Honest and blunt restaurant reviews from an experienced eater
My name’s Francesco Hornby, I’m a 21 year old culinary student at the Italian Chef Academy in Rome, Italy. Having lived in Rome for the last few months and returning to my home in London I’ve found myself with time on my hands as I wait to join the kitchen at Heinz Beck’s two Michelin star restaurant ‘St’ George’ in Taormina, Sicily. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and writing so this is my attempt to combine my two interests into a record of the places I’ve eaten and the thoughts I’ve had. These reviews are baseless, not qualified in any way and are almost certainly not representative of reality but it’s fun for me to type away on my little website so Im not going to stop.
Typepyedong – Exeter
⭐⭐
Rating: 2 out of 5.
Located on Exeter’s world famous Sidwell Street nestled in-between a bookkeepers and a vape shop this Chinese restaurant has all the trappings of a great local gem. By that I mean: a non-descriptive google maps entry, halfway frosted windows and cardboard dividers a’la Covid-19 to divide the customers who share their three banquet tables upon which the food is served. Sadly enough this spot was fairly disappointing, when asked for tap water customers are provided with a washed out Coca cola bottle, gaining points for eco-friendliness but losing significant polish.
Oftentimes Dim-Sum restaurants can successfully carry over 100 dishes on their menu but in this instance over 50 variations on vegetables, rice and sauce was somewhat lacking with their ‘phoenix’ and ‘sweet and sour’ dishes tasting almost identical despite being described as completely different dishes.
The saving grace of this place was that it was incredibly cheap. Twelve pounds for a hearty plate of stirred vegetables, chicken thigh pieces and rice is not terrible and reflecting this quantity over quality business model were the dozens of students chowing down around me.
Rugglestone Inn – Dartmoor
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 4 out of 5.
This independent pub in the village of Widecombe (not named after the notorious MP – pictured with me below) was tucked away down the hill of one of Devon’s Dartmoor tors, the quaint town was pleasant enough, WWII memorabilia, sheepskin mugs and locally made chutneys were the main stock at the village convenience store so that was obviously a massive bonus. In true locals pub fashion we were told to come back in 20 minutes as our table wasn’t ready, the short tempered barmaid did offer us entrance to the adjacent bar but the people inside looked like they’d just leapt off the Jolly Roger so we passed. Once we came back having been in purgatory the adequate amount of time we got started with their homemade chicken liver patè and battered brie. Then we tucked into the ham, egg and chips (a rare sighting in pubs nowadays) and their host-recommended steak and stilton pie. Both were delicious. Worth a trip if you’re in the mood for some seriously good, authentic British pub food or fancy a fight with a sheep farmer with one eye.
Photos from Rome
All taken on Canon 4000D with a 18-35mm lens
I am not great at taking photos, I used my sister’s camera as she’s a lot more arty but thought as I was living alone I should find a reason to go out and walk everyday to keep my spirits up and not fester in my flat so photography seemed like a good hobby to pick up.
Rankings
Whenever I move to a new city, which isn’t particularly often, I try and eat as much as I can in as many different places possible, in my two month stint in Rome I ate at over 25 different restaurants, never ordering the most expensive item and often opting for just a starter, if I liked the starter, I’d go back and get a main coarse the following week. I found the restaurants I visited partly through articles and partly through word of mouth, generally the restaurants that were recommended by romans themselves were considerably more relaxed, familial and hearty, which I think is the best type of food.
I’ve spent most of my life in London and surrounded by food, half my family are Italian, part of a culture in which food is the central uniting element of families, and the other half are very passionate about restaurants as my grandfather worked for British Airways, allowing my mum and her family to travel much more frequently than would be otherwise possible. The combination of these backgrounds meant I have always been around food and understood its importance for building relationships. These restaurants below are my favourites, partly for the quality of their food, of course, but also for their atmosphere, there has been a marked shift in customer habits in the last five years in London, likely due to the pandemic, it seems that the clean, crisp and silent service of haute service is no longer what diners desire. These restaurants below are excellent but not cold, they’re homely and inviting rather than daunting.
Sharp-Nosed Reviews 