to concentrate on anything other than our own meal and conversation. There was also no looking around for service as it seemed to appear out of nowhere to explain menus and choices, and then to deliver the results.

We were happy from start to finish – part of the theatre that swirled around us.

The open, stainless steel kitchen runs down the middle of the restaurant, with chefs in bright white chopping and preparing and plating up the bread and pasta, the meats and salads, while kitchen staff carry tubs of vegetables to and fro.

Our choices included chunks of foccacia alongisde puffy pork crackling, with a warming, rich ragu. Next came a bitter leaf salad with gorgonzola and pear, and then two pasta dishes, one with a crab sauce and another in a sauce of emerald green kale with chilli. They both tasted fresh and delicious.

We ended the meal with coffee and some salty fudge, then stepped back into the winter reality of London’s streets. Our immersion was over. Our escape was over. Our privileged two hours were over.

Was it worth it? Definitely. We had enjoyed attention, theatre, and food full of flavour, with a quietly professional kitchen right at the heart of our moment in time.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

Slow travel, and the Brightside roadside diner

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I was asked today if I would go back to a petrol car? My instant reply was ‘no’. Of course, if circumstances changed I might have to, but it is not in my plan right now.

The reason the question was asked was that I was describing a trip I’d just done. Instead of three and a half hours, it had taken four and a half hours due to charging the car en route. It sounded frustrating but it wasn’t. I’d taken along work to do, and discovered the InstaVolt charger was available when I got to the pre-chosen charging spot. InstaVolt, by the way, has a simple tap and untap method of payment. After way too many stressed out sessions at charging points needing mysterious apps I’ve decided InstaVolt is the way forward.

Anyway, back to that trip’s charging session. The InstaVolt charger I used was one of a pair positioned at the end of a carpark on the edge of the A303 near Honiton. At the other end of the carpark was the Brightside Diner. It was my second stop at the diner, and it still felt cheery and clean so while my car hummed away outside I had a pot of tea, and some delicious pancakes with blueberries, yoghurt, granola and maple syrup. In the end I stayed for just under an hour, thankful that rather than being in the draughty, neon-lit, soulless belly of a service station I was able to sit in a warm, quiet space and watch the morning sun fall in folds across the autumn flecked fields of Devon.

That for me is the bright side of travel with an EV. If I hadn’t needed a charging point, I would have been in and out of a service station, hands full of petrol, head full of fumes, clutching a coffee to go.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

A meal out in a town I barely know

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Recently, after a day helping with a house move, I spent a night in a bed and breakfast in Cheltenham. The meal out that evening felt essential – something to restore us, somewhere relaxed, with good food, not too expensive, and not too far away. A quick hunt online found me La Petite Brasserie, and a table for that Saturday night.

It was an easy walk to the restaurant, energised by the music and chat pumping out of the pubs, all bursting with customers. Everywhere felt busy and the mood upbeat.

La Petite Brasserie was tucked in amongst a neighbourhood of small businesses. I stepped inside having no idea what to expect. My first impression was correct – it was very full and there were no tables free. After a little discussion, and cheerful rearrangement, a table was found, and the house movers arrived.

We settled in for what proved to be a wonderful night of friendly service, delicious extras, and beautifully presented, tasty dishes of freshly-cooked food. My starter was a small cheese soufflé served on thin slices of juicy pear, followed by a main of four miniature portions of different vegetarian curries, each served with tiny poppadums and the best chapati I have had. The wine, an American pinot noir, fitted in perfectly.

Two and a half hours later, after an evening of real texture and character, we wandered fatly back towards our beds.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023