Sinatra's (but not as we knew it)

The end of my exams this week brought with it the excitement of a surprise dinner date.

Much to my delight this surprise was at Sinatra's, the restaurant I and I'm sure many others have walked past and noticed the pictures on the walls and the hum of jazz and swing on your ears for years now.

I've wanted to dine here for a long time, luckily a certain person must take note of my food related requests, i'm a lucky lady! Sinatra's did however close down last year after a 42 year reign over Chapel Bar but was subsequently taken over by the owner of Fat Cat (opposite) and director of the 'Moleface Pub Company' which runs The Wollaton (one of my top favourite Sunday lunch spots). After the recent disappointment of Smythson's being under new management, it had a lot of great reviews to uphold. 

On arriving it didn't sound the same. On entering it didn't look the same. We were taken to our seats underneath lightbulbs with glowing filaments swinging from the ceiling. I looked for the library of photo frames on the walls but they'd been replaced by black and white images, much fewer in number. 

We were offered some table water whilst we looked at our menus which is always a nice touch. 

We weren't given any sort of drinks menu (much to my despair). There was a bar area at the entrance of the restaurant and it felt like perhaps a drinks menu shouldn't have been necessary. We did ask for one though and were offered both a wine and a cocktail menu (the latter without prices - scary student moment!) which satisfied my needs and a cool glass of Pinot was soon in my hand!

The decor is very different to the past and feels very quirky and modern. 

I am a big fan of the hanging light bulbs

We had a starter of warm salt beef with a rocket, stilton and mustard salad to share. It was absolutely delicious and just enough to kick start the taste buds in preparation for our main courses. 

The restaurant does a brilliant pre-theatre deal before 7pm (for future reference) 2 courses for 9.95 and 3 for 12.95 (I think!)

Mmmm poached egg on salmon, my absolute ideal meal. This was the Salmon Niçoise and was absolutely delicious. None of that posh restaurant small portion business either

And Moules Marinaire, with chips and chunky bread. I obviously pinched a few chips, and they were definitely delicious. 

We couldn't stomach a pudding, decided on liquid dessert instead and headed to 'Saltwater' for cocktails. 

Overall I had a lovely time, I think it's fair to say they're still in the early days of new management at Sinatra's but with the brilliant pre-theatre deal and it's close proximity to the Theatre Royal and Concert Hall it's definitely worth a visit, especially if the rest of the menu was as fabulous as my salmon

Spa Day Sunday

My friend Penny and I took a well earned break last weekend

We felt cheeky but also that there was nothing wrong with visiting the local Q Hotels spa, even if just for a spot of research!

Sunday afternoon took us to the Nottingham Belfry Hotel for their pamper break. At £99 it felt like a huge spend, maybe not one to be taking in the middle of our University term but it has to be said it was definitely worth the money. 

We arrived shortly after lunchtime and wandered over to the restaurant for our buffet lunch. There were all manner of different dishes to try, roast chicken with peppers.  Chorizo pasta, a wealth of different salad ingredients. With the 'and finally' being all the little puddings to try

All were quite delicious, it was tricky weighing up how much to eat given we were eagerly waiting to get into the pool!

Waiting for our room to be ready we were treated to our complimentary 'detox' cocktail, for which the bar were apparently missing the 'detox' ingredient. So it was just a juice mocktail

Tasted pretty nice to me!

We had an afternoon in the pool leisurely doggy paddling up and down. Sat in the jacuzzi avoiding the usual awkward jacuzzi chat you often get in the local swimming baths. After a quick stint in the sauna we headed up to the spa reception to wait for our hour long massage and facial. 

To our surprise Penny and I were ushered into the 'couples' treatment room, whilst we enjoyed the fact we had each others company whilst wedging our faces into the massage couch we did find it a little strange and unexpected

The massage was fantastic, worth every penny. We wandered, dazed, with terrible scare crow greasy hair back to our room for a shower and a drink before heading down for our dinner

Our room was lovely, the duvet looks a little lumpy here but just imagine how fluffy that meant it was when rolling around in there!

The best thing about spas? The free slippers and bathrobes!

Little bit of Dancing on Ice time before dinner while Penny did her hair

We surprised ourselves with our cheekiness and requested an ice bucket, some glasses and a toothbrush through room service. The Cava was just begging us to be popped open 

For dinner in the restaurant we had a £26 allowance which was more than enough to have 3 courses. Our only expense of the weekend was our glass of Pinot which was incredibly nice and worth a mention

For starter I had Ham Hock terrine, which they kindly served with gluten free bread and a fennel and mustard slaw. 

Penny's pork belly with caramelised red onion and potato dauphinois 

My Sea Bream with an incredibly creamy and rich risotto

Gluten free bread roll, as expected a little dry, but I was very pleasantly surprised they had this to offer

Creme Brûlée for pudding, in a deliciously large rammekin, the bigger the better!

Served with chocolate ice cream and on Penny's plate a short bread for dipping!

The next morning we ambled down to the restaurant for our buffet breakfast, there was a good selection of cooked and cold breakfast items. To our excitement there was also a 'do it yourself' hot chocolate stand complete with whipped cream and marshmallows. Brilliant!

Overall we had a lovely break away. Although £99 feels like a lot, with a buffet lunch, a detox cocktail, an hour treatment at the spa, dinner, breakfast and a comfy nights stay it was definitely worth every Penny (with a Penny!)

If you're in need of a break, check it out!