When in Yorkshire

Ive had two EXCELLENT foodie experiences whilst in Yorkshire the past few weekends.




The Grand Hotel, York
The first; one I've been looking forwards to for a long time. A Hendricks Gin and Tonic Afternoon Tea at Yorks Grand Hotel . I bought this for my best friend (she lives in York - the lucky devil) as a birthday present and have been excited to go ever since she picked me as the honoured guest!


We turned up at the Grand to be greeted by a doorman , complete with top and tails. He showed us to the door and advised us on how to get to the restaurant. We sat at a lovely table in the window donned with the usual silverware and white table cloths. We were greeted by a lovely waiter who explained he was the head waiter for afternoon tea that afternoon. We explained we were here for the Hendricks inparticular and the charade commenced.


We were asked which tea we wanted, Miss M went for a rose tea whilst I opted for the Grand special tea (a black tea). I reminded them that one order would be gluten free and they explained they were more than happy to accommodate me.

 
We were brought a teapot and two cups to start with, containing what looked like cucumber. 'I didn't know rose tea was served with cucumber, certainly bold to put their signature tea with a vegetable also' I thought. Silly me this was the gin and tonic. Hendricks had supplied special branded teapots and teacups containing copious amounts of gin and tonic to last us the duration.

 
We poured them into the cucumber laden cups and got drinking!

 
The tea came next, complete with strainer and fresh hot water.

 
Then came the best delivery, the tiered cake stand. Mine was a slight surprise, they'd not had a delivery of their normal gluten free bread so I was treated to four massive rolls/ (cobs/baps/buns) they still contained the delicious fillings though so I wasn't disappointed.

 
After munching back the finger sandwiches and cobs we moved onto the fruit scones. Kept warm in a little napkin pouch - delicious.

 
Then onto the cakes, Miss M had an array of different miniature cakes whilst I had 3 large slices of gluten free cake. Whilst it wasn't the traditional way of serving afternoon tea (what with the large slices) I was glad as they were all delicious. At least I wasn't left wanting more!


We had to take some home, but were given a lovely box and bag to carry/ (stagger) them home in.


All in all a wonderful experience.




I must also talk about my more recent experience at


The Fox Bar and Bistro, Ripponden


After a gorgeous wedding of a close friend on the outskirts of Leeds it was my job to create a birthday plan for the Mr (his birthday falling the day following the wedding).


Whilst I used to live in central Leeds, times have certainly changed, what with the opening of the Trinity centre and the development of the surrounding areas. I chose to go to a smaller town, to enjoy a 6.5mile walk in the morning and to book somewhere for afternoon tea (Mr M had never been before, a present for me you might ask!?)


I sought advice from the bride, she suggested two one being; The Spiced Pear at Hepworth and the other The Fox. I went for the latter but both deserve a mention as they both looked great. The Spiced Pear offers a boys and a girls afternoon tea, would have been a great choice too I think.


The Fox however specialises in Picnic Bench afternoon tea. This really is what it says on the tin, a picnic bench with the savouries on the seats and the sweets on the table.

 
I thought it was a good choice for the Mr as the savoury side wasn't just small finger sandwiches, it was nachos and chilli, soup, a chicken wrap, fish and chips and a small pesto salad. I had really great gluten free alternatives as well.

 

 

I thoroughly enjoyed it and I think he did too. My only reservation was that I didn't have any scone. I get so excited for a scone when I've specifically requested gluten free and I have to say it was a heart sink moment when there wasn't one on my side of the bench. Other than that though I was very well looked after!

 
I hope anyone from Yorkshire gets a chance to visit these 3. The two I experienced were excellent and I'd without a doubt go back.


HAPPY AFTERNOON TEA-ING

Its been a while, I think its time we got back together!

It feels such a long time since I was part of the blogging world, but well, I miss it. Ive been inspired to rekindle my passion by a lovely lady starting her own blog, its brilliant id urge you to check it out (www.haneats.com) for if ever you're in Birmingham (or surrounding areas).   I might not have been writing about my adventures but I've certainly still been enjoying them. Still residing in Beeston I am gradually working my way around the restaurants in this quirky little town. Ive infrequently visited Nottingham city centre but I have to say when I have done so there's been some great finds. I've ventured to Yorkshire most recently too so have a few cracking recommendations for there if you're ever up that neck of the woods. I have been to Cafe Roya in Beeston recently, and it certainly didn't fail to disappoint once again. But i'll start with somewhere in Nottingham, seems appropriate for the first venture back.


RED's True BBQ: Let there be meat
I visited REDS for a girlie dinner. I am a big meat eater and never shy away from a large portion (this is what I'd heard on the grape vine) so I was excited for my first RED's experience. My Mr has always been a fan of RED's and he tends to be good with meat so again I was looking forward to it. IT was however, a big disappointment. Don't get me wrong, the company was exceptional, and I had a great time. The food however, not a patch on my friends in terms of satisfaction. 

I went for the half BBQ chicken, a safe choice I know, but one I've grown to love at places like Turtle Bay, like Bill's and even Nandos (sometimes!). I chose the normal fries as my side order, perhaps a bad choice in hindsight, never go for normal when there's sweet potato available.


The food came, it looked delicious, sadly didn't live up to its appearance. My chicken was incredibly dry, I couldn't actually finish it as it had the same effect as a number of ryvita! The chips were good, but nothing to write home about.


One of my pals opted for the ribs with a side of macaroni cheese, I heard no complaints from her and the macaroni cheese sure did look tasty!


Another friend, the pulled pork sandwich, she enjoyed it but said again, nothing special.


The atmosphere in REDs is very cool, feels very trendy. You sit on long tables with other meat eaters, there are anglepoise lamps (difficult to manoeuvre with big groups, but cool nevertheless)


The wine was good, we enjoyed a bottle of Jarrah Wood Pinot Grigio (Australia) - nice and refreshing.


I would probably visit again, but definitely not if wanting to impress guests with food options. I'd be wary of disappointment.

I hope you have better experiences but this one wasn't for me!

New ventures in Beeston

It's been such a long time since I've written about my foodie adventures.

I haven't been in Nottingham for many months this year, when I have my evenings out have been few and far between, mostly special occasions and not times to be snap happy. There've been some amazing dining establishments crop up over this time tho and I think it's about time I started visiting them. 

One definitely worth a visit is George's Fish and Chip Kitchen. Now being gluten free the fish and chips (battered style) don't reAlly appeal but as my 60 (ish) year old father can verify they may be some of the best fish and chips you'll have in your life. I opted for the grilled fillet of cod with grilled mushroom and Stilton chips and I can safely say it was definitely worth the batter sacrifice. 

The puddings at George's are so exciting too! Exciting definitely being the correct word. They have a blue banana ice cream that's unlike anything I've tasted before everything is served with candy floss so you can't help but smile. 

My latest trip has been to Cafe Roya in Beeston. I'm newly a resident of quaint Beeston and having previously been a frequent attender of Belle and Jerom e I was saddened to see it was no longer. A new restaurant 'Rye' has popped up in its place and I have to say it's very good! Watch this space

Cafe Roya though, tripadvisor will tell you it's the number one restaurant in Beeston, now Yiannis next door to me (being greek food) could rival this. However I definitely felt it was worth a try. It's a vegetarian restaurant where half of the menu has not just gluten free options but vegan options too. 

The interior is really quirky 

We shared a gluten free hummus to start. It was a good sized portion and really tasty 

With a glass of wine on a school night!

Mr M had a vegetable pie with potatoes, roast peppers and a line yoghurt 

I had a feta cheese polenta dish with nutty 'meatballs'. It came with gluten free garlic bread and you wouldn't have known the difference from normal!

We boldly cleared our plates and awaited the pudding menus

I had a chocolate brioche pudding with ice cream and pear. It was delicious. One of the best gluten free puddings ive ever eaten 

Mr M had a plum compote with crumble. A bit too sharp for his taste but he enjoyed it nevertheless (a bit of food envy never hurt anyone) 

I would definitely recommend you give Cafe Roya a try. You don't notice the lack of meat (for those meat lovers) and it's certainly very filling. A romantic atmosphere, lovely food and friendly service. Definitely one Id go to again. 

Here's to more blogging in the future :)

The Wollaton - a brunch date with our favourite Nothern pair

We needed somewhere to pop to for spot to eat with our old housemates pre Cheese and Wine party, nothing too heavy but we were all pretty hungry (no surprise there!). 

I've been to the Wollaton a number of times for lunch and once for dinner, it's always excellent food, sometimes can be a little disappointing when there's no tables in the restaurant as you have to eat in the more 'pubby' area and order food up at the bar etc. The menu, however, is still the same wherever you sit though and as I said really very nice pub food. 

We popped down in the car and realised on Saturdays they serve a Brunch menu 12-4 which surely was going to be exactly what we were after. 

On perusing the menu the food, whilst sounding delicious, was slightly more than we were bargaining for, but we ordered what we fancied and chilled out in the pub area catching up on each others news and reminiscing about the old times

I had smoked salmon with scrambled eggs (the pub were really helpful with regards to being gluten free, there just wasn't many options I could have) without the toast!

H had a BBQ burger, this was a surprising addition to a brunch menu but my goodness me it was one of the most tasty things I've tried in a long time.

 

N had a sausage sandwich, and P a fish finger sandwich, served on really fluffy looking white bread, with a little side of parsnip soup.  

I'd love to try the brunch menu again when I had a slightly bigger appetite and having made a booking so we could lounge in the luxury of the restaurant area but overall I can't really fault the Wollaton for an excellent girly lunch. 

We bought the girls a 'Nottingham Cookbook' each. You can buy them in the Wollaton, in Delilahs, Homemade and many others. It makes such a cool Christmas present and has recipes from all the best places to eat in town including many places featured on Two Teas. I couldn't recommend it more 

The Girls team Christmas dinner

This Christmas we tried to have another group Christmas meal out instead of going to the official university ball, we managed it last year, a group trip to Browns. This year we fancied something different. 

When having a look at the festive menus' there was a good deal at Brown's again - 2 courses for 18 pounds. There was a deal at Le Mistral, slightly more expensive but definitely a top favourite of mine, 2 courses for £23.50 and then there was Petit Paris at a similar price of 2 courses for £23.95. Obviously all these had a festive element to their menus and all were incredibly tempting. 

Bistrot Pierre was offering 2 courses for £16.50 if you could dine before 1830. Everyone felt this was going to be the yummiest and cheapest option after we'd factored in a few glasses of wine. I secured the booking, it required a £10 deposit per person, probably due to it being the festive period, we pre ordered our food and the dinner was planned and ready. We had however not anticipated that managing to coordinate 22 people who are placed all around Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire  was always going to be a little tricky. 

It all came together on the night, everyone made it in time to eat their food and we all had a fantastic time. 

The Christmas decorations around the restaurant were so lovely 

We all got crackers!

The food was delicious

I had a smoked salmon salad to start

And wild mullet with MUSSELS for my main!

This was Lucy's duck pate. 

There were some dauphinoise potatoes knocking around that were absolutely delightful!

The puddings were also incredible, the mixture we had on the table was this Chocolate torte with blackberry ice cream, a sticky toffee pudding (below) and a frangipane tart.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was lovely, really rustic and very warm and inviting, I would definitely like to visit again with not such a massive table and outside of this busy period but it was so nice to get all my closest friends together in one room with fantastic food. 

Thanks Bistrot Pierre!

ps. We nipped to Coco Tang for cocktails afterwards, their xmas decs are pretty snazzy too :)

200 Degrees of fantastic coffee!

I visited my housemate A's new favourite revision hangout this weekend. 200 Degrees, a cafe just off market square

She was comfortably sat on a big table in the middle of the cafe, so it didn't turn out to be too much hide and seek. Workstation up and running she had treated herself to a fentimans ginger beer. 

I followed my nose, wandering towards the smell of freshly ground coffee. I ordered myself an Americano with milk and was handed a table number. What a great idea! I'm a Starbucks lover but there's nothing more frustrating than standing waiting for your (usually incorrect) name to be called out amongst a sea of equally as frustrated customers.

Sure enough I was served, at my table, a delightful looking Americano with milk in a cute little can! 

I only wished I'd taken some photos of the cakes for you. They really looked spectacular. I'm not sure of the gluten free options as it wasn't too clear but next time I will definitely ask and update on this!

It's quite a noisy place at lunchtime but if you enjoy the hubbub definitely give it a try. The coffee is delicious and service is great! Think I've found myself a new place to add to the list