Foodle

In the twilight of 2025, we returned to Osip, a farm to table restaurant in deepest Somerset that we last visited in 2023.

I keep a list of restaurants that I want to visit on Google Maps with notes. Osip sat at the top of my list. I subscribe to their newsletter and read about the renovations of this 16/17th century coaching in-turned-pub reborn with a lived in, English countryside chic.

On entering I instantly had some regrets that we did not book on of the four rooms above the restaurant; a regret amplified when it also dawned on me that we had not booked a return taxi to Frome because Osip is isolated. So much so that on the winding journey here I accepted that no one would ever find our bodies if it came to it.

The reception room is cozy. There is a short pile of newspapers in a basket; both the logs and decorative pillows are hand-chopped, the latter as if by protocol. It all looks thrown together in that deeply considered, designer way. An indoor fire exudes warmth and a flickering glow that softly whispers, “Stay a while, drink red wine and throw on some thick socks.”

Versus our last visit, Osip’s dishes are intense, studious and bold. Two years ago, the cooking felt displayed rather than harnessed — admired, rather than realised. Now, Merlin decants flavour by coaxing what’s delicious from places we know instinctively, then assembles disparate elements as if they were always meant to sit together. The kitchen plumbs flavour depths with a finesse that feels intuitive and honed.

Take the Orkney scallops, lacquered in sticky roasted-chicken jus beneath a ten-tog duvet of Jerusalem artichoke purée, those crispy tubers and a dusting of cep powder. It’s a modern surf-and-turf by which others should be judged.

Osip is now a local hero turned world class restaurant but for one caveat, and that’s the service. It’s fine. It’s professional and well-informed, but it is under powered. The food invites you to lean in while the hospitality keeps you at arms’ length.

Read more about Osip on EatGoSee or my Substack. Both links are in my profile.

📍 Osip, 25 Kingsettle Hill, Bruton, Somerset, BA10 0LN.

#itsliamcollens #osip #foodwriter

Would you go? Less

In the fading days of 2025, the good ladies of Nourish by Spinneys asked me where I want to eat in Dubai, among other things. Go check out the episode.

In Dubai there will always be the shiny new thing, that trendy new thing or just that trend we’ve seen cycle on loop again and again.

I cover those as a food writer partly both out of intrigue and strategically. Go where the people want you to go.

But I spent 2025 also thinking long and hard about what I want to cover and, with this modest platform, there are places deserving of your attention—our attention; places where you want to nudge people. Places perhaps known by some but not by many.

@hashmibarbeque.dxb is one such place.

“Hashmi Barbeque is a bone-gnawing, lip-licking restaurant occupying serious square footage in Al Barsha—an often-overlooked Dubai neighbourhood better known for cheap apartments and the unsolicited ‘business cards’ of scantily clad ladies surreptitiously tucked into your car window, usually the driver’s side, or so I am told.”

Hashmi Barbeque is the Kenyan-meets-Indian restaurant that more people should talk about—ideally with a mouthful of lamb and hot sauce.

Eat the mutton samosas. Order the chicken chooza. Get a plate (maybe two) of the grilled lamb chops because sharing tugs on a will-power I do not have in me. Chase it down with the kulfi ice cream.

Read more via the link in my profile on EatGoSee or subscribe to my Substack.

📍 Hashmi Barbeque, Ground Floor, Trio Building, Al Barsha 1, Al Barsha First, Al Barsha, Dubai

Have you been?

#itsliamcollens #foodwriter #dubairestaurants #wheretoeatdubai #eatgosee Less

🥢 A rare somen specialty restaurant in Tokyo 🥢

【StoreName、店家名稱、가게 이름】
Somenya Ito Kabukicho Main Store
素麵屋 糸 歌舞伎町本店
소멘야 이토 가부키초 본점

【Place、地方、장소】
2F, 2-26-10 Kabukicho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
東京都新宿區歌舞伎町2-26-10 2F
도쿄도 신주쿠구 가부키초 2-26-10 2F

【Menu、選單、메뉴】
Cold: Sticky & stamina somen ¥1,250 (tax included)
Cold: Genovese-style somen ¥1,300 (tax included)
Cold: Sudachi citrus somen ¥1,135 (tax included)
Hot: Mentaiko cream dipping somen ¥1,300 (tax included)
冷・黏黏元氣素麵 ¥1,250（含稅）
冷・熱那亞青醬素麵 ¥1,300（含稅）
冷・酢橘素麵 ¥1,135（含稅）
溫・明太子奶油沾麵 ¥1,300（含稅）
냉・네바네바 스태미나 소면 ¥1,250 (세금 포함)
냉・제노베제 소면 ¥1,300 (세금 포함)
냉・스다치 소면 ¥1,135 (세금 포함)
온・명란 크림 찍어 먹는 소면 ¥1,300 (세금 포함)

【Other Details、其他詳細資訊、기타 상세 정보】
Today we’re introducing “Somenya Ito” in Shinjuku Kabukicho!
This specialty restaurant lets you enjoy somen noodles known for their delicate, smooth texture, paired with carefully crafted dashi-based broths.
Simple yet refined, each dish highlights the quality of the ingredients and can be enjoyed lightly all the way to the last bite.
Perfect for both a main meal or a finishing dish — a somen experience made for adults.
今天要介紹的是位於新宿歌舞伎町的「素麵屋 糸」！
這是一家能品嚐到口感細緻、滑順素麵的專門店，並以講究高湯的一碗料理呈現。
料理風味簡單卻能突顯食材本身的優點，清爽好入口，連最後一口都能輕鬆享用。
不論是正餐或收尾的一道料理，都很適合的大人系素麵體驗，值得一試。
오늘 소개할 곳은 신주쿠 가부키초에 위치한 **‘소멘야 이토’**입니다!
부드럽고 섬세한 목 넘김이 매력적인 소면을, 육수에 정성을 담은 한 그릇으로 즐길 수 있는 전문점입니다.
심플하면서도 재료의 장점이 돋보이며, 마지막까지 가볍게 즐길 수 있는 것이 특징입니다.
식사로도, 마무리 메뉴로도 잘 어울리는 어른을 위한 소면 경험을 꼭 만나보세요.

#savorjapan
#japanesefood #ShinjukuGourmet #日本料理 #新宿美食 Less

Fresh Hokkaido Scallop 🤤🔥🤤
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Omakase for $310 includes 21 courses at Sushi Sato. Hokkaido is home to the best shellfish on earth, but their scallops are often shipped frozen to most countries for longevity purposes. Chef Sato has fantastic sourcing and serves his version fresh from the shell
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📍Sushi Sato, Singapore
🍣 @sushisato_sg Less

yesss, seriously good pho: bomb broth, springy noods, hearty dish. i did find the brisket + flank pretty fatty so if you’re lean-cut people like me, order no. 7 (pho tái bắp) made with beef fillet instead

📍 phở 10 lý quốc sư (hanoi 🇻🇳)

#pho #beefpho #hanoifood #streetfoodhanoi #pho10lyquocsu Less

At @ynyshirrestaurant @garethwardchef puts the P in Product driven restaurant.

Located in the middle of nowhere Wales, Chef Ward has put Ynyshir on the culinary world map through his ruthless approach to sourcing what he believes is the world’s best products.

Over the course of 30 servings, you will encounter A5 Wagyu as tartare and in a curry, you’ll taste fish imported straight from Japan and have duck from Ireland.

The menu is unorthodox and when I asked Chef Ward what drives his inspiration, his answer was very blunt:
“Mate, I just cook stuff I love to eat”.

Amen 🙏 oh, and there’s a DJ and a disco ball in the dining room as well 🪩 🕺

Here a few impressions from my recent visit in August, and fun fact: Ynyshir is the most expensive restaurant in the UK at a price of £486

For more details, check out my recent Chasing Stars review: https://www.instagram.com/thefoodfetishist/reel/DNL3gZfMP0R/
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📍 Ynyshir - Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
*invitation Less