Duke of Cambridge by Riverford, Islington, London

HONESTLY’S VERDICT
In a word:  Organic-gasmic
Food:  Organic, seasonal food and booze = perfect
Service:  Attentive, swift and knowledgeable
Presentation:  Clean and simple food-wise, rustic pub interiors without that eau de stale beer!
Ambience:  Buzzy busy vibe, but not overwhelming – which I love – you can hear yourselves across a table.
Location:  Tucked away down a back street in Islington, it’s about a 10 minute walk from Angel tube station
Value for money:  Starters for under £10, mains under £20, desserts £6 – regular London prices for beautiful dishes from top notch organic, seasonal, sustainable ingredients.
Worth a visit: If you like really tasty wholesome food, organic produce and to support ethical producers, then you must road test the Duke of Cambridge for yourself.

The Duke of Cambridge has to be my favourite place to eat in London.

  • Firstly, it’s organic as certified by the Soil Association.
  • Secondly, Riverford* supplies much of the organic and seasonal ingredients and produce.
  • Thirdly, organic booze = no hangover!
  • Oh and fourth, it’s a twenty minute walk from our home.

Perfect.  Yes, I’ve come to view the Duke of Cambridge as pretty perfect.  I love the fact that the pub focuses on serving up the best organic ingredients from an ever changing menu; from lunch to dinner, from day to day, and from season to season.  It doesn’t get much better than this in my opinion.

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Honestly Foodie | @ Daylesford

Daylesford Organic Farm, Kingham, Gloucestershire

HONESTLY’S VERDICT
In a word:  Heavenly
Food:   Organic, succulent and seasonal. Inspired flavour combinations create a lasting impression
Service:  Lacking a little finesse in their communication
Presentation:  Stunning- food, location, interiors, exteriors
Ambience:  Just perfect; quiet enough for a romantic meal, busy enough to not be over heard whispering sweet nothings!
Location:   We visited the farm and HQ in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds
Value for money: £50 a head for a three course meal with a few glasses of booze
Worth a visit?: Yes. Go now, flee the city and lap up the beautiful English countryside and the fantastic food on offer

This place is beautiful, I mean really stunning.  And the food…just delicious.  And organic.  And I had possibly the best dish I’ve tasted since our visit to La Chassagnette in the South of France in 2010.  BIG call!  The combination of the baked fig starter, company ethos, beautiful farm and the location made for one winning combination!

Need I say more?

I will.

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Baked Phyllo Rolls

Gentle Gourmet, Bastille, Paris

HONESTLY’S VERDICT
In a word: Génial!
Food:  Beautifully presented gourmet-style vegan, veggie and raw dishes, full of flavour and where possible organic ingredients
Service:  Attentive, friendly and great English
Presentation:  The restaurant itself isn’t going to win any style awards, the food on the other hand looks fantastic
Ambience:  The Saturday lunch time vibe was pretty laid back
Location:   A short walk from Bastille metro stop in the centre of Paris
Value for money:  This is beautiful food, well worth the €30 a head for a two course meal without booze
Worth a visit?:  When in Paris and seeking good vegetarian and vegan food, this has to be on your must-eat list

Gentle Gourmet came to my attention whilst searching for vegan restaurants for our weekend break in Paris, Fat Gay VeganVegan Miam and Hey Rita all mention this great little find.

Located just down from Bastille Metro, Gentle Gourmet is somewhere you go for the food and the food alone; the restaurant decor and the views I found rather uninspiring, especially on a grey and cold January day.  And people definitely do go for the food so I’d recommend phoning in advance to book yourself a table at Gentle Gourmet as it gets busy at the weekend, especially for Sunday brunch.

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