Our walk around the city center of Bath – though hordes of shouting tourists and overpriced attractions – was enough to put Teko off and ready to move on to less harried pursuits. As lovely as historic Bath was, it wasn’t what we were looking for and evident after only a short walk.

I suggested an early dinner before leaving and trusty google showed me a nice-looking, well-reviewed British brasserie close by. Arriving at The Ivy, my spider sense started tingling after I saw plastic flowers strewn all over the entrance, often a bad sign. The menu looked approachable though and after confirming with Teko we decided to jump in fingers crossed.

We were quickly seated in the quiet, darker side dining area, our order taken by a kind enough senior gentleman whose English Teko couldn’t readily understand, and sat for the next two hours enjoying a pleasant meal.

While The Ivy reminded me of restaurants I usually have challenges with – think hip-aspiring Miami restaurants – I’d say overall that it was satisfying – food was good though a bit overpriced and the service professional. Overall the service we’ve gotten in the U.K. so far could best be described as no-nonsense, Dutch-like but only a little bit more understandable, at least in my case, with barely a smile because it’s not necessary. A far cry from the small talk usual in America and not as friendly either. Let’s see if it gets any friendlier the further north we go.