The Royal Oak, Bitteswell

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!

Ask Leicester

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??!