Di Rita’s Italian Cuisine – St Ives, Cambridgeshire (UK)

UPDATE: This restaurant has changed location to 2 The Pavement (still in St Ives) and is now known as Di Rita’s at No 2 (The Old Bank).

I was born and raised in Canada but I’m from Italian parents (Lazio and Molise regions). I often miss the old-school Italian food I grew up on. I’m talking comforting plates of pasta, succulent sauces and traditional favourites. As much as I love modern cuisine, sometimes I’m just looking for some no-nonsense linguine. Di Rita’s Italian Cuisine is just the place we needed to be on a Monday evening.

With an enviable location right by St Ives’ historic bridge in Cambridgeshire, Di Rita’s is open Mondays to Saturdays. The family-run restaurant lights up this little corner of Bridge Street with colours of the Italian flag above their sign and soft purple tones inside.

It’s popular with families, children, couples and groups – these customers and the staff give the place its warm ambience. What it lacks in décor, it makes up in charm and friendliness… and Di Rita’s has these in spades. Their video below is a good representation of their food and atmosphere – it tells the story better than my pics. I didn’t want to photograph the other diners (the place was buzzing) and the multi-coloured lighting made it tricky to take proper photos.

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The Cowshed – Bath (UK)

UPDATE: This restaurant is now closed.

Our short stay in Bath led us to The Cowshed for dinner, where we had a truly fabulous meal. The Cowshed is housed in a sympathetically restored Grade II listed Georgian Building. There are two dining rooms (one on the ground floor and another on the lower level). Both levels lead out to their own terraces with stunning views. The whole restaurant is well laid out, with tables for larger groups on the lower level. We were very impressed with the decor and ambience. A good start!

The Cowshed Bath

The Cowshed Downstairs

Cowshed Dining Room

Everything on the menu sounded delicious but we decided to focus on their steak as our mains. All of their meat is sourced through their own butchery Ruby & White, which is based in Bristol where their flagship restaurant is also located. The Cowshed use other high quality ingredients from carefully sourced producers… and it definitely shows!

Downstairs

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