BLACKHOUSE: The Grill on the Alley, Ridgefield, Manchester

I went to watch Kings of Leon the other day, and after being refused the opportunity of going to one of my personal favorites in Australasia, we ended up trying out one of the two Blackhouse restaurants in Manchester.

The reason I went? Google told me there was a Lobster Tank! In actual fact there's a fishtank with a lobster on some ice in front of it.

As you've probably guessed, I had Lobster, which came with some fries, and while the Lobster wasn't amazing (seemed a bit tight), the fries were actually amazing, extremely soft inside, and crispy and flavoursome on the outside.  My mate had the 'posh burger', and she liked it very much, and the bit I tried was actually really good.

I was advised to have a steak, but I couldn't bring myself not to have the Lobster.  If I end up going again, i'm likely to try a steak!

The place is actually quite nice inside, and the service was really good, happy to have a joke and a laugh while still making sure they ensured they weren't too attentive, but appropriately near if we needed anything.

You can find them here...

Bonnie Gull, Foley St, London

It's been a while since I actually went to Bonnie Gull, and i'd spent all day (if not week!) looking forward to the shellfish I so hotly anticipated.  Unfortunately (or fortunately) the menu is based on what's been available at the time, and at that time, there was no shellfish on offer.

What then perplexed me more, was that when I walked past the other day there was a guy sitting outside eating a lobster. Not happy.

Either way, the place is really nice, the picture below was taken quite late at night but articulates nicely how quaint the place is.

The food isn't cheap, but the wine menu is great, and the food was actually top notch, the oysters were smooth, the fish was delicate, and i'd definitely recommend it as somewhere to go.

You can find them here.

Scandinavian Kitchen, Titchfield St, London

I'm trying very quickly to go through all the Swedish shops/cafes in London, and it's going pretty well!

I managed to convince a colleague to pop in here on our way between Oxford Circus and Euston (why use the Tube when there's cafes around?).

I've been in before, but only for a quick hot chocolate, so I figured this time i'd plump for some open sandwiches and another hot chocolate (as well as topping up on some Herring).

Having lived in Sweden for 6 years and being back many times since, I'm very happy to note that the sandwiches were fantastic, one beetroot, and the other meatball, and the hot chocolate is authentic Swedish O'boy.

If you're anywhere near this and need a snack for lunch, head in, and if you don't end up buying something from the amazing shop at the back, you're making a big mistake.

Their website is pretty informative, too.