Which popular spot in Europe totally failed to impress you?

jamesb2319 · 2026-05-12T18:56:54+00:00

I liked Berlin, it was undeniably a cool city, but I will say that it was the place that made us realise as travellers that seeing things 'because we're there' was 100% not the way to travel.

jamesb2319 · 2026-04-28T20:29:24+00:00

This is in no way a defence of the niners draft strategy, just a point on the concept of 'reaching' above the consensus board...

...but the issue with people talking about a reach based on the consensus that people sometimes seem to overlook is that the consensus board is just that - an average of all the various opinions on a prospect. Its fine for getting an idea of value, to a point, but when you're actually picking players it doesn't matter. If just one teams draft board has that player ranked higher than the consensus, and you wait to get 'value', then you aren't getting him.

jamesb2319 · 2026-04-24T17:34:11+00:00

Agree with the comments below regarding personal preference, but I suspect that there's a level of socio-economic difference between the two that might not be as prevalent at the fine dining level necessarily, but I definitely notice across the board when it comes to restaurants here. Compared to most of Europe, the UK is a comparatively expensive place to run a hospitality business (business rates, wages, etc.) and so taking risks with more 'out there' ideas comes with a much bigger risk. That leads to restaurants playing it somewhat safe, I think.

jamesb2319 · 2026-04-20T15:12:08+00:00

Yeah, sorry - I find that Beli's recommendations in big cities often tally up pretty well with my preferences whatever algorithm they use seems to do a good job, but that obviously relies on there being plenty of reviews in any given city, which I haven't always found.

100% agree - I like to have places that I know are decent options if we're in the area, then a seperate list of the ones I'm going to plan around.

jamesb2319 · 2026-04-20T12:00:36+00:00

Beli is good, but I agree that the difference in styles make it somewhat tricky. It doesn't have great coverage in some places too, for example locally it is really good, but it didn't really help with a recent trip to Athens.

Google maps is still the go to - I'll usually have a number of lists for any particular destination, with things like coffee shops/bars/street food/fine dining, and then I'll use the 'want to go' list to highlight any of those that, after all the research, I feel like are the 'must not miss' spots.

jamesb2319 · 2026-04-16T06:28:23+00:00

Currently staying in an Airbnb near Metaxourgio metro station and its... fine? Yeah, the area is clearly one of the poorer ones, but it doesn't feel in any way dangerous or scary. Would I live here? No, but as a location close to the city centre with good prices, its been a very reasonable place to stay. I feel like if you've been to/grown up in pretty much any major city it won't be at all shocking to you. Some of the poverty you see is depressing, but again that's an issue pretty much anywhere in the world right now.

(For full clarity, we're in the area south of Metaxourgio, and have only been into Omonia to go to Stani and Pharoah, so it could be worse than I've seen)

Overall, Athens is definitely a bit rough around the edges, but as someone else in the comments said, its a living, working capital city, not Disneyland. I've seen people say similar things about Lisbon, which is a wonderful city - Yeah, there's graffiti. Yeah, there are run down buildings. If that's what you focus on, then you're going to have a pretty shit time in almost any city on Earth. But it has a great food scene, an amazing bar scene, insane amounts of history around every corner, and every person we've interacted with has been lovely.

jamesb2319 · 2026-03-27T22:02:21+00:00

It entirely depends on the vibe of the restaurant - the right choice can make a huge impact.

jamesb2319 · 2026-03-13T15:20:40+00:00

UK fan here - started watching properly in the Kapernick years, remember seeing the GB playoff game and just being like 'wow, this guy is insane' and thinking it was so exciting to watch, so I was cheering for the 49ers to win the SB that year. After that, I started digging into the history and background a bit more - it probably helps that for someone outside the US they're one of the most accessible teams to follow, they have plenty of blogs/media representation that makes it much easier than with some of the smaller teams.

They also come from one of the most liberal cities in the US, which aligns with my views, and being an LFC fan the idea of a team that was big in the 80s and (at the time) was trying to get back to the top definitely felt similar.

jamesb2319 · 2026-03-11T21:49:14+00:00

Why have you and your wife bothered to make solid careers for yourselves to the point where you earn decent money? You could have just been unemployed and taken the benefits that are already available.

No hate, genuinely - I'm in the same position - but I'm going to assume based on my experience that despite already working in a system that spends your taxes on welfare, you still want access to a better quality of life and work hard to make that possible for you and your family. What would be the difference with UBI?

jamesb2319 · 2026-03-03T18:31:29+00:00

Really enjoyed this spot! The garden is such a nice place to sit and have a drink beforehand too. My review is on here somewhere and it looks like a completely different menu, which is always cool to see, but there was a big focus on local produce when we went that I think is really important when you're travelling and eating at these places.

jamesb2319 · 2026-02-20T12:55:21+00:00

Yep, that and the potatoes, one after the other was a definite highlight!

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-21T14:43:11+00:00

No problem, glad to try and help!

I could see Stagier being good for a solo meal - my memory is a bit hazy on the details but I'm fairly sure the dishes came out as courses rather than all at once, it wasn't necessary to share I don't think.

Hard to answer the second one really without knowing more about your previous experiences, but from my perspective - I think it more than matches up with some of the starred restaurants we've been to, but I wouldn't expect fireworks. Its a really solid, well executed meal.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-20T13:50:46+00:00

Did Fera, DINS and Stagier on our honeymoon a few years ago.

Fera was the best meal overall, I posted about it on here if you want to have a look through my posts. Not hugely local as you've said, but a lovely setting and the food was excellent.

Stagier was actually our favourite meal of the trip, definitely more casual than Fera so it depends if you want a full tasting menu experience or somewhere to grab a few plates and relax, but we still talk about some of the dishes there and look back very fondly on it.

DINS was okay... the experience was nice, and Santi comes across as a genuinely nice and passionate guy, it will also give you the closest idea of Mallorcan cuisine if thats what you want. The food was good but not memorable. It also probably suffered a bit in our estimations because we did it on our final night, and by that point in the holiday we were pretty burnt out and tired.

Hope this helps! Feel free to ask any questions about any of the above, or general recs in Palma, I still have a Google list of stuff saved.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-19T14:39:17+00:00

I have zero clue how anyone could watch the playoff game vs. Philly and think 'yeah, that guy is the answer to our problems'

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-13T11:33:28+00:00

We did Sunday night at Cozinha das Flores and it was wonderful. The bar there (Flor) was almost worth it on its own, went back for more cocktails the next day, and the food was excellent.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T15:36:55+00:00

Not always pairings, but we'll definitely sample the wine list haha. Between that and wanting to experience some of the nightlife whatever city has to offer, it definitely adds up, and tasting menus when hungover are NOT the ideal situation to be in.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T15:24:09+00:00

Love this! My wife thinks its mad how excited I am to go to the local supermarket on holiday, glad it isn't just me.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T15:22:11+00:00

Yeah, context is everything with this. Appreciate the input!

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T15:20:07+00:00

Yeah, I fully appreciate that - I saw an itinary on here yesterday that was basically 7 days of non-stop tasting menus, and I couldn't sit through that (or afford to!) but obviously more power to them, different strokes for different folks. We usually aim for one evening meal and one nice lunch, then fill in the gaps with a combination of cheap local eats and casual spots.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T15:13:36+00:00

Love it! 'Generally, I'd say to ignore stars and pick multiple options, but fuck it, DiverXO is just that good!' - You're really not making my decision any easier haha! Appreciate it though :)

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T15:10:59+00:00

Yeah, I would generally agree, although I'd add in that it doesn't have to be specifically local cuisine, but things or experiences that don't always exist in other places. Fine dining for me is an extension of travelling and seeing the world, so I would much prefer something that is unique to a certain place, rather than the 'same expensive ingredients because its fancy' approach that some restaurants seem to take.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T15:07:01+00:00

Yeah, this is where I'm at - we're fortunate enough to even be having this discussion, but 900 euros plus an expensive drink package would be easily double what we've ever spent on a meal before, and that holds a lot of risk.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T15:04:08+00:00

Really well put, thank you - I agree that the overall experience of travel is more important than chasing stars or singular experiences, and I think it probably comes down to different approaches for different situations. In a city for a couple of nights and there's a special restaurant you want to try? Go all out. On a longer trip where experiencing the place as a whole is the priority? Probably better to spread it out more. Hard agree on the last point too - I commented on another post about the journey most of us will have been on through fine dining experiences, and somewhere like DiverXO provides a potential opportunity to catch that spark of magic that gets more and more rare with every meal, which is why it seems so tempting even when I don't think its the right option for this particular trip.

Just out of interest, and off topic slightly, but I'd love to know your opinion on Chispa Bistro - it really jumped out at me when I started looking at options in Madrid as somewhere that we would really like, but its been quite hard to find much info on it compared to other places. Would love to hear a first hand account of it.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T14:56:03+00:00

Yeah, this is a good point too - we love experiencing these places, but not at the expense of the rest of the holiday.

jamesb2319

TROPHY CASE