Ziniz

From the outside, deceptive. Dark inside, only a few people, appeared to be a deserted bar.

Ziniz Italian restaurant and cocktail bar #coffee #cocktails #restaurant #cocktailbar #Italian #pasta #Bawtry #Doncaster pic.twitter.com/PgAIG93WmY

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) February 12, 2026

Appearance can be deceptive.

I asked for an espresso martini, but how I wished it to be made. It was to be made with Kalua not good, but adhering to the original Dick  Bradsell recioe

My choice

• 40ml vodka
• 15ml Agave syrup
• two shots of espresso

Shaken as though hate it.

20ml simple sugar syrup. Agave syrup is one and a half times sweeter, make an adjustment. Strictly speaking 12-13ml , but 15ml easier to measure.

The best vodka, which bumped up the price.

The accommodating barman did an excellent job. Would be even better with better coffee. Ideally Colombian.

I tried the coffee as espresso. Typical undrinkable, over roasted Italian coffee.

I learnt we were in an Italian restaurant, the owner Italian.

Far larger than appeared from the outside.

Stunning interior. Large seating area out the back. But not for winter.

I gave a few ideas from where to source better coffee. Try the Blending Room in Hull. Or the Italian coffee shop that has recently opened in Hockley in Nottingham.

Very helpful and pleasant staff.

I’ve not tried the food, was there for a coffee, then settled in a cocktail 🍸.  On writing, I learnt that Ziniz was listed by The Times as one of the top ten Italian restaurants in the country .

I did notice, for the pizza flour and tomatoes imported from Italy. Wood-fired pizza oven?

Maybe return one day and try the food.

Hollie’s Bar

A twee little bar cum coffee shop, Bawtry, not far from Doncaster.

Walked in, sat down, got up, walked out.

Why?

The coffee was poor quality coffee from 200 Degrees.

200 Degrees, regional coffee chain owned by Caffè Nero. Brazilian blend, 80% poor quality Brazilian Arabica, bulked out with 80% poor quality Vietnamese Robusta.

No excuse for buying crap coffee when spoilt for choice with excellent coffee roasteries.

Maybe try sourcing coffee from Blending Room in Hull.

Whitby’s fish restaurant

Whitby’s, possibly the best fish restaurant in the country. More than fish n chips.

Horrendous weather en route.  Very heavy rain, the roads awash with water. Raining for weeks. The risk was, trapped with rising flood water. Maybe not a sensible journey to make.

Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster pic.twitter.com/YwyrD38ZGS

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp) February 12, 2026

pan fried sea bass Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2026-02-12T17:52:49.271Z

Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2026-02-12T17:56:48.019Z

grilled king prawns with chilli, garlic, lime and toasted ciabatta Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2026-02-12T20:10:34.016Z

haddock and chips Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2026-02-12T20:16:14.368Z

apple crumble with custard and cream Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #dessert #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2026-02-12T22:42:38.184Z

Starter unusual. Grilled king prawns with assumed to be garlic olive oil,  bread, chilli and maybe other spices. More what would expect in a Korean or Japanese restaurant. Very pleasantly presented.

Followed by haddock and chips. Not as good as last visit, but still good.

Dessert  apple  crumble with custard and cream. The crumble was crunchy, as the crumble should be be.

Pot of tea was not good. Over brewed Yorkshire tea. More suited to a building site or a greasy spoon cafe. But was in Yorkshire, maybe the norm.

 On arrival five o’clock not busy.  On leaving at six forty was heaving

What was noticeable, the young ladies serving skinny , probably walking at least 10,000 steps a shift. Those pigging away, seriously obese. 

.

LNER York to Lincoln via Doncaster nightmare

I’ll get to the nightmares but first timetable changes and other LNER problems. The nightmare did not originate with LNER, but LNER made it worse.

LNER bullshit video on Facebook. So bad, ASA should issue a fine. An example of Facebook enshittification. http://www.facebook.com/share/v/1C8i…#LNER #Facebook #fail #enshittification #trains

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-12-25T00:40:27.205Z

But first the LNER bullshit video on Facebook. So bad, ASA should issue a fine. An example of Facebook enshittification.

Book a seat. It is never the seat booked.

Catch a train, find a seat. If can find a seat.

Cheap Day Returns. Don’t exist. Pay for two singles.

Saver Tickets, Super Saver Tickets. No longer exist.

Cheapest ticket, ask at the station. Often a split ticket. Cheaper than LNER website with their mutating rail fares

The 13A sockets are beneath and between the  seats. Have to be a Japanese contortionist to access. No integral usb sockets. No fast charging.

Can order food from a seat. Really. Is it that much hassle to walk to the buffet car?

On a recent trip, a female LNER staff member smashed my phone. I’m still waiting to be compensated for the repair.

Catch an LNER train. LNER Gestapo patrol the train. Wrong train, wrong time, wetting themselves to issue a fine. All passengers wish to do is travel from A to B with minimum hassle. But problems, delays, cancellations, LNER staff not to be seen.

Two weeks ago, ihe middle of December 2025 , major timetable changes,  Not a few minor tweeks, major changes across the entire network.

For example, two trains an hour Lincoln  to Nottingham,where previously  one train an hour.

Lincoln to York via Doncaster, return via Newark. Now, Lincoln via Newark, return via Doncaster.

Tuesday, the day before Christmas Eve,

Outgoing, from Lincoln, 1120 train to King’s Cross, change at Newark for the Edinburgh train.

1120 LNER Azuma #Lincoln #London #KingsCross #trains #transport

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-12-26T20:45:50.066Z

LNER Azuma waiting at the station at least 30 minutes before the train was scheduled to leave. I boarded an empty train. Even when it departed, very few passengers.

Train from King’s Cross to Edinburgh packed.

At York, never seen so many passengers. Christmas, or was it no trains north of York massive signal failure?

No trains between York and the North. Signal failure. Train over 20 mins late. Missed connection at Doncaster. Ten minutes window. Advised alight at Doncaster, make further inquiries. At Doncaster advised change at Newark. I could have remained on the train and changed at Newark. Newark taxi ride to a station on the other side of town. Reach destination, last bus long gone. Not eaten since a bowl of soup at lunchtime. Not feeling well. Cost of meal, cost of taxi.

Easter Saturday – Humber Bridge – Hull Old Town – Doncaster

My first time over the Humber Bridge. I usually have stunning views of the Humber Bridge and Humber Estuary on the train from Doncaster to Hull.

Hull Old Town #Hull

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T22:31:49.176Z

Trinity House Hull Old Town #Hull

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T23:53:41.906Z

Trinity House Hull Old Town #Hull

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-19T23:55:13.875Z

Hull Minster Hull Old Town #Hull

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-20T22:45:42.051Z

It’s a long time since I’ve visited Hull. Not since before lockdown. I would visit by train, but the train times changed, and it became an expensive trip, not worth the cost.

The Humber Bridge opened up a direct route, but not by train. For train, the crossing point over the Humber is upstream at Goole.

A battle with a parking machine in Old Town Hull. It did take cash, but no cash. No tap and pay. Can pay by text, but not a recognised number. No way was I downloading a parking app. I had to call a number to pay. Fairly easy, but why all this hassle. What if I get a ticket? Take it up with the Town Hall.

Parking was close by Wonky Tulip, which was a grave disappointment. Smell of stale cooking, clueless on serving coffee.

Hull Old Town was very quiet. It used to be very busy on a Saturday. A sign of the times. No one has any money. 

Trinity Market has gone down hill since my last visit. The excellent burger stall has gone. As has the craft beer stall. Why were all the stalls closing early?

Talking to one of the stallholders, he said many of the shops in the town centre had closed.

Whitby’s fish restaurant

Whitby’s has to rank as one of the best fish n chip restaurants in the country.

Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-22T22:56:49.545Z

Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-22T22:56:49.545Z

Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-22T22:56:49.545Z

Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-22T23:01:03.703Z

Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-22T23:02:53.453Z

Whitby's fish restaurant #fishnchips #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-22T22:54:32.809Z

Offered a choice of skin on or off. The first time I’ve ever been asked.

From the first bite of the batter , to the fish, to the chips, excellent haddock and chips.

Generous portion size. Small was sufficient to share.

With room to spare for excellent apple crumble. Served with a choice of custard or cream. The cream filled a small saucepan.

Excellent service. The staff was pleasant and friendly and helpful. I wanted to thank the kitchen staff, but they had already left. I thanked the manager for excellent service and food and asked that he also thanked the kitchen staff.

Spacious dining area.

Highly recommended.

Smile Thai Massage Therapy

For several weeks, a very painful neck and shoulders. A visit to a doctor a couple of weeks ago. Recommended neck exercises, stretching , vitamin D, come back in four weeks if no improvement. A massage would do no harm.

Painkillers out of the question. Why vitamin D if we generate vitamin D when exposed to the sun?

The neck stretching exercises gave minor improvement for a couple of days, redistributed the pain, then no further improvement.

Smile Thai Massage Therapy #Thai #massage #Doncaster

— Keith Parkins (@keithpp.bsky.social) 2025-04-22T22:26:59.957Z

A back street in Doncaster, lined with fruit and vegetable stalls, coffee shops and restaurants. And a Thai massage parlour.

I was surprised how large.

Did I want gentle or large? Medium please.

Very painful. And this was medium. But, only neck and shoulders, nowhere else.

Minor improvement.