Saturday Lunch At A Sizzling Pub & Grill

A couple of weekends ago we went to The Top Of The World Sizzling Pub & Grill for a spot of lunch. We've visited different sizzling pubs before, one of their highlights is the variety of offers. I assume the offers may differ from venue to venue but there always seems to be an option to take advantage of. I am a fan of the 'Kids eat for £1' Monday to Friday between 3pm-7pm, a good one with the Christmas holidays coming up if you've had enough of slaving away in the kitchen!

 We visited on a Saturday afternoon when a football match was on, the bar area was fairly busy with football fans but there was plenty of room at the tables. We sat down in quiet area and browsed the menu. There is a selection of starters the that you can choose three from for £10. We went for some of  our favourite starters, nachos, loaded potato skins and beer battered salt and pepper mushrooms. 

They arrived shortly after we'd placed our order. They loaded potato skins and mushrooms were nice and hot and we enjoyed them I personally believe you can never go wrong with nachos, cheese, sour cream and guacamole! They're always a winner for me!

 For the main course we both ordered steak and Eliot opted for the quorn nuggets with chips and peas which he clearly enjoyed as he cleared his plate! Another great part of the kids menu is that there is a choice of dishes for under and over 5's making it easy for you or the littles to choose either by preference or appetite.

I had ordered the 8oz sirloin steak which was served on a skillet with onions, a mushroom and a tomato. I like my steak to be 'well done' which it mostly was but it was still a little pink in the centre. The chips were nice and chunky and served hot. Overall I enjoyed my main and there was nothing I could fault about it.

The other main meal that was ordered was a surf and turf which is usually a 5oz sirloin steak with six pieces of scampi. There was an option to upgrade the steak for a larger one at an extra cost. This steak was ordered to be cooked 'medium' which it was and again it was served on skillet with onions, tomato and mushroom as well as a slice of lemon for the scampi. Like my main, there was no faults with this one.

 Finally it was dessert time and Eliot had made sure he put his order in when we had ordered the starters and mains! He ordered a 'Build your own sundae' which came with vanilla ice cream, chocolate buttons, chocolate sprinkles, chocolate sauce and strawberries. He was very excited about pudding, he always loves being able to do his own thing so was very happy! 

 My decision on dessert was not as quick as Eliot's, I had a good look over the options and was torn in-between choosing a sundae or the Belgian chocolate brownie. I opted for the brownie and was pleased with my choice, it was lovely, warm, and chocolate-tie. Just the sweet treat I needed!

 The other dessert we ordered was Rolo Cheesecake, sounds amazing! Now wondering why I didn't have a sneaky little taste but sure it was because I was full. It was another well received pudding and not much was left over! If cheesecake is your favourite type of pudding an you love Rolos, this sounds like the perfect dessert!

Overall we had an enjoyable lunch at The Top Of The World Sizzling Pub and Grill, there was nothing to fault about the food we ordered. I feel that the atmosphere was probably  different to what it is usually like due to the football being on. Not that it had been an issue for us but I had the feeling it would have felt completely different without a football match being shown.

Be sure to check out the menu and find your nearest Sizzling Pub & Grill, and don't forget to sign up to get £5 of your bill!

*We received a complimentary meal in exchange for a review. All views are my own

The Red Lion, A Sizzling Pub & Grill-REVIEW

 A few weeks ago I received an email asking me if I'd like to review the recently refurbished Red Lion, part of  'The Sizzling Pubs' group, in Bedford. As one of my favourite things to do is to eat out, I of course said yes!

We were booked in for 5pm one Friday evening and in the meantime I browsed the online menus. I was impressed at the selection of foods and the amount of offers that were available, such as kids eat for £1 and skillet and a drink for £5.99.

Eliot had already chosen exactly what he was going to eat when I looked at the menus online and I had an idea of what I might order but wanted to have another good look at the menu when we were there.

 





On arrival we were shown to our table, which had a nice view of the sparkly lights in the garden. With the 'Sizzling Pubs' you usually order at the bar once you have decided what you are eating, don't forget your table number!

We went for an offer of  mix and matching three starters to share,  choosing cheese and bacon crispy potato skins, the new chicken madras pakora bites and new garlic prawns.

I said 'to share' but Eliot and I don't eat prawns so the other half had them to himself and we shared the rest. I really enjoyed both the other starters and was pleasantly surprised with the chicken madras pakora bites. I love Indian food but usually find if I buy an Indian dish from the supermarket or order one in a non Indian restaurant, they just don't taste authentic and have a certain flavour. But I didn't find that with these pakora bites and loved the mint sour cream they were served with. It was a generous serving too, if you weren't too hungry and after something light this would be a good option!

The potato skins were nice, crispy and full of flavour. The other half enjoyed his garlic prawns too.

 For his main Eliot chose the 'Mini Mixed Grill' from the over 5's section of the menu. They also have dishes recommended for under 5's. Eliot chose this because he's a bit of an egg lover but it also came with half a chicken breast, sausage and a burger. He then chose garlic bread from the 'side' options and corn on the cob from the 'veg' section. There is a good selection of kids meals, sides and veg which should meet the needs of most fussy eaters. The kids menu is great value too with the main, dessert an drink for £4.99. Even better, if you visit between 3-7pm Monday-Friday, kids eat for £1 when an adult has a main meal!

 The other half went for the rump steak platter which was two steaks served with onions, mushrooms, onion rings, mushroom and chips were chosen as a side. This was a big portion of steak but the other half enjoyed it. The steak was served as requested, medium rare.

 I opted for one of the newer options from the menu, 'The Tennessee' loaded steak which consisted of a 8oz sirloin steak covered in a bourbon glaze, streaky bacon and melted cheese. It was served with onions, a grilled mushroom and tomato, onion rings and chips. I'm one of those people that asks for my steak 'well done' which it mostly was, there were a few pinky parts but not enough for me to ask for it to be cooked a bit more. I'm not a fan of bourbon as a tipple but I really like it as a glaze it's so tasty! I would definitely have this dish again!

 

Dessert was something Eliot didn't stop mentioning throughout our dinner! Again as we'd looked at the dessert menu prior to coming, Eliot had decided he was having the 'Build Your Own Sundae'. I think it is a super choice for a kids menu, it makes pudding even more fun and has one of their five a day included. Eliot certainly enjoyed building his sundae with the strawberries, chocolate buttons (and they were Cadbury buttons, hurrah!) chocolate pieces and chocolate sauce.

 I am probably more of a 'dessert' person than a 'starter person' so found it difficult to make a choice! I was torn between the treacle sponge and the new black forest sundae. In the end went for the sundae, which included vanilla ice cream, black cherry compote, brownie pieces and cream. It was so good!

 The OH went with the Mint Aero Sundae, which came with vanilla ice cream, brownie pieces, mint aero bubbles and cream. As you can see this looked pretty good too!

 

Our thoughts overall...

 

The food

There is good range of food options available that cater for different tastes and needs, including one or two vegan options which I know is growing. Prices are reasonable and extremely good if you take advantage of one of the offers which are super value! You can even get a fiver off your bill if you sign up.

I was impressed with the options on the kids menu, plenty to choose from and as most of us parents know, children can be fussy! What I liked most was you choose your main then get to choose your two sides which again is helpful to those of with fussy eaters! I also liked the fact there were options for under and over 5's. 

All of the food ordered was a good standard and we enjoyed everything we ordered.

 

The service

As mentioned above, you decide what your eating then order at the bar with your table number. We were served our meal by a very friendly and pleasant waiter who was also good with Eliot. I'm sure you know what I mean if you're a parent out dining with the family and there's that waiter/waitress that make your outing more relaxed and enjoyable. They take time, even if it's only a few seconds to interact with children and make the experience even better. That's what we had with out waiter!

 

 

The Atmosphere

The Red Lion has recently been refurbished but I can't compare its current look to what it was like before as this was my first visit. However you could see lots of things were new. I loved the different colours of paint on our table which had a quirky effect!

As it was a Friday evening, there was lots of hubbub in the bar with people having after work drinks. Where we were seated there was lots of other families too which made me feel more comfortable and at ease. There was a warm, cozy feel to the environment which was welcoming

In the bar area I noticed sign which said children were welcome to eat in the bar area until 5pm and elsewhere there was a sign stating children were welcome in the restaurant area until 9pm. I'm 50/50 on this one as there have been times we've needed to eat late, perhaps if  we've travelled away on a break. If it was the only option around that could be a bit of a problem!

 On the other hand 9pm is late for little ones and I know there are many people who do not want children around them when they're out for dinner, regardless of the time. I've never been one of those people even before having children so if it is an establishment offering a kids menu I'm not sure there should be a limit on what time they can be in the restaurant until.

 

Would we go back?

Yes I would certainly go back to The Red Lion and would try other 'Sizzling Pub' branches too. The food is good value for what you get and there are plenty of offers to help you ensure you don't break your budget!

 

*We received a complimentary meal in exchange for a review, all thoughts & opinions are my own





Mr Men & Little Miss Beefeater Launch

When I was a child I often visited Beefeater restaurants with my parents, I vaguely remember ordering from a Mr Men & Little Miss menu. Beefeater are teaming up with Mr Men and Little Miss again as part of their 40th birthday celebrations,  launching a new kids menu.

On Saturday we were invited along to a rather special event to celebrate the reunited partnership at the Beefeater Parkway in Guildford. Even though it was a Saturday the traffic out of London was a blinkin' nightmare and we arrived a little bit late. Thankfully we were just in time for the part of the day I was looking forward to the most, a workshop with Adam Hargreaves. Adam is the son of Roger Hargreaves who created the Mr Men and Little Miss series, he continues his father's work as author and illustrator.

Whilst one of the stories was read, Adam created some matching illustrations and encouraged the children that were old enough to do their own. I did feel in awe to be I the presence of an author and illustrator of such a well known series, one that I enjoyed reading as a child myself.

 

After the workshop we headed outside for some photos with Mr Tickle and Little Miss Sushine, Eliot was rather taken with Mr Tickle's arms!

There was ample opportunity for the kids to get their faces painted, unfortunately Eliot wasn't old enough to have his done but he did enjoy reading some books and browsing the Mr Men and Little Miss magazine. We also met Adam and he signed a Mr Men and Little Miss Book for Eliot.

 

Soon it was time for lunch, it didn't get off to the best start which was a shame. To begin with there was a lack of highchairs, understandably there was a fair few of babies and toddlers at the event. There were also families out for lunch in the restaurant but overall not an out of the ordinary amount of people requiring highchairs. I was disappointed, as a family restaurant I felt there should have been more available. The PR team were very helpful and tried to track one down but I don't think we were the only people on the hunt. My other half managed to nab a highchair when one became available, it was a bit messy so he asked a member of staff if they could give it a clean. Luckily I had some sterilising wipes with me as they never came back over to wipe it. Once Eliot was in the highchair we realised the middle strap that comes up between the legs was missing. That meant he could have slipped out underneath the tray. We asked for another when it became available as it wasn't completely safe. When it did arrive it was too late.

We had pre-ordered our main courses but I didn't realise we were getting the chance to sample some of the starters.  However we seemed to be the only table from the event who didn't get them, in the end we asked for them and our main meals arrived before the starters.

Grumbles aside, we really enjoyed the food. We had a flatbread and breaded mushrooms to try out as starters and we both had steak for our main, which was served with chips, tomato and mushroom. Both were cooked to how we'd requested and were very tasty.

We'd ordered Eliot Mr Strongs flat iron steak from the new kids menu as whenever we do go out he normally has pasta or chicken. We thought the steak would be a nice change.

But Eliot wouldn't eat the steak as he was being a bit of a fuss pot, he did of course enjoy the chips and ate some peas too.

 

The Mr Men and Little Miss menu offers plenty of mains for children to pick. From Little Miss Trouble's Tomato pasta to Mr Noisy's Bangers and mash to having the option of creating your own pizza. There is something to appeal to even the fussiest of eaters! As well as mains, there are a selection of starters, sides, drinks and desserts to choose from. Depending on how hungry your brood are, there are three different meal deals available. One course and a drink is priced at £4.49, two courses plus drink £5.49 and three course with a drink £5.99.

 

To round off the day there was a competition to create a sundae in the theme of a character. Armed with lots of sweet treats, Eliot got to work on his pudding.

We named it Mr Messy's Mess. The sundae's were judged by Adam Hargreaves who liked the 'not so original' name of our creation. Mr Messy's Mess was not the winner but we had a great time at the Beefeater (minus the highchair & starter issues). The highlight for me had to be meeting Adam Hargreaves.

 

Have you tried the new Mr Men, Little Miss menu yet?





Review-The Lobster House Restaurant

Last week Eliot's Nana M was kind enough to babysit one evening so we could steal a rare few hours of 'us time'! We headed down to The Lobster House,  a 'seafood, steak & champagne pontoon bar', nicely situated on The River Thames in Wandsworth. A perfect setting for dinner.
When we arrived we were greeted by the pleasant staff who showed us to a table in the window, overlooking the Thames.

We ordered some drinks and began browsing the menu. I opted for a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, which was served chilled to perfection! A bug bear I've inherited from my parents is serving wine at the wrong temperature, so I'm happy to report there were no issues in the 'vino' area here!

 

On the menu there were a selection of starters, predominantly seafood based with a vegetarian option. We didn't order any starters, instead we went for a couple of side dishes with our main courses instead.

No prizes for guessing that lobster is at the top of the menu in this restaurant, however it wasn't the dish I selected. I'm not keen on lobster, the taste,  having it served in its full form before having to break and crack it open. Not for me. However it was what the other half ordered and what the other diners went for.

I had a struggle choosing between a fish or meat dish. I do love a good steak but I  was also drawn to the Atlantic cod in a tempura batter. In the end I went for the cod.

Dinner was served and we got stuck in! The fish was cooked perfectly and 'fell away' as it should. The batter was light and crispy, certainly not heavy or greasy like some batters can be. It was served with fries, peas and tarter sauce.

For our extra sides we ordered sautéed spinach and onion rings. Like the fish, the onion ring batter was not greasy and they tasted great. I loved the sautéed spinach but couldn't eat too much as it was a little salty for me.

The OH was impressed with his lobster, he described as 'succulent and fresh'. Apart from it being, as expected a bit fiddly, the OH thoroughly enjoyed his meal choice!

We had just enough space to share a dessert which again was a tricky decision as there were a couple that caught my eye. The OH managed to narrow it down for us and I singled out the chocolate fondant. I was more than happy with that choice, it was delicious! All in all melt in the middle chocolate goodness beautifully presented!

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinner here and a few hours off from parent duties for some 'us time'. Definitely worth checking out particularly if you're a lobster or seafood fan! This would be an ideal venue for date nights, celebrations or simply catching up with friends. On first impressions I assumed the restaurant wasn't particularly family friendly but I soon discovered they have changing facilities and highchairs available.

* We were given £40 off our bill in exchange for a review. All views and opinions are entirely my own.