Well, last Christmas we were lucky enough to get a Mr & Mrs Smith voucher as a Christmas present and I can't believe it took us until October half term to actually sort out a weekend when we could cash it in!

We looked at several different places but didn't want to be too far from Suffolk where the girls were staying. We had had a lovely stay previously at Ickworth House near Bury St Edmunds which is thoroughly recommended, as well as the slightly quirky Strattons in Swaffham which had the best cooked breakfast ever!

So we settled on Tuddenham Mill in a small village near Newmarket which had good reviews on the Mr & Mrs Smith website. We booked a two night stay with dinner there on the Saturday night. What I had failed to acknowledge until after I booked it was that it was the weekend on the rugby world cup final so we had to plan that in on the Sunday morning!

The room was large and light with a very comfortable bed, high ceiling and a view over the water. I can imaging in summer it is lovely to sit out in the garden over a glass of chardonnay! The bathroom was amazing with the biggest bath ever!

We were looking forward to dinner as the menu looked interesting to say the least. We had a nice cocktail in the bar beforehand and then settled down in the restaurant. To start, I had a Yorkshire hare with pickled celeriac, apple and mint and Jon had the carpaccio of pork with crackling and pickled turnip - both tasty and interesting. For main, I plumped for the lamb rump and shoulder with butternut squash, smoked paprika, and sea veg which seemed like a safe bet but was served with a kind of squash tapioca and wasn't to my liking. Jon went with the special dish which was muntjac deer which he thoroughly enjoyed.

I declined pudding but Jon caved in. The pudding was the most disappointing dish with fairly bland ice cream and little flavour.

In summary, I think they are trying too hard with the food - I found it a little over complicated but with fresh delicious ingredients. With a bottle of house wine the bill was £130 for two.

The stay at Tuddenham was relaxing and lazy (we had a nice country walk on the Sunday morning) but our overall feeling was that it is a little tired and in need of a little TLC. With rooms between £200 - £300 a night you want pure luxury!

We are always eager to try new places to eat so on Saturday were excited to try a new place with our friends Mark and Sarah. It was Mark's birthday and we had all been eyeing up a curry for a good while so ended up at The Wheel in Rearsby near Leicester.

This is a traditional English Pub but with a twist in that it serves only Indian food in the evening.

It was very busy (it was Saturday after all), all tables were full but we received a warm welcome and started the evening with a gin and tonic!

The menu was a little difficult to navigate and there were so many things to choose from that we were a little confused between starters and main course.

Nonetheless we received complementary (obligatory I would say!) poppadoms and pickles while we decided what to have. We started with a sizzling platter of starters as well as a deep fried vegetable that was new to us (the name has escaped me!). These were nicely presented and tasted good although the vegetable dish was a little bland.

We followed with a lamb jalfrezi (this was totally scrummy), a tomato prawn dish and then a chicken tawa, both of which were nice. The chapatis were well cooked and overall we finished up feeling full, satisfied and not much food leftover (always a danger when your eyes are bigger that your belly!).

Mark had a good birthday, we hope, and was very pleased with his Sterck Hot Stripe Apron which will be a must for those summer barbecues that will no doubt commence when the first rays of sunshine appear!

Overall a pleasant evening had by all with my next curry planned at the Spice of India in Syston (who deliver to my village - how fantastic!)

We heard some exciting news this week with the launch at Penally Abbey of the Pembrokeshire Pasty and Pie Co. My cousin Ollie (Oliver Booth) and his old friend Dominic Spencer-Churchill have been sourcing great local ingredients from the Pembrokeshire area and have come up with some scrumpious flavours of pies and pasties which include the Tenby Treat (beef and stilton), the Friendly Dragon (I think my girls might have this one down as mine!!) which is chicken in a light curry sauce and the Caldey Island (fish in a creamy white sauce with leeks and tarragon). The Traditional Pembrokeshire Pasty sounds my favourite by far, consisting of Welsh lamb, red currant jelly, currants and mint but certainly different to the norm is the Preselli Mountain Breakfast consisting of bacon, sausage, egg, tomatoes and beans!

What is great about this venture is that Ollie has put a lot of research up front to source guaranteed local ingredients, all grown and reared in Pembrokeshire and of doutless excellent quality. They will be baked locally as well.

Following the launch party last week we can all look forward to the first shop opening in Tenby on 1st March (we were in Tenby this weekend and as of last night the sign writer was just putting the finishing touches to the Pembrokeshire Pie and Pasty sign above the shop in George Street!).

This will be followed by a flagship store in Cardiff later in the year and a roll out plan for many more over 5 years.

The motto "Farm Fresh, Farm Made, Farm Filled" says it all with every pie and pasty being its own Parcel of Pembrokeshire Magic.

I really wish Ollie well in this venture and can't wait to try them all - how perfect, en route to the Castle Beach in the summer to pick a couple of these up for lunchtime! That will save Jon having to "nip to the Hope and Anchor for sandwiches" hopefully!!

We've had a really nice weekend down in Tenby over half term - a journey from hell which took over 6 hours in the thick snow (!) but worth it as the weather in Pembrokeshire was glorious.

We had the obligatory fish and chips on Friday night from the Park Road Fish Bar - delicious as ever and then last night ventured to the Ocean Restaurant, overlooking the harbour and with a special offor of "half price food" as advertised in the Tenby Observer. This offer is until 7pm (I think) so we booked in for 6.15pm as the girls were with us.

The atmosphere was lovely - warm, cosy with friendly service. We'd had a larger than planned lunch do went straight for main course. Jon and I both ordered the Rib Eye Steak in a peppercorn sauce and the girls opted for a Tropicana Pizza and a mozarella garlic bread between them. We also ordered a bottle of Valpollicella at £15.95 which was average.

The steaks were delicious and cooked really well - the quality of the meat was very good - juicy and succulent. The sauce was a little non descript - not much flavour but didn't spoil the meal as the steak was so good. The accompanying veg were disappointing - it was served with a few chips, a grilled tomato and a few shallot rings which were OK but also came with veg (new potatoes, broccoli and carrots) which were clearly reheated from a previous sitting and a bit grey and uninviting.

That said, the pizza and garlic bread were very tasty and almost everything got eaten. The "offer" was honoured and our bill (including the wine) came to only £41 due to the half price food. I would certainly go again when the offer is on but not sure I would be happy with paying the real price of £18.95 for the rib eye steak.

We were over in Saundersfoot yesterday visiting family and decided to revisit the Mulberry Restaurant for some lunch as we were all starving! I think the last time I was there was following a funeral when we hadn't eaten all day so ended up there for a steak. Not sure whether it was because we were starving that time but I remember it being an incedibly good rib eye steak!

Anyway, the menu is reasonably priced at around £7 - £8 a dish and they are good sized portions. The menu is fairly traditional with all the old favourites on but that is just what we were fancying!

Imogen ordered the luxury fish at £7.50 which was a good size and came with peas and carrots. It had great flavour and certainly tasted homemade. Jon ordered the beef burger and fries at £7.50 - a good size, cooked well (not overdone) and again very tasty with a good side of fries. I ordered the boiled ham with parsley sauce, mash and veg. Good slabs of ham, plenty of tasty sauce and nicely firm fresh veg. Very good. Scarlett wasn't very hungry so ordered the ham sandwich (£4.95) which was amazing value as it was thick slices of proper ham on thick hunks of white bread served with fries and coleslaw.

The service was prompt and friendly with a nice warm atmosphere generally and with a total bill of £38 including drinks I would thoroughly recommend it.

Just a random quick entry here to say that we had the Irish Colcannon Soup (the Glorious range) which was a real winner! The great thing about these soups is that they are packed with flavour and texture and are a meal on their own without having to find a bread roll to go with it!
The Irish Colcannon has lots of leek and potato and is (not quite) as good as homemade (!) but is certainly a great alternative if you are struggling to make your own every now and then.
Enjoy!

I've been totally up to my eyes in it at work at the moment so haven't had much time for blog entries! Luckily this week was my wedding anniversary - I can't believe we've been married for 14 years! It seems like yesterday! ("You get less for murder..." is the comment from the other half!).
Anyway, with the weather being so lovely we didn't want to get in the car and drive so decided to wander down to our recently refurbished village pub - The Golden Fleece in our very own village of South Croxton in Leicestershire.
Liz, our next door neighbour, arrived at 7pm so off we went (leaving Liz to absorb the over excitement about Sports Day the following day!).
It was a glorious evening so we sat outside in the sunshine. The Golden Fleece has gorgeous outside sofas so we started off with a cocktail each which were delicious and made by the cocktail expert Emily. Jon was worried about how macho a raspberry mohito was but enjoyed it nonetheless! I had an apple cocktail which was refreshing and tasty.
The staff are always very accommodating - nothing is too much trouble - Darren the owner is always welcoming, Lee is always running around doing whatever is needed, to ensure your meal is perfect and the great thing is they love well behaved children too, so we often wander down at the weekend for a cheeky pint with the kids!
Food wise -to start with, I had asparagus with a fried egg & a herby mayo to start (perfectly cooked asparagus with still a bit of bite to it) and Jon had Moules Mariniere which were superb (obviously I had to try them and dip my bread in the sauce!). We ordered a bottle of nice Sauvignon blanc (around £16) and tucked in to our main course after a pleasant rest . I had the classic sirloin steak, chunky chips served with pepper sauce and a big mushroom! Medium rare - it was scrumptious! Jon had the peppered tuna steak which was nicely pink in the middle and probably better suited to the sweltering heat but I'd have the steak any day!
After much deliberation Jon ended up having pudding - Eton Mess which again was delicious.
The Golden Fleece is not a cheap restaurant ( I think the bill was around £80 for the two but included cocktails & wine), but is certainly worth a visit every now and then and is always busy. It has a good, concise menu with around 7 or so choices with at least one fish dish and one vegetarian dish. They also serve brunch on a Saturday (10.30 - 2.00) and a carvery on Sunday which always looks great.
How lucky for us that it is just down the hill in the village!

Yesterday I went to one of my favourite restaurants for a gorgeous lunch - Café Bleu in Newark, Nottinghamshire. The good news is that my husband actually works in Newark so we can usually wrangle a long leisurely lunch once in a while and with us all off on holiday tomorrow it didn't seem to be a problem!

For years, our family friends the Charnocks, had the Pam Pam Restaurant in Tenby and I could never imagine it as anything else, but now it has been updated and taken over by a young local chef and is renamed the Qube Restaurant. It is right in the heart of the town square in Tenby with seats outside in the daytime.

We booked a table for my husband's birthday and the girls were looking forward to it as we had had a good meal there last year.

We were greeted by a really friendly, cheerful waitress who continued to look after us all very well. The decor is still in need of a bit of a revamp but this did not spoil our evening in any way.

We ordered a mussels in creamy sauce to start and Jon ordered king prawns. Both were totally delicious and suffice to say that having had mussels in at least 6 Tenby restaurants this trip, these were the best by far.

We ordered main courses as follows (kids meals are available and are actually free if you eat between 5 - 6 pm but it was a special treat and the girls went "grown up"): Whole lemon sole with butter for myself, Sea bass for Jon, braised lamb shank for Immy and the grilled salmon steak for Scarlett. They were all good - the lemon sole was moist and tasty and Immy managed to finish her entire lamb dish. The sea bass was a little misleading - we thought it was a fillet but came out in a puff pastry case - a bit like a giant vol au vent! It tasted Ok though and there were plentiful amounts of sides to accompany. The garlic potatoes were a little disappointing - the garlic clearly had not been cooked through but it was not a big problem.

We had a thoroughly nice evening (despite the lashing rain!) and although pricey (between £6 and £9 for a starter and £12 to £18 for a main) this was probably the best food we had in Tenby during our visit, along with Bar 10 which I will review separately.

My memories of my Tenby visit are fading fast - how annoying that it is now around 28 degrees at home now that we are back at work?? So I had better get on with the rest of my reviews!

My friend Kate was down for the weekend so we decided to go out for a light lunch as she was off to Manor House Leisure Park with her niece for the afternoon (apparently very good - Anna Ryder Richardson now owns it!).

We were recommended the Ocean restaurant by Kate's Mum (trust me - she know everything there is to know about Tenby!) so off we strolled. The restaurant overlooks the harbour and although lunch is served downstairs, I understand that during the evening you can sit upstairs, overlooking the bay and admiring the lovely views.

It was busy, but they quickly put 2 tables together for us and service was friendly and prompt.

We ordered a fairly light lunch - Greek Salad for Kate, Mussels for Imogen, Pizza for Scarlett, Fish cakes for Jon and then a Ciabatta steak sandwich for me. The food was very nice - the mussels were really tasty, the pizza was good, my steak sandwich was fresh, with a nice salad.

Overall, for a light lunch with a bit of atmosphere head down to the Ocean Restaurant! Next time we are down in Tenby, we will try the restaurant upstairs!

Well, we have finally got back from 2 weeks in Tenby and although the weather was pretty bad we still had a lovely time with a few days on the beach and general relaxation!

We ate in lots of places so I am intending over the next few days to review most of them.
Ronniz Wine Bar came as a recommendation and we have eaten nice food in here before but unfortunately things were not good this time!

We have since found out the Matt Ronowitz (who has to be the best chef in Tenby!) has sold this business on and is now the chef at the Qube Restaurant which I shall review later. Location wise it is just off the Tudor Square in St Julian Street - a thriving street that leads down to the harbour.
The concept is great - Spanish Tapas with a "6 dishes for £20" which sounded good as a light lunch for us (2 young children included). They also do other food which includes steaks etc but we were after something light as we were going back down the beach bodyboarding (the kids were anyway!).

We chose 6 dishes which included mussels in a creamy parmesan sauce, squid in a tomato sauce, sole goujons, meatballs, beef strips in a chilli sauce and finally prawns wrapped in bacon in a garlic sauce. We also ordered a garlic bread and a portion of fries for safe measure.

Our mouths were watering as the dishes were described deliciously in the menu. Alarm bells should have rung when our bottle of white wine arrived unchilled in a wine holder with a glass already poured and topped up with ice cubes! This is a wine bar with no cold white wine??

Suffice to say the food took a good while (we were the only people in there - it was only 12 o'clock) though I am not sure why as it was clearly reheated, and tasted so. In fact the meatballs were not even reheated through - they were cold in the middle. Overall thoroughly disappointing when I have had good tapas all over the world.

We did not visit again.

As you can see we ate out quite a lot which is always nice when on holiday. We were there for the first few days with our friends Mark and Sarah who also have 2 small children so on this occasion we got the lovely Mrs Lewis in to babysit (I still don't know how old she is but she is definitely over 80 years old!) and went out without the children for a change!
We stopped at the Bush for a drink on the way (obviously!) and then made our way into Bar 10 at around 8pm. This has been a Burger bar for years so not quite my cup of tea so was pleasantly surprised to find it really nicely decorated - uber modern and very "wine bar" with a real buzz to it. For atmosphere this has to be the highlight of the holiday and comes highly recommended!
We had a table upstairs which overlooked George Street so we could watch the world go by as we chatted. The menu was good and included some fish specials as well as some interesting dishes such as good old fashioned liver and bacon.
We ordered some wine and perused the menu finally deciding on starters of crayfish and prawn cocktail for myself, whitebait for Sarah and fishcakes for both Jon and Mark. All were delicious - my prawn cocktail was really fresh, crisp and a delight to eat. The whitebait were a blast to the past and the fishcakes were tasty.
For mains we ordered steak and chips for myself and Mark and the liver and bacon for Sarah and Jon. Again, cooked really well, freshly served and very tasty.
A pretty good meal and well priced although on that night the only thing letting the place down was the slightly unfriendly waiter but having returned a few days later for a light lunch (and a much less busy bar!) the chap was much more accommodating and we had a nice glass of wine with some friends.
This would be in my top 2 places to eat in Tenby at the minute - the atmosphere is great, food tasty and not overpriced.

I cannot visit Tenby (and write my blog!!) without mentioning the legendary Hope and Anchor pub down in St Julian Street! Normally when the sun is relentless (not very often!!) it is a pleasant reprieve on our way back from a hard day on the Castle Beach to stop for a cold pint and a bag of crisps but this trip the weather was not good and we only managed this 2 or 3 times. Nonetheless good to see the same old people that are there most nights and funny that the kids' highlight of the entire holiday was watching Frostie on a skateboard (rumour has it he'd had a couple of shandies!) being led by 2 Dobermans until he flipped backwards on his bum amongst general roars of laughter!

Anyway, we went down there for dinner on our last night and had a reasonable meal. The portions are good value as there is always more than enough to fill you up. We ordered as follows: a garlic chicken for Imogen, an 8oz sirloin steak and chips for Scarlett (yes - the 8 yr old!), a Balti curry for Jon and Moules Mariniere for me. Service was prompt and all the meals were good although my mussels were not as good as the Qube (a bit too salty!). The garlic chicken breast was really tasty (highly recommended) and the Balti for Jon was the second curry of the day...oh to be on holiday all the time!

Well, we had a very quiet week last week when the girls went off to Suffolk to stay with their Granny for a week. They had a thoroughly lovely time and as usual did not want to come home!! Their highlight (apart from Harry Potter and the Anglo Saxon village!) was their night out to the Red Lion in Great Wratting on the Friday night! This pub is an absolute must at Christmas time as the decorations are out of this world (a full size lit up nativity scene in the car park!) but for a good family meal it sounds great fun too!

George the landlord makes children more than welcome - it is entertainment from start to finish apparently! Scarlett surprised everyone by finishing off an 8oz ribeye steak all to herself and Immy went for the lemon sole (quite sophisticated for a 10 year old!) but only on the understanding that Aunty Emma had scampi and chips so they could both steal a scampi!
The food was apparently great, the atmosphere rocking (very busy) and a thouroughly great time had by all! Check it out next time you are in the area!

Well yesterday was a sad day in our department as our student placement, Katie Raven, who has been with us a year, is leaving to resume her studies! We couldn't let her go without a pressie, some flowers and a nice lunch out so off we headed to the Royal Oak at Bitteswell (in Leicestershire - 5 minutes from our offices in Lutterworth).
The village is beautiful and picturesque and the pub is a lovely old building with a big garden where you can sit if the weather is nice. Unfortunately yesterday was raining so we sat inside which was nonetheless cosy and inviting.
We had pre-ordered as there were over 10 of us and with work so busy at the moment an hour is really all we can spare. The service was friendly, efficient and all the food came out at the same time with no waiting time. It was hot, portions were generous and the food itself was really good!
I had sought recommendations as the menu has a vast choice of paninis, jacket potatoes, as well as the traditional steak and ale pie, chilli con carne, fish and chips, fish pie etc. Nothing seemed to be over £7 or £8 which, considering the portions, was very good value.
In the end most of us plumped for the homemade burgers which came with a variety of toppings as well as onion rings, a tangy salsa and a generous helping of homemade chips. I chose the chilli, mozzarella and bacon topping and it was delicious. The burgers tasted homemade and the chips were delicious.
I would thoroughly recommend the Royal Oak - good service, good honest well priced food and a nice atmosphere! Farewell to Raven - Katie Raven and welcome to Zoe, our new student placement for the year!

What a day! With school broken up on Wednesday I have a couple of days off until Holiday club starts on Monday. As both girls got great exam results I asked what they might like to do as a treat. This used to cinema / Twin Lakes leisure park / a trip to the village play area so was quite horrified to hear at 8 and 10 years old.."Mum, what we'd really like is to go clothes shopping"!!
This is my worst nightmare - I'm a "shop to live" girl, not a "live to shop"! Anyway, we got in to Highcross (Leicester) by 10am and shopped for England! Luckily peer pressure pushed us down the Peacocks and Primark route so no bank balances were damaged and with the sales in full flow I'll be amazed if we spent £100 between the three of us!
Anyway, we needed lunch - do we do a sandwich at M&S or do we take a welcome rest from the shops with a sit down lunch? The latter won hands down and we headed towards Ask in the middle of Leicester.
The weather was lovely and sunny and we were led to sit outside which was glorious! We ordered drinks and garlic mozzarella bread as a starter (Imogen was starving for a change!). Scarlett chose a tropicana pizza and having looked at the kid's menu (and dismissed it) Immy chose the ravioli filled with crayfish and smoked salmon in a butter and dill sauce served with fresh rocket. This was delicious - I would have liked more sauce but Immy enjoyed it. I ordered a starter portion of chill prawns in a tomato sauce served with crisy bread and rocket. This had a good kick with good chunks of green chili, juicy prawns and turned out to be enough once I'd had one of Immy's rather large ravioli! The portion of chips were not really required in the end but were still delicious served with a generous portion of garlic mayo.
The service was good and our waitress Kate looked after our every need. £36 for 3 seemed reasonable and I would definitely go back....can I give the shopping a miss next time??!

Just reading in the Times, their review of the Top 50 Beaches in the UK. Not un-surprisingly, Barafundle Beach is listed in the Top 10 and is near to Tenby where I grew up. During my childhood the beach was always deserted (normally because of the half mile hike from car park), but I think that these days with all the good reviews it has received it must have more visitors! We must check it out when we next visit Pembrokeshire.
Interestingly The Times also reviewed 10 of the best seaside fish & chip shops so I was delighted to see D Fecci & Sons of Tenby listed! Now that I live in the Midlands we ONLY have fish and chips when we head off to Tenby yet when I was smaller, Fecci's fish and chips were a must at least once a week! They really are delicious, made from locally grown potatoes and Milford Haven caught fresh fish. I'm not sure if rissoles are a welsh thing? My sister religiously would have rissole and chips whilst we all tucked in to the fish and chips. The curry sauce is a must for me too - to dip your chips in!!
The staff are always friendly and joking - you can eat in or take away - do yourself a favour if you're off to Tenby - plan at least one night for Fecci's fish & chips!

Well I have to say that I was really looking forward to Sunday lunch out yesterday and had chosen the Red House at Nether Broughton (Leicestershire) to meet up with some old friends for an informal get together and some decent food.

We've been here a few times with the children and the food and service has always been great - in fact we went there for Mothers Day last year and I had a fab time!

So what has happened since?? This was the most disappointing meal out for a long time. we should have realized things were amiss when we discovered we were one of only 2 tables booked in for the entire lunch service. Previously we have always had to book in advance to secure a table.

The service was very friendly as normal and the menu, though limited, looked OK. I never have a problem with a limited menu because surely that means everything is cooked fresh as ordered?? The staff were friendly and made us feel welcome as well as welcoming children without a problem.

The starters looked great and we ordered 2 prawns tempura and a wild mushroom bruscetta. The prawns were OK but the bruscetta was lacking any depth of flavour whatsoever. It needed salt and pepper and the creamy sauce was bland with the wild mushrooms bizarrely adding nothing to the dish!

I'm not a big fan of roast Sunday dinner out so was delighted to see Steak & Kidney Pudding on the menu as well as the obligatory roast beef, pork and chicken. My husband & I both ordered the pudding whilst everyone else ordered a roast of some sort. The dauphinoise potatoes that came with the chicken were hard and tasted too garlicky (it was almost raw) and the vegetables were OK but a little dull. The biggest disappointment was the Steak & Kidney Pudding. Obviously heated up - dry filling and hard chewy pastry that was far too tough.

We skipped pudding but with 2 glasses of wine and a few soft drinks the bill for 4 children & 3 adults was just short of £100. What a disappointment and we won't be visiting again in a hurry!