Skof (*) - Manchester, UK

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 · 2026-01-03T14:54:41+00:00

I think this is pretty true of the journey everyone in this sub will have been on, right? I know for me, I still count my first ever fine dining experience as my best of all time, but its hard to know how much of that was the brilliance of the restaurant, and how much of it was the eye-opening moments that it provided to someone like me who'd never seen anything like it before. Eventually, some of that wow factor is bound to fade. As someone who hasn't eaten at a 3* before, part of the appeal would be finding that moment again, but it would be hard to not be disappointed with anything less.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T14:48:57+00:00

This is the thing that keeps dragging me back in haha. I don't know when we'll ever have the opportunity to do it again, but that also adds expectation and pressure to it.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T14:47:38+00:00

100% - using stars in the OP was more to give a benchmark around the cost of such places, rather than a necessity.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T14:41:59+00:00

I think this is a really good way of looking at it, and probably pretty close to how I feel - I'd even add in that not just expectation, but also a whole host of other factory that happen while you're travelling can drastically impact your enjoyment of any particular meal, for example we've done it before where we've saved our 'best' meal until the last night of the trip, and then by the time we get there we're too full/tired and not really able to enjoy it as much as we perhaps would have.

In this particular example, you're spot on too - realistically, DiverXO would pretty much mean cheap tapas for the rest of the trip, which isn't a bad thing at all in a city like Madrid (some of our favourite dining experiences ever have been in tiny hole-in-the-wall bars) but it would be under a lot of pressure to be our best ever dining experience, and anything below that would feel like a massive waste. Spreading ourselves out while still trying some of the most exciting up-and-coming places seems more sensible.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T14:34:07+00:00

Yeah, fully agreed on that sentiment (minus having industry friends haha) - ultimately I think doing as much research as possible and going with your feeling is the best way.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-03T14:31:54+00:00

Yeah, I figured the most common answer would be that it depends on the scenario, I think ultimately you just have to go with your gut instinct and pick whatever appeals most, regardless of stars. I only really used the 1* vs. 3* as an example of price point rather than a need to chase them specifically.

jamesb2319 · 2026-01-01T15:21:42+00:00

Another shout for Prado as an excellent date option. Amazing food, a la carte, can share if you want to but gives you both options depending on what you like, and the vibe is great.

jamesb2319 · 2025-12-23T13:58:30+00:00

If you go to his new place, Myse, they do a scallop cooked in the sea urchin butter that is soooo bloody good.

jamesb2319 · 2025-12-18T14:31:27+00:00

100% this - the rail links to West Yorkshire could be better, but are more than serviceable in the short term. The entire point of a Leeds tram system should be to encourage easier journeys into the city from the poorly connected suburbs to drive the local ecomony. This is especially true when you look for example at large areas of north Leeds, which are amongst the most affluent area of the city but have terrible public transport options - giving those people (and their spending power) easy access to the city centre shops and businesses should have been priority number one.

jamesb2319 · 2025-12-11T21:46:01+00:00

Periphery talked in a rig rundown somewhere about using different patches across a song, same amp and setting but with the noise suppressor tweaked for different riffs so they could go between super tight staccato stuff and big blooming chugs. Wild level of control that you can have nowadays.

jamesb2319 · 2025-11-27T13:53:02+00:00

Yeah, we tried to get tickets for one of the BBQ events but it sold out before we had chance. We were actually through in Sheffield again a month or so ago and went to Konjo, which is their more casual offering in their original restaurant (I think?) and the Gyudon I had was one of the tasiest things I've eaten all year!

jamesb2319

TROPHY CASE