According to the Observer, these are the top 20 sexiest places to enjoy a
bite to eat.
1. Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
The most exciting gastronomic restaurant on the rise outside London is tucked
away on the outskirts of Nottingham. Cutting-edge cooking; bright, friendly service
and the option to make a night of it by booking one of the eight rooms, make this
the obvious choice for any foodie-fixated couple.
Old Lenton Lane, Trentside, Nottingham, 0115 986 66,www.restaurantsatbains.com
2. Hand & Flowers, Buckinghamshire
This already very appealing pub with fine grub has recently become even more
attractive with the opening of a guest cottage. Those who think every Michelin-
starred meal should end in a cowhide-clad room with a hot-tub terrace now know
where to go.
126 West Street, Marlow, Bucks, 01628 482277,www.thehandandflowers.co.uk
3. Les Saveurs de Flora, Paris
Flora Mikula's restaurant is high-camp sexy, rather than dark-and-sophisticated
sexy. There are butterflies attached to glitterballs on the ceilings, flowers sit in
twiddly vases, and colours range from rose to blush to good old-fashioned fuchsia
. The food is fabulously rich - lobster, foie gras, suckling pig or duck - but Mikula
also makes inventive use of ingredients like daikon, green curry and even mango
lassi. Your meal will be punctuated by plenty of exciting amuse-bouches and palate
-cleansers involving mousses, shot glasses or perhaps marshmallows. The staff
don't seem to mind if you allow your meal to last for hours either.
36 Avenue George V, Paris, +33 (0)1 40 70 10 49
4. Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Marina Villa Hotel, Cornwall
With a picture-postcard perfect view across the Fowey Estuary from its dining
room perched on the waterside, and fine Cornish produce rendered in a restrained
modern style in dishes such as lobster risotto, orange and basil, this one's
definitely worth getting a room for.
The Marina Villa Hotel, Esplanade, Fowey, Cornwall, 01726
833315,www.themarinahotel.co.uk
5. The Gingerman at Drakes, Brighton
Nicely put together cosy basement dining room in a boutique Brighton hote
l offering assured cosmopolitan cooking from local-born chef Ben McKellar.
44 Marine Parade, Brighton, East Sussex, 01273
696934,www.gingermanrestaurants.com
6. Cristal Room Baccarat, Paris
It is almost impossible to imagine a more opulent or sensual place to eat than the
Cristal Room restaurant in Paris. You reach the restaurant through the Baccarat
crystal museum - itself quite stunningly plush as it includes some of Baccarat's most
iconic pieces of crystal, including Philippe Starck's insanely expensive designs. The restaurant is the old salon of socialite Marie-Laure de Noailles, who owned the
house originally. Now, redesigned by Starck, it's an extraordinary mixture of
antique gilt, bare bricks and pale pink satin, silk and fluffy carpet. Thierry Burlot's
menu is short but luxurious and changes monthly according to seasonal availability -
try to go in truffle season. If you eat in the seclusion of the private dining room,
you will dine cocooned in pink beneath an enormous black Starck chandelier, and
between courses you can wander out onto a terrace that's decorated with huge
Baccarat mirrors. A place to eat illicitly or to propose in.
11 Place des Etats-Unis, Paris, +33 (0)1 40 22 11 10
7. As You Like It, Newcastle-upon-Tyne
This newly opened gastropub-cum-antiques shop is the place to come for high-
quality, traditional, predominantly locally-sourced food. The place is stuffed with
quirky pieces collected on the owners' travels and you can sit on a private balcony if
you're lucky. Friday nights are Supper Club nights, with live, late jazz. Smooth.
Archbold Terrace, Jesmond, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 0191 281 2277
8. The Kinmel Arms, Conwy, North Wales
Slope off to one of four gorgeous suites after dining on local produce such as
Pontysgaun goats' cheese, Conwy crab, Snowdonia cheddar or Welsh beef.
The Village, St George, Conwy, North Wales, 01745 832207
9. L'Ecrivain, Dublin
The Irish capital's answer to the Ivy but with much better food, this discreetly
appointed Baggot Street institution is a class act. All pale wood, smoky mirrors,
charming service and the best fresh Irish produce from lobster, oysters and
Dublin Bay prawns to lamb, venison and rabbit.
109a Lower Baggot Street, Dublin, +353 (0)1 6611919,www.lecrivain.com
10. Sketch, London
Still the most bizarrely ambitious, multi-faceted, ever-evolving bar-meets
-restaurant-meets-art-gallery-meets nightclub that London - perhaps anywhere -
has ever seen. From eating Pierre Gagnaire's food in the opulence of the Lecture
Room or surrounded by video art in the Gallery, to the head-trip that is the
Swarovski crystal-coated toilets complete with tinkling music box soundtrack
, Sketch is one of a kind. Chef Chris Galvin, of Galvin at Windows, says 'At Sketch,
you're spoilt with great food, music and surroundings that are pure fantasy'.
9 Conduit St, London W1, 0870 777 4488, www.sketch.uk.com
11. Find a secluded spot for a picnic
Get a yourself a proper hamper from Fortnum and Mason (treat yourself to the
Anniversary hamper, £150) and a sturdy picnic blanket. Head off the to the woods
with champagne, smoked salmon and buck's fizz truffles.
www.fortnumandmason.com
12. Hakkasan, London
Six years on and Alan Yau's flagship modern Chinese, tucked away in a basement at
the dead end of an unpromising looking alleyway behind Tottenham Court Road, has
not lost any of its sex appeal. Christian Liaigre's much-imitated interior, all
lacquered screens and soft blue light, provides an irresistibly atmospheric
backdrop to the ever-seductive combination of exceptional Cantonese cooking,
classy cocktails, hip nightclub buzz, and front-of-house eye candy.
8 Hanway Place, London W1, 0207 927 7000
13. The Dartmoor Inn, Devon
As recommended by chef Michael Caines from nearby Gidleigh Park, the Dartmoor
Inn serves up proper pub grub. Fill up on fish and chips or caramelised rice pudding
in one of the several cosy dining rooms, and then retire to one of the three prettily
appointed French style bedrooms and sleep it off in a king-size hand-painted bed.
Moorside, Lydford, near Okehampton, Devon, 01822 820221
14. Bam-bou, London
Successfully sumptuous simulation of 1930s Saigon, all bamboo, tobacco-washed
walls and dark wooden blinds, set in a rambling four-storey Fitzrovia townhouse.
Has more than enough intimate nooks and crannies to get lost in conversation while
sipping an Indochine martini and nibbling on peppered beef fillet.
1 Percy Street, London W1, 020 7323 9130, www.bam-bou.co.uk
15. The Company Shed, Essex
A wooden hut among the boatyards and salt marshes of West Mersea island, the
Company Shed is a basically a fishmonger's with no licence and a few tables with
plastic tablecloths. But in native oyster season, with a dozen of Colchester's finest
in front of you and a good bottle of your own wine, there's nowhere sexier on
earth.
129 Coast Road, West Mersea, Colchester, Essex, 01206 382700
16. Aqua, Hong Kong
There's a spectacular sweeping view of Hong Kong harbour and city from Aqua,
spread over two floors at the top of a Kowloon office building on Peking Road.
You're similarly spoilt when deciding what you want to eat and drink with two
restaurants - a Japanese and an Italian - and a lounge bar where they do a fine line
Sexiest Songs according to Billboard US.
This was a recent look at songs about sex! Points were based on how long they stayed on the charts, in particular taking into account how long they stayed at number one and at the top end of the charts. The upshot is that the Aussie Newton-John, whose innocent and sexy look, for 1981, helped propel her song up the charts, came out on top with 'Let's Get Physical'.
The top ten has only one artist with two songs in in. Rod Stewart is the one to achieve that. Stewart' was all over the charts in the 70s and 80s and his 'Tonight's the Night' is in number 2 while 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy' is 10th.
Here's the entire top ten:
1. Olivia Newton-John - 'Physical'
2. Rod Stewart - 'Tonight's The Night'
3. Boyz II Men - 'I'll Make Love To You'
4. Next – 'Too Close'
5. Marvin Gaye – 'Let's Get It On'
6. Donna Summer – 'Hot Stuff'
7. Captain and Tennille – 'Do That To Me One More Time'
8. Madonna – 'Like A Virgin'
9. Exile – 'Kiss You All Over'
10. Rod Stewart – 'Do Ya Think I'm Sexy'
'Physical' was banned in South Africa and, according to Billboard, on many radio stations around the planet. The rest of the top ten can't make such a claim but there will be differences of opinion. Marvin Gaye's 'Let's Get it On' would be tops on many lists, coming across as a more serious ode to sex, without the heavy pop elements present in the rest of the top ten.
Of couse, let us know if we have missed out any of your personal favourites!
