Lobster Ravioli Lobster Ravioli

Delicate pasta filled with rich lobster meat, served in a creamy sauce with hints of garlic and herbs.

The Italia At The Hope Anchor

The Italia At The Hope Anchor

Northumberland Street, Alnmouth I-NE66 2RA, United Kingdom

Cafés • Pizza • Italian • European


"On the plus side Hope Anchor has a great location, central to the Main Street though parking can be a challenge. The hotel accommodation was clearly refurbished a few years ago, to a good standard though today, is tired and poorly maintained. The whole venue smells greasy, and the carpet on the stairs landing is dirty. Our room Sandpiper has good furniture and a good standard of decor. The mattress is past worn, and the pillows unbelievably thin. I used the cushions in addition though these were very smelly and in need of a wash. Windows were dirty on the inside and we wrote ‘clean me’ in the dust on the toilet brush, on the bathroom bin lid and a window. The heated towel rail was also very dusty. And hot, unable to be turned down. Lots of black mould in the shower, and the large amount of silicone used to seal the floor/wall appeared to have been applied blindfolded. Marcus who was super busy all the time was excellent and helpful, the remaining staff less so. That behind the bar is a sign saying ‘if you are on your phone you have time to clean’ perhaps says something of the culture. I tried to engage a bar staff member in conversation on a quiet afternoon, to no avail. Food evening in the restaurant was good, though service stretched with multiple takeaway orders, no matter as we were in no rush. Our steak, mussels apple tart were enjoyable. Breakfast was a different experience a choice of cereals and juice were missing any yoghurt or fruit. We asked if an omelette was available but alas, no as there was no prep for one (we were the only guests in the room) so we ordered full cooked. Bacon was good, as were the black pudding and mushroom. Hash brown was greasy, beans lukewarm, scrambled eggs full of pepper, and a garlic covered tomatoes were an unwelcome surprise. The sausages were pink, looked like they had been warmed on a radiator. Day 2 we ate cereal and toast. Rooms: Sandpiper in need of a deep clean, would struggle to be 4th on Four in a Bed Food drinks: Good evening food, breakfast same chef, very poor. One guest on the next table ordered Eggs Benedict though with little Hollandaise , it arrived drenched."

San Carlo Bristol

San Carlo Bristol

44 Corn Street, BS1 1HQ, Bristol, City of, United Kingdom

Pizza • Seafood • European • Vegetarian


"A long established and popular restaurant on the popular Corn Street strip, this certainly has something of a bling factor to it and appears to be a bit of a celebrity hangout going on all the pictures on the walls. Although I did not study them, I did notice Tom Jones amongst them. The menu is very comprehensive and there should be something to suit all tastes, no matter what your preferences are. That said, the drinks choice was very disappointing, with nothing on tap and no beers at all, so I had to settle for a lager and even these were only available in small 330ml bottles. Service too seemed a little slow, we had chosen what we wanted for quite some time before anyone came back to take our order. I opted for the Ravioli all'Astice, ravioli filled with lobster and crab meat in a light creamy and pink peppercorn sauce. First impressions were that it was quite small, I think there were just three, or maybe four ravioli served up on an oblong plate. They were of course somewhat bigger than the usual ravioli that you might be used to, but even so, it seemed more like a starter than a main course. That said, it was certainly quite tasty and I enjoyed what there was of it. For desert I went for the Meringata alle Fragole, their “amazing” meringue cake with strawberries, although on this occasion the waiter advised that it was actually with maraschino cherries. I wasn’t too sure about this having been looking forward to some sort of Eton Mess type dish, but I needn’t have worried, the cherries were lovely and sweet and probably far nicer than strawberries would have been. The meringue cake too was very tasty, the meringue wasn’t really that obvious it was just crumbled up in amongst the other ingredients, but the overall result was certainly amazing as promised. Overall then, a bit of a mixed bag. A real buzzy atmosphere, friendly staff and tasty food, but slow service and small portions, at least for the main course, and a very poor drinks selection."