Caribbean food is still rather elusive to me. I don’t fully know what genre of food it is and what its famed flavour combos are. So when my friend Vick and I were settling on a pit stop lunch break during a recent shopping trip in Chelmsford, we decided to try a restaurant neither of us had visited before; the brightly coloured Turtle Bay.
Upon entering, we were bombarded by colour, clanging metal light fittings and chunky wooden signage painted in lurid neon shades. Cluttered, mismatched and featuring pretty much every colour under the sun, it oozed a fun and frivolous vibe, all about casual get togethers with friends and one too many cocktails. Although the decor was haphazard, it pulled together really nicely and looked oddly polished and put together despite the corrugated metal.
Since it was a pretty toasty day, we really wanted to gulp down some soft drinks, so we went for the super refreshing pineappleade, a mixture of pineapple and lime juices, topped up with soda. It was served in a classic glass milk bottle, topped with a greaseproof paper lid that was held in place with an elastic band, a straw tucked tidily through the band too. It was zingy and fresh, the perfect start to what I was sure was going to be a spicy meal. And herein lies the problem.
I do enjoy food with a bit of a punch, and when eating spicy dishes, I tend to opt for a mild to medium spiciness. In all honesty, super hot food isn’t really my thing as I find it overpowers the flavour of the dish, and burns my mouth too much, for me to enjoy the food. On the Turtle Bay menu, I found loads of curries that I loved the sound of – one featured duck, another goat – and I would have liked to try them, however a lot of them featured scotch bonnet chilies and the like. Vick and I ended up drawing our waiter into an intense conversation over how spicy everything was. He soon admitted that everything was pretty spicy. The only things that weren’t was one of the chicken curries really and a few other bits and bobs. It’s a hard call as I wanted to try something different, however I didn’t want to waste my money and calories on a meal that I wouldn’t enjoy if it was too spicy and since our waiter painted the majority of the menu as being spicy, I was left in a bit of a quandary.
In the end I opted for the jerk sirloin steak. You really can’t go wrong with steak. I got to chose between two sauces, the 
spicier jerk sauce or a mild option. Since I thought my steak was safe, I chose the jerk sauce, to make sure I still sampled some traditional Caribbean flavours. My dish was originally meant to come with spinach, which I love as well as fries and onion chutney. Having spotted coconut rice and peas as a side for some of the other dishes, I asked whether I could swap the fries for this. When my meal arrived, it looked nothing like I anticipated, and I was certainly getting swift food envy of Vick’s chicken one pot curry. The steak was relatively thin, a nice size and cooked medium rare as I requested. The jerk sauce was a thick, brown sauce that had been generously poured all over my meat, and it pooled around the plate. I do love having plenty of sauce so the quantity was good here, and luckily I also liked the taste. It was a rustic spicy with a burnt BBQ vibe that really brought out the red meat flavours from the tender steak. There was a few blobs of green dotted over the top too, although I had no idea what that was.
My sides were not as expected. The coconut rice was, again a very generous portion, and also tasty although to me it just tasted like rice. I also had a pile of green mush snuggled next to my rice, which I think featured peas. This wasn’t the ‘rice n’ peas’ combo I thought I’d ordered. The green stuff was soft, had a minty undertone and was ok, but a bit odd. Although my sides weren’t really what I expected, or thought I ordered, I can’t deny that I did enjoy my main meal as a whole dish. The portion size was really rather large and the steak was tasty too; I also enjoyed being able to have so much sauce to mix up with my rice as well as eat with my meat. It was a strange mix of foodstuffs but I still thought it was an ok meal.
We also ordered a couple of sides to share. These included dumplings, which were like doughballs really as they were more bread than a traditional English suet dumpling, however the outside of the dumplings were golden brown and baked so they had a firm bite on the outside and then the warm, soft bread on the inside. These did soak up the jerk sauce really well and were a great help when mopping up my plate. Our second shared side was fried plantain, another 
item I hadn’t really tried before. Plantain reminds me a little bit of parsnip, as it is a sweeter root vegetable too. Where it had been fried, it had a caramalised lustre to it, which really enhanced the flavour and added to the sweetness of the veg. These felt indulgent, but they were also incredibly moreish, cooked until they were soft in the centre.
For me, my favourite course was dessert, where I chose the Caymanas upside down run cake, which was basically a caramel rum sponge pudding. It was hefty slice of sponge cake that had been very thoroughly drenched in rum for a very alcoholic kick, drizzled with lovely caramel. The sponge itself was soft, light to eat and delicious; the sweet caramel was still a prominent flavour and it stood up to the punchy rum well to create a really well paired dessert that I adored. Served with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream, this was a real treat for me and even though I am not traditionally a rum fan, I loved the combo between the rum and the caramel, the sponge cake acting as the perfect flavour conduit.
Although I am still a bit bemused by Caribbean food, on the whole, this wasn’t a bad meal. The service was ok and our waiter was trying his best to be helpful and suit our needs. What I did eat was nice, but for me, dessert was the winner here. I’m not sure whether I would go back, or if I did go back whether I would be braver in my food choices, but it fit the bill for lunch on this occasion.
Birmingham may not be typically associated with romantic restaurants and date night hotspots, however when my husband Dan took me out for a meal on our recent visit up north (we are from Essex, most things are north to us), we found a restaurant that certainly ticks every box I have when it comes to a slap up meal out. Despite the whitewash of snow, we donned our glad rags and headed to Cielo, an Italain restaurant situated on the fabulously named Oozells Square, in sophisticated social scene Brindleyplace.
however the restaurant was absolutely alive with rich and hearty Italian laughter, large groups of family and friends dolled up, numerous waiting staff buzzing about as if charged with electricity. I instantly loved the vibe of the atmosphere; it was as if Cielo was celebrating the weekend itself.
which boasted of green apple, pink grapefruit and elderflower flavours. It was actually refreshingly fruity, yet soft and light to drink so it was ideal to cut through the carbohydrate and protein-laden feast we were planning. For starters, I chose the spaghetti carbonara, made with smoked pancetta, egg yolks, white wine, cream and grated Grana Padano cheese. Of course, I had extra Parmesan grated on top as well. Firstly, I loved the pasta bowl it came in. Traditionally a deep bowl, it was shaped to have one side lower than the other so it looked as if it was sitting on a slant, and almost provided an easy access point for me to eat my spaghetti from! The pasta itself was well cooked, which is good as I don’t like al dente pasta, and I loved the creaminess of the sauce paired with the salty mini cubes of pancetta. It was carbonara, but a carbonara of kings. The hubby went for prawns, which were lightly battered and served with a fresh mango-based salad and a sweet chilli dip. Although initially dubious about the mango, he soon started raving about the magical combination of flavours.
For my main course, I think I consumed one of the best dishes I have ever eaten out. By the size of this blog alone, I think we can all gather what a compliment this is. I ordered the tournedo rossini, which was basically an incredibly hefty and large fillet steak, a wonderful chunk of meat that I asked cooked medium rare. This was sat on a neat cylinder of sauteed garlic spinach, while on top of the angus beef was enriched duck liver and thin wafers of black truffle. The whole dish sat in a swimming pool of rich and dark red wine jus. This dish was undoubtedly all about the wow factor and I simply cannot praise it highly enough. The beef itself was sheer quality, thickly cut and buttery soft. This was a match made in heaven when dipped in the gorgeously deep and rich sauce, which had a slight sweet and balsamic-like tone to it. I was expecting pate for the duck liver, however I had a poke in the dim, atmospheric lighting of the restaurant and deduced that I thought it actually was liver. I hadn’t tried liver before so it was a learning curve, yet luckily it was only a small portion and it was sat on a square of olive oil drenched bread. When all covered in the jus as well, it was hard not to like. It was certainly meaty and a different texture to most meats, being slightly spongy in comparison, however it did not take away from the dish at all. I loved finding the shards of black truffle as I adore truffle, and anything black truffle in particular sends me wistfully 
daydreaming about my time in Florence, were food is the altar at which Florence locals worship and truffle is a much more normal foodstuff. Truffle works well with meat so I enjoyed pairing it with both the steak and the liver. The spinach added a vibrancy of green to the plate and I really enjoyed the heavy garlic hit encompassed in the buttery cooked leaves. All in all, this dish was something very special, and I could think about it all day long.
Dessert was always going to be a foregone conclusion. With our first two courses leaving us in raptures of Italian stupor, there was no way I was leaving without trying a portion of tiramisu. Boy it was lovely to look at and even greater to eat! Served in a neat circular stack, the dessert was wonderfully creamy with lashings of layered mascarpone and coffee-drenched sponge, the top dusted thoroughly with coco powder and the plate scattered with finely chopped nuts for added crunch. The tiramisu was silky, flavoursome and sweet; in other words utterly lovely. I even treated myself to a sneaky glass of dessert wine with it to help accentuate the sweetness further. Dan went all fresh and fruity with a brandsnap basket loaded with fresh fruit and served with sorbet.
amazing. The quality and standard of the dishes was unbelievably high and the portion sizes were really rather large too to leave us completely stuffed and waddling back to our hotel. The service was a little slow, but considering it was Saturday and we needed all the rest time we could muster in between courses, I wouldn’t say it was a problem in any way.
Another weekend away, another half marathon and another hunt for the ideal dinner venue that would accommodate my husband’s rather particular tastes as well as my need to carb-load before running 13.1 miles along Brighton’s prom. Despite these exacting requirements, we actually came up trumps as after a bit of Googling, the other half found The Old Bank Steak and Ribs restaurant. Not only did it come with a meat-infested menu that suited both of us, but it was a mere seven minute walk from our apartment, making it simple to walk there and stagger back.
husband and I were ushered to a small table snuggled in the corner, laid for two with white painted dining chairs. It felt nicely private and tucked away, ideal for a romantic date night.
For main course, I was looking for something protein and carb heavy to help prep my muscles’ energy stores for my run the next day. With this in mind, I was all over the steak option, which came with wonderfully fat chips, a cluster of mushrooms, a segment of tomato, some greenery and I had also opted for garlic butter as my sauce option. Again, another basic menu option however it was still a delicious meal. I had my steak cooked medium-rare and this was delivered on, which is always good, and I found the meat nice and juicy too. It wasn’t the most tender steak I have ever eaten, however it still cut slickly. I smeared the dip dish of garlic butter all over my meat so that it melted in great pools of herby butter, and sunk into the succulent steak. I found it a good combo, however the butter could have been more garlicky in my opinion. The chips were nice also, although in my view, they reminded me a bit too much of the Homepride chunky oven chips I do at home. They were still tasty to eat and worked well with my steak, however there just wasn’t that restaurant gleam I was looking for. The mushrooms I palmed off on to the husband as I dislike the slimey little buggers, however the tomato was yummy when paired with the steak and the leaves acted as both garnish and something lighter to eat with the meat. On the whole, it was pretty standard fare but it hit the spot and was a decent meal.
I couldn’t leave without giving my sweet tooth a seeing to. The dessert menu was very simplistic with not a great deal of choice; I found it comprised basically of different sundaes that was the same vanilla whipped ice cream matched with different sauces and toppings. Although simple, I am somewhat of a sundae fiend so I had no difficulty in opting for a banana split type dessert. Served in a glass, boat-shaped dish, my split banana housed tall whirls of vanilla whipped ice cream, hidden underneath which were melted chunks of Twix chocolate for a chocolate, biscuit and toffee crunch that is quite irresistible. Drizzled with chocolate and caramel sauces too, I really did feel like the kid let loose in the candy store, although I was also polite and offered the other half one of my two chocolate wafers that speared victoriously from the peaks of my ice cream. A childish dessert it may be, but sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with that.
instantly drawn to one which was described as tasting like raspberries and cream. Weirdly enough, it really did. The berry tones were smooth and well-rounded while the cream was a softer, sweeter texture that came as a backnote as the end of your sip. A very lovely wine; a shame that I was restricted to just the one glass due to my run!
The evening before a half marathon is always slightly trickier when you are staying away from home, and therefore having to negotiate your carb loading with a menu that hasn’t been self-concocted in your kitchen to optimise your performance the following day. Knowing my body and my pre-event food preferences rather well by now, I figured that I would be fine visiting steak restaurant Black Rock the evening before I took on the Clacton Half Marathon. After all, protein is essential for us athletes.
At the bottom of the stairs, Black Rock has a really cool vibe that is centred around home-grown friendship and community. The focal point is undoubtedly the very chunky and long wooden tables, that are set up to accommodate large groups with ease. With such lengthy tables aligned down the centre of the room, it almost gave the restaurant the feel of an old school banqueting hall, with dining chairs tucked neatly under the centrepiece tables. Despite this nod to the communal eating scene of days gone past, Black Rock is actually rather trendy. Mottled wooden flooring that matches the tables is juxtaposed against crisp white walls, small spotlights studding the ceiling to add to the decorative tools of the trade for creating space. The plain walls were the ideal backdrop for kitsch black and white prints of famed actors and actresses, such as Charlie Chaplin and Audrey Hepburn, which gave an almost hipster vibe to the modernly clean-cut space. The atmosphere was relaxed, and since we went early for food, it was still nice and quiet, although the frown when we said we hadn’t booked a table was a wee bit off-putting.
This is basically an impressively sized hunk of 10z of sirloin steak that is served pretty much raw on a sizzling rock plate. Following the trend for cooking at the table, us diners then finish cooking our steak by cutting slices off the main slab of meat and cooking it on the hot black rock embedded in a wooden chopping board style plate in front of us at the table. Having done this type of dish together at Steak and Co in London, and also wanting a lot of protein for my run the next day, this seemed to hit the nail on the head in more than one way.
white rectangular plate next to the hot stone, and then in three little indents at the back of the chopping board were little white dip dishes, containing garlic oil, peppercorn sauce, and a mushroom sauce. A side salad also shared room with the chips.
peppercorn sauce will always bring. The side salad was very simple, just a few dressed leaves and veg really.
After polishing off our steaks, we thought we might share a dessert (read: I wanted dessert, we pretended to share). The dessert menu was rather small, so I soon zoned in on the chocolate fudge cake; a very traditional offering that can usually be found on any British menu worth its salt. Served with a simple scoop of vanilla ice cream and a chocolate sauce drizzled wafer, it came to the table quite quickly. There was plenty of dark chocolate sauce drizzled all over which I liked, and the cake slice itself was ok as well; small desserts are life’s biggest disappointments. The cake itself was very chocolately yet not overly heavy, although it did have a slight brownie-like tinge to it in my opinion, where it was very chocolately and a little dense around the ganache frosting sections, which was luxuriously thick and gooey. Certainly a decadent chocolate-overload, it was a simple dessert that ticked the box for something sweet and chocolate to finish the meal.
The Liberty Bell has always been a reliable source of British pub grub, a mere 15 minute walk from my flat, making it an ideal date night location where both my husband and I can enjoy a few drinks yet still get home with ease. Partnered with Romford’s Premier Inn, the gastro pub used to be part of the Table Table chain, yet a recent renovation has seen it transform into a Beefeater. Although I know the differences are probably quite subtle and more nuanced – after all, it still serves British pub fodder – I was still keen to see what they had done to the place.
back after a long week at work. The nooks and grannies that previously hid seating when Table Table was in management have all disappeared, and Beefeater has embraced a much more homely yet classy vibe.
As Dan enjoys a starter, I was cohered into sharing some garlic flatbread strips. This came up a lot bigger than either of us expected, despite it being on the sharer menu. So many starters are designed to share yet they come up minuscule, so this was incredibly refreshing. The large flatbread was cut into three vertical strips and served with a little ramekin of melted garlic butter for us to dunk the bread in. It was an ideal thickness, with a soft and plump edge, yet a crisp and crunchy garlic infused centre with a thin base. We dove in with a rip and pull tactic to divide the bread as we chatted.
and a slow roasted tomato. Sides wise, the dish came with creamed spinach and crispy potato slices. I love a good steak, and at a venue called Beefeater, you kind of expect the beef to be pretty top notch.
component of the whole dish, it was still ok. The tomato was nice and big, the roasting process really drawing out the flavour and giving it a lovely soft texture too. Each element worked really nicely together. If the dish had had less components, then I would have been disappointed, however all together, it was very nice indeed. The crispy potato slices were thin and rather nice. The creamed spinach was more like a sauce than a vegetable in my opinion as it was so liquid. I’m not sure that is entirely a good thing, however it tasted nice and I was able to use it to dunk my potatoes in so it wasn’t too shabby. Although the dish wasn’t entirely perfect, or as I expected, weirdly, it still worked, and I still enjoyed it.
generously sized and of good quality, leading him to say it was one of the best mixed grills that he had ever had. He struggled to finish, yet he still delivered a clean plate to earn a thumbs up.
I couldn’t leave without ordering a Bailey’s milkshake too. Served in a traditional tall glass and garnished with chocolate shavings, it was basically a vanilla based ice cream, blended with Bailey’s. As with the gin, the Bailey’s was certainly present and correct, although not dominant throughout the whole drink so I’m not sure what the balance of the blend was exactly. It was creamy, cool and very nice indeed. An extra treat!
Café Rouge is one of those popular chain restaurants that I’ve seen everywhere; at my local shopping centre, at pretty much every airport, and snuggled on many a high street corner. Despite the attractive red exteriors and wafting scents of French food, I had yet to sample what Café Rouge had to offer, and I was getting increasingly frustrated that our paths had yet to cross. When my husband whisked me away recently for a birthday weekend in Birmingham, it seemed an ideal opportunity to finally try out the oddly elusive yet everywhere Café Rouge. We booked a table for the Sunday evening of our trip.
relaxing and comfortable, with a kicked back vibe that was also inherently stylish – so far, so French.
came in a lovely white boat-shaped dish, dressed very simply with some melted butter. It was really lovely. We also sampled some dauphinoise potatoes, another French classic with a soft underbelly of thinly sliced and sauce-covered white potatoes, topped with that lovely crispy shell that forms during baking. Always such a decadent side as it’s something we never have at home but truly tasty.
not being 100% as expected, it was refreshing and relatively light to eat so it earned points there, however it didn’t really tick my boxes in terms of what I look for in an Eton mess, so although nice, it wasn’t 100%.
The Discount Deal Menu 