Restaurants January 2007

[Mark Farrington]

Shore Things Excellent quality simple lunch food, nice choice of gifts (possibly a bit expensive, but good stuff), charming staff.

Ciao cafe in Scarborough. A slice of bella Italia - run by the real thing, from La Marche near Ancona. My pasta was great.

Seahorse Inn On the expensive side [and the wine list wouldn't be out of place at Chez Nico in London!] but very good food and service.

Arnos Waterwheel Currently closed. Perhaps a good thing...

Arnos Vale Hotel Good for afternoon tea, but the food was 'tired' for supper...

Sharon and Phebs, Charlotteville As good as ever!

Indigo Tobago Quite original creole-fusion food, and it seemed good value.

La Tartaruga Our best meal on the island by some distance [and we're italiophiles with many visits to the country]. The owner [born near Lake Como] is a true enthusiast. Do take his wine recommendations - he doesn't steer you in the direction of the more expensive bottles, and for anyone interested in Italian wine he can offer some really interesting and unusual choices. Apparently he flies in most of the ingredients from Italy [although he does try to buy materials locally, such as eggs, which are suitable] but is now managing to source more good things via Trinidad.

[Mark Farrington]

Ooops, almost forgot:

Stonehaven Villas Very stylish indeed - lovely ambience, and really charming service. There was only one other table taken, which was a shame, but we really enjoyed the quiet and cool atmosphere here for supper, and the food was very well prepared and presented. Expensive overall, yes, but the wine was actually quite cheap by Tobagan restaurant standards.