Category: British cuisine

Glorious food, laughter and spontaneous singing

It was the night of the 10th of January. A mundane, ordinary day that ended with delectable food and plenty of laughter, celebrating friends’ birthdays.

I love going out with the Solent gang. You know that feeling, that you can be yourself and enjoy the evening without having to pretend? I always get it with these wonderful, fun, creative, loving people and I always look forward to our nights out.

The dining choice this time was Simon’s at Oxfords. I’ve been many a times in the past for drinks and the ever so fun Sunday jams nights, I used to love those, but never had dinner there before.

The food was just lovely. Beautifully, picture perfect presented which makes a difference for me and very flavoursome.

We went for their set menu and I opted for starter and main (cutting down on sugar is NOT easy).

Prawns is one of my favourite flavours so I had tempura prawns with a sprinkle of fresh lime served with sweet chilli sauce for a starter…

followed by roasted chicken breast served on a creamy potato mash and wild mushroom & smoked pancetta cream. De-li-cious.

The rest of the group had a mixture of starters/mains/desserts but everyone enjoyed their meal, especially Helen who claimed that was the ‘best pork’ she ever had!

The service was great and quick, and fun, especially the lady at the end who, because of our impromptu singing sang back to us when going around for everyone to pay.

We paid £24 for a two course meal which was worth it, in my opinion. My drink was a bit expensive (I paid £7 for a 175ml glass of wine) but I must admit the glass of Malbec I had was divine. I can’t believe I only discovered Malbec less than a year ago.

All in all a great experience (minus the paintings on the walls some of the people in the group did not like, Chris: ‘They are scary, they have no eyes!’ but I actually thought were quite unique!)

What a great first dinner out in 2019. Here’s to more to come!

Eleni

Blogmas Day 17- A night at the Ivy

Everyone who knows me, knows I love my food. I love good food and I love trying different restaurants.

I’ve known about the new Ivy at Winchester for a while but didn’t get the chance to visit. I don’t often go to fancy restaurants, I don’t think that expensive food necessarily guarantees quality, there was always something about the Ivy though that intrigued me ever since I first bumped into it in London years ago, so when my lovely friend Suki suggested having a final Christmas catch-up dinner there, I thought that would be a perfect time.

It was very pretty decorated on the outside…

and the interior was equally beautiful.

I haven’t suddenly became rich or was secretly employed by Jay Raynor (I wish), I’m actually very broke, so I went for the set menu (served until 6:30pm) and the £16 two course meals (plus service charge) which was great value for money.

I fancied some fish, since I usually avoid seafood in the UK, but I thought at a place like this it would hopefully be fresh.

And it did not disappoint.

I had delicious crab cakes served in a tasty tomato salsa for a starter and the baked salmon fillet on a bed of lemony, herb sauce, a sweet Asian glaze, jasmine rice and Pak Choi (Chinese cabbage). The combination of flavours was exquisite, the sweetness and smokiness of the salmon, complimented by the light acidity of the lemon and the smoothness of the vegetables and the rice. Simply stunning.

Although it was busy, the service was quick, all the waiters were friendly and checked on us a couple of times, especially our lovely table waiter Bethan and Neil, who brought us the bill and whilst chatting told us he has worked 60 hours since Thursday, hero! I feel for everyone working in retail or hospitality these days, their busiest time of the year, please be considerate and remember whilst you enjoy a delicious meal or doing some shopping, they are there, working long shifts to keep you happy, instead of spending Christmas with their families.

All in all it was a great evening and I’d love to go to Ivy again to taste more dishes and try their wine, after payday! 

Eleni