Top Chef

Sometimes you just have to look at something for what it is and nothing more. When I went to see Snakes on a plane I knew what I was expecting and it was fantastic!!! A popcorn movie that knows its a popcorn movie and makes fun of itself for bring so wins a lot of point from me.
In a similar way I not help but see the tongue and cheek behind the name of the place. This place unaplogetically serves up decent grub at no frills prices. It never pretends to be anything but a simple eatery which serves up good food and less expensive prices. It’s a similar story with the décor. Not exactly the Taj Mahal of the restaurant world but then again not many places are!!! I can imagine this place is very popular amongst students, in our younger days we perhaps have more sense, or perhaps we are monetarily challenged. Either way this place will always do good business because the simple fact is that the food is actually pretty decent.

Top Chef is a really decent restaurant set in Chinatown’s Berry Street. Whilst I don’t know how top the chef actually is, I can say that the food I have had here is pretty tasty, served in liberal portions and value for money.
This restaurant isn’t the luxury type and doesn’t need to be. Top Chef has a wide variety of dishes including a lot of take-​away style food (i.e. kebabs, burgers, chips) and they also serve breakfast toasties, jacket potatoes plus a range of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean influenced dishes. My favourite has to be their meat Calzone stuffed pizza pockets, with garlic butter and cheddar cheese.
The atmosphere has a warm feel to it and the service is spot on every time I go there. Top Chef is open daily from as early as 9am till as late as 10pm which means you have plenty of time to get down there for some great mouth-​watering food!

Not as ‘Top’ as the name implies, but this place is great value for money and is also in a perfect location.
This is one of the best places to go for a fry up in the morning aside from ‘Time Café’ which is located around the corner from ‘Top Chef’. They offer a range of kebabs and pizzas, all of which are great value and perfect for a hung-​over student.
I often walk past on my way to work in the mornings and see that this place is very popular with studenty types, there is a lot of space inside and it’s not uncommon to see groups of six or more inside.
So if you’re after basic food and generous portions at great prices then ‘Top Chef’ is perfect for you. Why not wander up the road and check out ‘China Town’ after your brunch?

The name does conjure up ideas of dreary roadside cafes but in all fairness this place is anything but. You’re not going to win anypoints taking the mrs here if she is expecting a posh, culinery feast however, situated around the corner from FACT it’s an ideal spot to grab a quick and tasty meal before a film.
It does a little bit of everything from a sort of takeaway range of meals like pizzas, burgers and kebabs — and at £4 for a 12″ and £4.20 for double with chips it’s good value for your money — but with Pasta dishes and Shepherd’s Pie (?!) there’s something for everyone.
Breakfasts and sandwiches mean it’s somewhere that you drop by during the day too.

Okay, so this is hardly Heston Blumenthal’s Michelin starred restaurant as the name may or may not imply, but Pretty Good Chef never really appealed to anyone did it. The bonus with this place is the price, it’s very cheap for what you get and they have a range of Med-​style dishes with all the usual English favourites.
The fish and chips and the lamb kebabs are darn good and if you’re there early enough I’d recommend the Pancake Breakfast which is humongous and divine. You get a plate heaving with buttermilk pancakes, fresh fruit, whipped cream and lashings of maple syrup, oh and you get a tea or coffee with it if that wasn’t enough all for the bargain bin price of £3.50.
The view is pretty good as well so while you smugly tuck in to your meal which is all the more satisfying due to the change which sits happily in your pocket, you can admire the bombed out church and the little dragon statues which guard China town.