Stitch and Bear

A long-running Irish blog with reviews of the best restaurants in Dublin and throughout Ireland. Some wine and cocktails thrown in for good measure!

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

[Events] 2016 wine tastings

Here's a collection of the wine tastings and wine events of which I am aware. If there are events missing, please feel free to get in touch with me and share the details.


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Sunday, September 18, 2016

[Review] Two new Thai hotspots in Amsterdam

I've been out and about in Amsterdam recently, trying to get to some of the more newly opened restuarants. To help me keep track of all the latest openings, I like to refer to two great Dutch blogs Your Little Black Book and BySam. Both blogs are written mainly in Dutch, but it's easy enough to find your way around on both. 

I visited two new Thai restaurants lately, both of which were fun and modern. In the middle of town, you will find Adam & Siam on Rokin, while the more casual Soi74 Thai Food Cafe in de Pijp is a little bit more out of the city centre.
Stitch & Bear - Adam & Siam - Interior
Interior at Adam & Siam


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Sunday, September 11, 2016

[Review] Charlotte Quay, Dublin 4

The restaurant space on the ground floor of the Millennium Tower on Charlotte Quay has seen several restaurants come and go. Firstly Ocean Bar & Restaurant and more recently, the delightful Mourne Seafood. It's a location with a gorgeous setting, overlooking Grand Canal Dock, but it has no street frontage. And that's surely a main contributor to the previous closures. After all, most restaurants rely on footfall and passing trade. 

So, can Marc and Conor Bereen buck the trend with their new Charlotte Quay restaurant? They do know what Dublin likes to eat, given the strong success of their other popular locations Coppinger Row and the South William. Under Conor and Marc, Charlotte Quay has received a significant overhaul. Gone is the light and bright interior of Mourne Seafood, replaced by marble countertops, chic fittings and moodier, darker lighting. There's a smart little cocktail bar where you can sip a drink while waiting, but where we struggled to hear each other due to the high ambient noise levels. My Flo and basy gin-based cocktail (€12) was light, tinged with elderflower and bright basil, but just a touch cloyingly sweet. 
Stitch & Bear - Charlotte Quay - Flo and basy cocktail
Flo and basy cocktail

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Sunday, September 4, 2016

[Blogging] 8 years of blogging lessons

I only realised recently that I've been blogging as Stitch & Bear for over 8 years. That means it's been 8 years since I looked at the Blogger homepage and wondered "What will I call my blog?" Once I got over that major hurdle, then I was left with the question "What will I write about?"

To be very honest, I wrote a lot of crap at the start. Unlike many bloggers today, I didn't start blogging with a game plan in mind. I just started writing. A sense of purpose and clarity for Stitch & Bear didn't emerge for quite a while. I think it was 2011 when I finally said "Enough crap, Stitch & Bear is going to be about food only!"

Since then, I've gained weight, which is a natural consequence of being a voracious eater who wants to taste everything. I've also met many wonderful people who are involved in the production and service of food and drink. I've written approximately one blog post per week and I've learned a few things along the way...
Stitch & Bear - Blogging lessons I've learned

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Thursday, September 1, 2016

[Competition] Win a pair of tickets to the BBC Good Food Show in Belfast

The BBC Good Food Show is making its first appearance in Northern Ireland this September, and to celebrate this first the promoters have given Stitch & Bear a free pair of tickets to give away to a lucky reader. 

https://www.bbcgoodfoodshownorthernireland.com/

The BBC Good Food Show
Some of Britain's most popular chefs, including handsome baker Paul Hollywood, James Martin, Emmett McCourt and the lovable Hairy Bikers, will share recipes and tips in the 1800 seater Supertheatre. In addition, over 100 culinary exhibitors will be in attendance,, giving visitors the chance to shop for local produces, enjoy taste testing and learn even more tips and tricks from the exhibitors. 

Standard tickets start from £18.50 and are available online. VIP packages with prime seating at the Supertheatre and VIP lounge access plus other benefits are also available 

The show runs from Friday October 14th to Sunday October 16th, at the Belfast Waterfront, with doors open 9am - 6pm daily.

The competition is now closed, and I am delighted to announce that Gemma Thompson of Belfast is the lucky winner. Congratulations Gemma, your tickets will be in the post shortly.

How to win?
I'm keeping this simple. You can enter by any one of the following methods:

(1) Liking and commenting on the Stitch & Bear Facebook page
(2) Emailing me with the subject BBC Good Food Show
(3) Following and tweeting me on Twitter with reference to the competition

The fine print
The competition will close on Sunday, September 11th. The winner will be contacted for their postal address details, and tickets will be posted to them by the promoters. Please note that the tickets are valid for Friday or Sunday only.
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