(Guest Blog-Fylde) Eclectic – ‘A person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.’ That describes perfectly mine and the missuses’ taste for various cuisines. Well, that’s our excuse and we are sticking to it! The Fylde Coast in general and Blackpool in particular is well known for its cosmopolitan visitors and thankfully for us its range of restaurants is equally diverse. There are not many nation’s foods you can’t find here, some more than others, and here are three of our favourites. In addition to the food, we admire the owners of each for their restaurants and I will go on to explain why.
Thai by Night, Poulton
For a town its size, Poulton has always been blessed with a wide range of super restaurants and we’ve probably enjoyed them all since we settled here 28 years ago. However, we have a second home, a rented bungalow near the beach in beautiful Khao Lak, Thailand, where we have escaped the rigours of winter here for the past eight years. Not surprisingly then our favourite cuisine is Thai and our favourite purveyor of one of the finest cuisines in the world is the Thai by Night. However, when after our first long term stay in Khao Lak we returned to the restaurant for our Thai ‘fix’ we thought they had changed the chef as we didn’t find the food as appetising. When we asked Penny, the lovely owner, whose Thai familiar name is Goy, the same as the owner of our favourite Thai restaurant in Khao Lak, about the chef she said it was the same but our tastes had changed because we had become used to eating real Thai not the often ‘dumbed down’ version served for unaccustomed Western palates. So she introduced us to the kitchen staff and explained in Thai that in future we would like to eat ‘Thai Style’. They were delighted because that meant they could cook naturally and we could eat more authentically. A quick pop your head around the door to thank them always goes down well. More diners should try it this way. Why do we admire Penny? Well, she told us that when she was growing up her farmer father made her walk about five miles each way to school across the fields, strewn with stones or sharp rice stalks, bare footed to get an education. She did this and eventually went on to University to make full use of those early lessons. After meeting her English hubby they first opened the former Café by Day, Thai at Night in Lytham. Now it’s sadly closed so that they can concentrate on the Poulton business where Penny does much of the cooking too.
More information on Thai by Night, Poulton
Terra Nostra, Bispham
Just another Italian? Not to us! To us it is the best in Blackpool. We’ve known Max, the owner, since he was a lad. Well since he arrived as a cheeky young waiter at that firm favourite of many in Poulton, us included, Rico’s, which has enthused others who worked there to branch out on their own. One of Max’s waiters once explained to us the relationship of many of the owners or staff in restaurants throughout the Fylde Coast. It would make an excellent book if someone took the time to write it. We followed Max’s progress at various other places until he settled, somewhat surprisingly we thought at first, in his current premises on Red Bank Road not far from the promenade, an area which boasts some other decent and popular eateries and vindicating Max’s choice. He is Sardinian and his country and his Momma’s cooking shows in the menu. His use of pecorino cheese is delicious whether in an appetizer or a main course and his calamari, imported specially as are many of his ingredients, is the best we have tasted anywhere. Never the pieces of elastic band you often associate with this dish. His house wines are always well sourced and good value for money. What we like most though about Terra Nostra is that it is consistent, consistently great food, cooked exactly as we order and like it and in the usual friendly but in this case not over-noisy atmosphere. We like and admire Max for the risks he has taken and for creating a restaurant as popular with locals as it is with visitors.
More information on Terra Nostra, Bispham
Go Greek, Blackpool
A relative newcomer to Blackpool’s eclectic (there’s that word again!) dining scene and to us as a cuisine. We’d past the place from when it first opened on our way into or from Blackpool with just a passing glance but since we did not go Greek very often we tended to go to restaurants recommended by friends who had spent holidays in Greece and enjoyed the real thing. We had our first taste of the real stuff when we went to Crete on holiday and when we read some of the reviews of this restaurant we decided to give it a try and have become regulars since. It’s not the biggest menu in the world but it is big enough as some of the dishes you just want to eat again and again – on different occasions, of course! Our interest and taste buds were further aroused when we went with friends on two successive cruises around some of the Greek Islands, so we had to Go Greek to get some practice in beforehand and return afterwards, like the Thai by Night, for our regular fix. One of our friends who we went on the cruise with just loves moussaka and prided herself on her own, I have to say, excellent version. However, after sampling Go Greek’s dish she just can’t bring herself to compete with it. However, the owner has given us some tips from the chef and these will soon be put into practice. The food is always excellent, well presented and served and the Early Bird Special (5pm to 7pm Monday to Thursday) is great value with the selection being taken from the normal a la carte menu. No small portions either like you get at some places. This is great if you want an early dinner before taking in a show in Blackpool. The restaurant itself is typically like you would find in Greece with the lovely addition of a light and airy atrium in the rear for larger parties. The innovative use of pictures gives it a very realistic feel. Why we admire Go Greek is that the owners, English and Greek, have established a truly local Greek restaurant in a very local part of Blackpool. Would the locals take to it? Judging by its popularity when we go, they certainly have. This adds even more to the feeling of dining in a foreign land.
More information on Go Greek, Blackpool
Guest Blog By Alan HunterFind more Blackpool & Fylde restaurants
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