In celebratory mood it's a birthday party today!
I went for a pre-dinner, after work, drink at Tonic. It's a bit quiet early on but that's okay, at least you can talk to people without yelling their ears off.
After drinkies off for dinner, and what better than a lovely French restaurant? Not much, that's what! SO off we went to one of Nottingham's 'top 3' French restaurants, French Living.
I really like French Living, as do many, but it has (in the past) been a fairly small restaurant in the basement. I know some people who didn't like the basement aesthetic. For you, they have now opened up the upstairs deli-cafe in the evening.
So you can now have delicious French Living cuisine, but in the light and airy upstairs section.
To be honest, the day we went upstairs was fairly empty - everyone having chosen to go downstairs for their dinner - but in the spirit if trying out new things we valiantly selected "Upstairs".
The food was cooked beautifully and served by waiters who are actually French (not faux-French) and the French chatter as they were hanging about with not much to do upstairs added to the ambiance. They do have evenings where you can go and speak French, to brush up your skills before you go on holiday perhaps?
I had a couple of courses, a duck main dish and Ile Flottante (who doesn't like Meringue floating on cold custard, yummy). The duck was beautifully cooked and served with fragrant vegetables.
One of the delights of French Living is that the seasonal menu changes every three months so you can rest assured that if you don't like the menu now, you will surely in a few weeks time.
The rating
French Living is one of my 'top 3' French restaurants and remains so, good for dinners with friends and intimate meals for lovers. I prefer the more rough-and-ready downstairs section, but I know that the light and airy upstairs will appeal to those who don't. Definitely worth a visit - go!!
Food
A seasonal menu changing every three months. You're sure to find something! French food done nicely and served nicely, but no pompousness.
Price
Main courses around £12 but a three course fixed price menu at a very reasonable £18.50.
Atmosphere
Depends on your taste, for me, better downstairs in the basement. If you like light and airy, better upstairs. It's nice to have the choice.
Link
http://www.frenchliving.co.uk/
French Living
27 King Street
Nottingham
NG1 2AY
England
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Sunday, 19 June 2011
Tarn Thai in Nottingham and farewell to Pretty Orchid
Okay so I have been away for a while! What that does mean is that I have a lovely selection of restaurants to tell you all about so I will update this in the next few days.
Beginning at the 8 th June.......
Uncertain of where to eat for a usual Wednesday night out we headed off to the Pretty Orchid. Unfortunately we found that the restaurant has now closed. It is a real shame, but the tucked-away location ( made worse by the extension of the shops in front of it) seems to have finally been terminal. Goodbye Pretty Orchid. Thanks for all the dinners.
Thwarted in that direction, we headed on up to Tarn Thai.
Tarn Thai is quite a special place to eat, the service is attentive, decor lush and the meals pricey.
There us an extensive menu and options for set menus. Being awkward we liked the look of two of the main dishes from separate set menus but neither of the set menus themselves ( my dislike for mushrooms and seafood hampers me here more than most places). So we decided to create our own dinner based on the set menus. We are food sharers so ordered two mains, but in the knowledge that we would both eat both. There was a chicken dish and a fish dish. We plumped for a starter platter and a bowl of rice and one of noodles.
The verdict, nicely served and decorated with those pretty carved vegetable things we had a lovely dinner. The starter selection was plenty, but not over filling. That said we both agreed that next time we would only order one rice / noodle dish between two as there was too much in what we had got. The noodles were very good, fresh and slightly salty -so it would probably be just the noodles!
No space left for puddings, just the two courses was plenty.
The rating
It's a luxe place, good service, lush decor and plenty of nice food. Great for parties with the set menu and with a smartly dressed clientele. Nice for a special occasion to take your time over your food.
Food - clue's in the name! it's Thai / Asian specialities
Price - set 2 course menus just over £20, create your own just a touch more
Atmosphere - calm, with background tinkling of water features. Dressed up diners.
Link - http://www.tarnthai.co.uk/
Beginning at the 8 th June.......
Uncertain of where to eat for a usual Wednesday night out we headed off to the Pretty Orchid. Unfortunately we found that the restaurant has now closed. It is a real shame, but the tucked-away location ( made worse by the extension of the shops in front of it) seems to have finally been terminal. Goodbye Pretty Orchid. Thanks for all the dinners.
Thwarted in that direction, we headed on up to Tarn Thai.
Tarn Thai is quite a special place to eat, the service is attentive, decor lush and the meals pricey.
There us an extensive menu and options for set menus. Being awkward we liked the look of two of the main dishes from separate set menus but neither of the set menus themselves ( my dislike for mushrooms and seafood hampers me here more than most places). So we decided to create our own dinner based on the set menus. We are food sharers so ordered two mains, but in the knowledge that we would both eat both. There was a chicken dish and a fish dish. We plumped for a starter platter and a bowl of rice and one of noodles.
The verdict, nicely served and decorated with those pretty carved vegetable things we had a lovely dinner. The starter selection was plenty, but not over filling. That said we both agreed that next time we would only order one rice / noodle dish between two as there was too much in what we had got. The noodles were very good, fresh and slightly salty -so it would probably be just the noodles!
No space left for puddings, just the two courses was plenty.
The rating
It's a luxe place, good service, lush decor and plenty of nice food. Great for parties with the set menu and with a smartly dressed clientele. Nice for a special occasion to take your time over your food.
Food - clue's in the name! it's Thai / Asian specialities
Price - set 2 course menus just over £20, create your own just a touch more
Atmosphere - calm, with background tinkling of water features. Dressed up diners.
Link - http://www.tarnthai.co.uk/
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Bistrot Pierre, a Nottingham French favourite
Tonight was a lovely evening, a sunny and clear day leaving the evening light and warm ( well, not cold anyway). In order to celebrate this coming of summer I am now attempting to be good ( both for my health and the environment) and cycle into work. That meant I also had the bike with me in town so I needed to be fairly near a parking spot.
We both thought that the recently redeveloped area at the back of the Cornerhouse in Nottingham would have some bike stands - wrong. But there were at least some handy railings to tether the beast to.
The restaurant was full of pre theatre diners when we arrived, taking advantage of the prix fixe early bird menu so we had to go and get drinks before returning. Not a problem as the food is generally worth a little wait.
Once seated my friend had a mixed salmon and salad starter on a blini. It looked nice. I was trying to save space for a pudding so did not have a starter, just a few pieces of bread and butter. My main was a £14 slow roasted lamb dish served with garlic potatoes, red cabbage and broccoli. The meat was topped with an unusual and tasty herb crumb. The meat was cooked nicely so that it fell apart rather than needing to be cut at all. It was a deliciously rich dish. My friend's special bavette steak was also apparently good.
After decent sized portions and a look at the dessert menu I was, unfortunately, too full. Never mind.
In order to fully appreciate the start of summer we retired to the top of the city in Saltwater to sit with the bright young things sipping cocktails and watching the rooftops sink into a pinky purple sunset. Ah, lovely! Cheers everyone, and good night. Restaurant details to follow after I have had a good night's sleep!
Added: Bistrot Pierre, locations in central and northern England.
http://www.lebistrotpierre.co.uk/locations/nottingham
We both thought that the recently redeveloped area at the back of the Cornerhouse in Nottingham would have some bike stands - wrong. But there were at least some handy railings to tether the beast to.
The restaurant was full of pre theatre diners when we arrived, taking advantage of the prix fixe early bird menu so we had to go and get drinks before returning. Not a problem as the food is generally worth a little wait.
Once seated my friend had a mixed salmon and salad starter on a blini. It looked nice. I was trying to save space for a pudding so did not have a starter, just a few pieces of bread and butter. My main was a £14 slow roasted lamb dish served with garlic potatoes, red cabbage and broccoli. The meat was topped with an unusual and tasty herb crumb. The meat was cooked nicely so that it fell apart rather than needing to be cut at all. It was a deliciously rich dish. My friend's special bavette steak was also apparently good.
After decent sized portions and a look at the dessert menu I was, unfortunately, too full. Never mind.
In order to fully appreciate the start of summer we retired to the top of the city in Saltwater to sit with the bright young things sipping cocktails and watching the rooftops sink into a pinky purple sunset. Ah, lovely! Cheers everyone, and good night. Restaurant details to follow after I have had a good night's sleep!
Added: Bistrot Pierre, locations in central and northern England.
http://www.lebistrotpierre.co.uk/locations/nottingham
Monday, 30 May 2011
A night out on the vouchers!
As regular readers of the blog will note, I am quite a fan of the restaurant voucher. Vouchers themselves have been around for many years, but in the last two years it has been markedly less seasonal. Previously vouchers were available only at slack times in the year, like just after Christmas, but now you can find a voucher somewhere any time of the year. I think it's a result of people in general choosing to spend less of their cash.
So armed with my vouchers where did we go?
First, dinner. I had buy-one-get-one-free tapas at La Tasca. In Nottingham it is quite a cosy restaurant. The atmosphere was warm and lively too. We had friendly waiting staff. The dinner consisted of 10 dishes between the four of us and a pitcher of sangria rosé. Ten is about as many as you can comfortably squeeze on the table! The various plates were all good, however it did lead to the question......if tapas plates are generally served to even numbered groups of people why are some not divisible by two? It takes sharing to a whole new level chopping three croquettes into four portions!
Post dinner we all had coffees / hot chocolate and a variety of chocolate themed puddings. The melt in the middle puddle pudding was pleasant with a delicate spiced chocolate orange flavour, chocolate brownies were rich and gooey and I had a huge pile of profiteroles. Each dessert was comfortably large enough for two to share.
After a voucher-tastic dinner what better than a free cocktail? I thought the offer was almost too good to be true but it was definitely worth a try. Free mojito at pitcher and piano just for registering on their site, you get a code and take it in to the bar. Even on a busy Friday night with the bar area like a poorly organised rugby scrum the voucher codes were duly accepted and our lovely cocktails dispensed. No less impressive for its use as a bar, the converted church is a wonderfully vaulted venue for drinks.
The rating
La Tasca offers a bustling restaurant great for a catch up with friends. Pitcher and piano on a Friday is loud, and busy, exactly what you would expect of a city centre bar on a Friday night!
The summary
Food: Spanish style tapas dishes, create your own mix.
Price: two courses, sangria and coffees for four £55 with my lovely vouchers.
Link to vouchers: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-restaurant-deals
Atmosphere: wooden floors and basic seating, lively, warm and chatty environment.
La Tasca
http://www.latasca.co.uk/nottingham/
Pitcher and piano
http://www.pitcherandpiano.com/locations/bar.cfm?area=Nottingham
So armed with my vouchers where did we go?
First, dinner. I had buy-one-get-one-free tapas at La Tasca. In Nottingham it is quite a cosy restaurant. The atmosphere was warm and lively too. We had friendly waiting staff. The dinner consisted of 10 dishes between the four of us and a pitcher of sangria rosé. Ten is about as many as you can comfortably squeeze on the table! The various plates were all good, however it did lead to the question......if tapas plates are generally served to even numbered groups of people why are some not divisible by two? It takes sharing to a whole new level chopping three croquettes into four portions!
Post dinner we all had coffees / hot chocolate and a variety of chocolate themed puddings. The melt in the middle puddle pudding was pleasant with a delicate spiced chocolate orange flavour, chocolate brownies were rich and gooey and I had a huge pile of profiteroles. Each dessert was comfortably large enough for two to share.
After a voucher-tastic dinner what better than a free cocktail? I thought the offer was almost too good to be true but it was definitely worth a try. Free mojito at pitcher and piano just for registering on their site, you get a code and take it in to the bar. Even on a busy Friday night with the bar area like a poorly organised rugby scrum the voucher codes were duly accepted and our lovely cocktails dispensed. No less impressive for its use as a bar, the converted church is a wonderfully vaulted venue for drinks.
The rating
La Tasca offers a bustling restaurant great for a catch up with friends. Pitcher and piano on a Friday is loud, and busy, exactly what you would expect of a city centre bar on a Friday night!
The summary
Food: Spanish style tapas dishes, create your own mix.
Price: two courses, sangria and coffees for four £55 with my lovely vouchers.
Link to vouchers: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/cheap-restaurant-deals
Atmosphere: wooden floors and basic seating, lively, warm and chatty environment.
La Tasca
http://www.latasca.co.uk/nottingham/
Pitcher and piano
http://www.pitcherandpiano.com/locations/bar.cfm?area=Nottingham
Saturday, 21 May 2011
I've found it!
A while ago when out I was too full for a pudding. I know - unusual!
On the table there was a little card advertising a mini pudding and a cup of coffee. I had one - it was great, just enough pudding and a smooth milky coffee. The trouble is I forgot where this was.
Ever since then I have been trying to find out where it was, and this week we've done it!
It's Pizza Express Hockley, Nottingham. The King Street Pizza Express doesn't do it as we've looked there before.
So this week's voucher was courtesy of Tesco. You can swap your points for restaurant vouchers. They cover food, and you only pay for drinks so it can be free if you want it to be.
I had my favourite pizza, the Fiorentina. It's got spinach and an egg on top. The Sicilian lemonade is also good, still, tart and refreshing. It's a good change from over-sweet soft drinks. For afters, a lovely coffee with dough balls and.......Nutella spread to dip. Unusual, and possibly a bit like Marmite in that I think you either love it or hate it. I love it!
The summary:
Food: Pizza, done well.
Price: Free! Well, nearly. Pizzas are usually around £8.
Atmosphere: Modern, light and airy restaurant with attentive staff and adult clientele. Quieter and more intimate than King Street.
24 Goosegate Nottingham NG1 1FF
On the table there was a little card advertising a mini pudding and a cup of coffee. I had one - it was great, just enough pudding and a smooth milky coffee. The trouble is I forgot where this was.
Ever since then I have been trying to find out where it was, and this week we've done it!
It's Pizza Express Hockley, Nottingham. The King Street Pizza Express doesn't do it as we've looked there before.
So this week's voucher was courtesy of Tesco. You can swap your points for restaurant vouchers. They cover food, and you only pay for drinks so it can be free if you want it to be.
I had my favourite pizza, the Fiorentina. It's got spinach and an egg on top. The Sicilian lemonade is also good, still, tart and refreshing. It's a good change from over-sweet soft drinks. For afters, a lovely coffee with dough balls and.......Nutella spread to dip. Unusual, and possibly a bit like Marmite in that I think you either love it or hate it. I love it!
The rating:
A reliable option, the food is always tasty and a consistent standard, the Hockley location is more refined and much quieter than it's King Street cousin.
A reliable option, the food is always tasty and a consistent standard, the Hockley location is more refined and much quieter than it's King Street cousin.
The summary:
Food: Pizza, done well.
Price: Free! Well, nearly. Pizzas are usually around £8.
Atmosphere: Modern, light and airy restaurant with attentive staff and adult clientele. Quieter and more intimate than King Street.
Pizza Express Hockley
24 Goosegate Nottingham NG1 1FF
Tel: 0115 912 7888
Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Gourmet burger kitchen is a fairly recent addition to Nottingham, having been around in London for some time. There's often a deal on in the voucher tables, so this week I thought it worth a try. The deal was two burgers for £10, not bad.
You choose your burger, either light or classic size, and my voucher included most burgers - just not the create your own topping ones. I had a cheese and bacon burger - cooked medium. As the burgers wandering about looked fairly sizeable we went for a large chips to share.
What was a wonderful discovery for me, as anyone who has read my OK Diner post will realise, was the lovely milkshakes on offer here!
The burgers were great, big, moist and yummy. My advice is to only share a regular chips, though, as we struggled to finish them.
We did note that the pesto and mozzarella burger was a pestorella burger, which sounds like some kind of disease. Lets hope they never do a salmon and mozzarella burger......
The summary:
Food: Tasty, well cooked burgers.
Price: Around £8 for full price burgers. Meal for 2 with voucher was £22.
Atmosphere: Relaxed, canteen-style. Not sure why there were shoes on the wall though!
GBK Nottingham
http://www.gbk.co.uk/restaurant/nottingham/
You choose your burger, either light or classic size, and my voucher included most burgers - just not the create your own topping ones. I had a cheese and bacon burger - cooked medium. As the burgers wandering about looked fairly sizeable we went for a large chips to share.
What was a wonderful discovery for me, as anyone who has read my OK Diner post will realise, was the lovely milkshakes on offer here!
The burgers were great, big, moist and yummy. My advice is to only share a regular chips, though, as we struggled to finish them.
We did note that the pesto and mozzarella burger was a pestorella burger, which sounds like some kind of disease. Lets hope they never do a salmon and mozzarella burger......
The rating:
A definite recommendation! Good food, good milk.
A definite recommendation! Good food, good milk.
The summary:
Food: Tasty, well cooked burgers.
Price: Around £8 for full price burgers. Meal for 2 with voucher was £22.
Atmosphere: Relaxed, canteen-style. Not sure why there were shoes on the wall though!
GBK Nottingham
http://www.gbk.co.uk/restaurant/nottingham/
Unit 10 Trinity Square, Nottingham, NG14AF
Phone: 01159 474167 Fax: 01159 242322
Sunday, 8 May 2011
Recent diversions - the sewing machine
Right, now that I have caught up on my food-related posts I will explain my recent diversions from blogging.
My husband bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. I have therefore been learning to sew. Just so you get the idea here, I have not even looked at a sewing machine since I was about 14, and in my term of home economics I managed to do half (yes, half) a patchwork cushion cover. In my school you had to queue up for the iron and then share a sewing machine so none of it could ever be described as quick. To be fair we did also do some free machine embroidery, but still it's not a lot of experience.
It turns out that there are loads of blogs out there which help with learning to sew. I have also joined Burda, who have an online sewing community, and Made by Rae's lovely tutorials have also been great.
So, whilst I haven't been blogging I have sewn (with my own fair hands!)....
5 baby bibs (using my own pattern drawn on a bit of paper and made to be a reasonable bib shape on me!)
Baby trousers (a Made By Rae pattern that I played with to make reversible
Baby dress (a version of the Retro Re-do dress by korpfan on Burda)
denim handbag for a little girl (a version of the Jordy bag)
1 felt belt
3 luggage tags
1 post organiser
1 kitchen cupboard organiser
1 cotton top (PJs)
Cotton PJ trousers (bit of a disaster I had to unpick the seams 3 times)
1 felt corsage
Lots and lots of various flowers using the fabric scraps, turns out I hate throwing pretty bits away
In a mild fit of creativity on a long car journey I also crocheted two Pidge scarves, one for me and one for my husband.
Written down like that it looks like a lot of stuff, so I am more content that I haven't blogged for a while. At least its been constructive!
Some pics....
Bib
Retro Re-Do dress
Rae's newborn trousers, made longer, with lining and reversible.
My floppy re-cycled denim version of the Jordy bag. I later added some embroidery to jazz it up for my colleague's little girl.
My husband bought me a sewing machine for Christmas. I have therefore been learning to sew. Just so you get the idea here, I have not even looked at a sewing machine since I was about 14, and in my term of home economics I managed to do half (yes, half) a patchwork cushion cover. In my school you had to queue up for the iron and then share a sewing machine so none of it could ever be described as quick. To be fair we did also do some free machine embroidery, but still it's not a lot of experience.
It turns out that there are loads of blogs out there which help with learning to sew. I have also joined Burda, who have an online sewing community, and Made by Rae's lovely tutorials have also been great.
So, whilst I haven't been blogging I have sewn (with my own fair hands!)....
5 baby bibs (using my own pattern drawn on a bit of paper and made to be a reasonable bib shape on me!)
Baby trousers (a Made By Rae pattern that I played with to make reversible
Baby dress (a version of the Retro Re-do dress by korpfan on Burda)
denim handbag for a little girl (a version of the Jordy bag)
1 felt belt
3 luggage tags
1 post organiser
1 kitchen cupboard organiser
1 cotton top (PJs)
Cotton PJ trousers (bit of a disaster I had to unpick the seams 3 times)
1 felt corsage
Lots and lots of various flowers using the fabric scraps, turns out I hate throwing pretty bits away
In a mild fit of creativity on a long car journey I also crocheted two Pidge scarves, one for me and one for my husband.
Written down like that it looks like a lot of stuff, so I am more content that I haven't blogged for a while. At least its been constructive!
Some pics....
Bib
Retro Re-Do dress
Rae's newborn trousers, made longer, with lining and reversible.
My floppy re-cycled denim version of the Jordy bag. I later added some embroidery to jazz it up for my colleague's little girl.
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