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

Sealife London Aquarium-Review

Last week we had a fun summer holiday day out to the Sealife London Aquarium. I've been there a few times before but not for a good while, there were a lot of changes, from a new entrance to the addition of penguins, there were lots of new things to see!

As you first go in there is a clear walkway over some of the sea life...including sharks enabling you to get a look at them swimming below!

It was obviously busy being the holidays, so it was handy there were toilets while we were queueing to get into the next part. There was large family toilet which we went into complete with a kids toilet as well as a 'normal' toilet and a baby change! It was perfect timing as Nola needed nappy change.

As well as there being an abundance of sea creatures to see, there were also several talks about some of them, repeated several times a day.

One of my favourite things about our visit was being able to get a bit hands on. Eliot touched a starfish for the first time, despite having opportunities to do this in the past he was never quite brave enough. He said he was 'too scared' on this visit but after a member of staff said she would show him how to do it first he was happy to have a go.

 As we were about to go through the tunnel there was another member of staff with different specimens talking about what they were and answering any questions.

Eliot getting hands on

Another favourite part of our visit was seeing the giant turtles, I'm always in a bit of awe when I see wildlife and it was amazing to get so close, minus the glass. Of course one of the main attractions are the sharks and there a plenty of opportunities to see them from different perspectives in the tank.

Nola enjoying looking at the sharks!

 Seahorses are another of my favourites, they're so interesting to watch and move so gracefully. I think the tiny white specks you can see in the clear tube were baby seahorses!

There are plenty of species to see and read about as you walk through the different areas.

We all enjoyed the 'Rainforest Adventure' zone which started off with some creepy crawlies. The giant leaf cutter ants were fascinating to watch, as well as being in a tank there was a tube that ran above the other exhibits meaning you could catch a good sight of them in action. 

There were also hissing cockroaches and a rather large tarantula! The tanks they were in enabled you to get a better view and give the impression you were in there with them, with a dome in the centre you could crawl into.

Moving further through there were plenty more species to look at including piranha fish, poisonous dart frogs and cuban crocodiles.

Of course there were many people surrounding the penguin tank, all hoping to see them in action. Most of the penguins stayed at the back but there were a few that seemed to love having the crowds watching them. They'd dive in, swim around at an incredible speed before launching themselves back on to dry land like absolute pros!

One penguin in particular that wowed the audience was 'Max', he took it upon himself to parade right next to one of the windows, going back and forth before diving back into the water again. What an absolute character, such a joy to watch!

I certainly recommend a visit to the Sealife London Aquarium whether it's a trip with your other half, friends or a family day out, there's plenty to see! It was also interesting to learn about the conservation projects they are involved in.

Have you visited recently?

*I received complimentary entry in exchange for a review, all options are my own

Cuddledry Towel REVIEW

Back in January we were kindly sent an original cuddledry towel in oatmeal and white. Little Miss Nola has loved bath time pretty much since her first one, she would scream getting undressed for her bath and then stop as soon as she was placed in the water!

Nola in one of her early baths

However, when it was time to come out she would again scream the place down, whilst I was in a frantic rush to get her on to the towel, all wrapped up and cosy. It would usually take her a little while to calm down too.



This is where the cuddledry towel has been a total game changer at bath times. Its' genius, hands free, multi award winning design enables me to place Nola directly on my chest and wrap her in the towel quickly. This means she's kept cosy and warm which is something I particularly worried about in the early days. It also means I don't get wet!


First bath with big bro!

Apart from the first time we used it, I can honestly say there have been no tears at all after bath time. Nola loves cuddles and now I'm able to cuddle her straight after a bath without getting soaked! I'm certain she feels secure being cuddled as soon as she comes out which has made bath time a much more relaxing experience for everyone.
The towel is made from 'natural bamboo fibre' and 'unbleached cotton' which is super soft and very absorbent, meaning I can 'cuddle-dry' her.

The original cuddledry is available in a range of different colours and there is also a range of other fantastic products on the website including toddler towels and the new 'Baby & Me Wash Bag'.

I highly recommend the cuddledry for stress free bath times with your new baby or if your looking to buy a baby gift this is a great one! You can buy it from the cuddledry website as well as other retailers such as Boots and John Lewis.

 

I'm linking this post up with Jenny's Bumps & Babies linky!

 

 

*I was sent the item to review but all opinions 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





REVIEW - Vionic Shoes

Back in the summer when I was expecting baby numero two (Nola Belle), I was invited to review a pair of shoes from Vionic. This was a brand I had never heard of before, whose 'biomechanical footbeds support you from the ground up'. I was intrigued to try them, especially when I found out their FMT technology with built in arch support aims to alleviate foot problems such as plantar faciitis. Having suffered with plantar faciitis a few months after having Eliot I was keen to avoid the problem developing again as it was very painful indeed! I was also desperate to try Vionic shoes to offer optimum support and comfort to my pregnant and very swollen feet!

I opted for a casual pair of trainer style shoes named 'Syra' which come in a choice of colours.  I am undoubtedly a 'flats' over 'heels' kinda gal and am most comfortable wearing a pair of trainers, so couldn't wait to try them out! At the time the white pair were my first choice but they didn't have my size in stock. However I'm really pleased I chose the black, especially now it's Winter.
When they arrived and I unboxed them I was really pleased with the style, they would be something I would buy myself as they go with perfectly with the casual, comfortable style I like to rock as a mum.

 

With my second pregnancy I suffered with severely swollen feet and legs so was really looking forward to getting the Vionic shoes on so I could give my ever expanding tootsies some better support.

I have wide feet anyway, but unfortunately my feet were so badly swollen I really had to battle get the shoes on and the fit was extremely tight. Therefore I didn't feel it would be fair to review them with my feet more swollen than the norm in pregnancy, here's how bad they actually were (sorry for the naff phone/gross feet photo).

Fast forward a few weeks after Nola's arrival, the swelling had gone and my feet/legs were pretty much back to their usual size. This meant I could finally give the shoes an honest review.

Vionic say,

'Feet were designed to walk on soft, natural elements like soil and sand,

not the hard, flat man-made surfaces that make up so much of our modern world.

Our shoes and sandals hug your arches like a natural footprint, giving you all day support.'

 

 

The leaflet that came in the box advised that to begin with only wear the shoes for a few hours at a time to let your body get used to Vionic's 'biomechanical orthotic technology'. So that is exactly what I did, wore them on short trips such as the school run with Eliot or when nipping to the shops. I usually find with a new pair of shoes that they often rub the back of my heel which can obviously be very sore and uncomfortable. With my Vionic shoes I haven't had this problem once as the back of the shoe is soft and supportive.

They have even kept my feet in ultra comfort during long days out walking all over London and hopping on and off public transport (you know how that is when you have a pram and fournager in tow').

 

 

If you're looking to be kinder to your feet whether your pregnant or not, I definitely recommend checking out Vionic!

 

* I received the product in exchange for a review. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

 



Hamerton Park Zoo Review

We  recently had a family trip to Hamerton Park Zoo near Sawtry in Cambridgeshire. Nestled deep in the countryside on first appearance looks more like a farm than a zoo but it's actually a lot bigger than it seems. We arrived in the afternoon just before half one, on entry we were handed a couple of leaflets and entered the park. There was a noticeboard with different animal feeding times throughout the day, the last one being (on the day we were there) at 1:30pm. It was the cheetahs being fed which I was keen to see so we started to rush round the zoo (in the wrong direction). This is where I felt it would have been helpful to be handed a map on entry or be informed they were available to buy within the guide.

Whilst trying to get to the cheetah enclosure I was briefly distracted by the frisky tortoises, Eliot loudly declared 'Look mummy that tortoise is climbing on that ones back', which made me chuckle. You can always trust an animal to give you some sort of nature in action!

We were just in time to catch the end of the feeding session and I was surprised how close you were to these beautiful animals. Being a cat owner I also have a love and fascination for big cats too and really enjoyed observing them. It was great to see their enclosure was large, with plenty of space for them to roam.

Even though their keeper had finished feeding them, the cheetah's were obviously hoping for more food as they stuck close to the fence whilst the keeper chatted to people and answered questions. It was then one of the cheetahs began to make a 'meow' type noise over and over again which was amazing to hear as I'd never heard it before and was surprised how much it sounded like a pet moggy!

Eliot had spotted the play area and the train by this point and was eager to get on to both. We told him we'd do both later as we needed to have lunch first.

We did have a look at a few more of the animals including the American mammoth donkey's which were happy to be petted. There was also a step up to reach them making it easy for children to stroke them.

The hand washing area was just behind, so made it very easy to ensure hands were cleaned after stroking the mammoth donkeys.

 

We then headed to the café to get a bit of a late lunch. Below is picture of the food that was on offer and prices on the day we visited.

I quite fancied a jacket potato and the other half (OH) wanted a bacon roll but unfortunately all the jacket potato's had gone and there was no bacon left, which was a bit disappointing but I suppose can happen later on in the afternoon. There were still different sandwiches available to choose from but I ended up going for the pepperoni pizza, as did Eliot and the OH went for a burger and sandwich. The hot food was microwavable so not anything to have high expectations of but was fine to fill a gap.

There were a few tables inside the café and then picnic tables dotted around outside as well as nearer to the play equipment. One thing that did make my experience in the picnic area less enjoyable were the amount of wasps that were around. Obviously being one of the warmer days, they were out in force around the food and drink. I personally can't bear them and admit to having a bit of a fear after being stung as an adult, I'm one of those people that runs, flaps their arms, squeals and shrieks if they get too close and certainly did all of those things a few times! I know they don't bother some people but I think it could put a dampener on a day out if your child got stung, therefore I think those wasp catcher bottles would be useful around the café and picnic area for those warmer months.



 

We were kindly gifted £25 to spend in the café or shop as part of our review, the above food along with some drinks, left us with just over £8 change which we saved for Eliot to buy a souvenir in the shop.

 

Once we'd finished lunch we decided to go back to where we'd started and have a proper look at all the different animals before having a train ride and letting Eliot loose on the play area. There are over a hundred different species of animals to see, so really lots to look at and take in.

We spent a fair bit of time around the bird enclosures, particularly observing the vultures who were intimidating as well as fascinating to watch. Their wingspan was incredible and their body language and movements was really interesting. I think the were hoping to be fed but also seemed to have a dislike of cameras.



One thing that I liked around Hamerton Zoo were the information plaques for each species somewhere around their enclosures. They weren't overwhelming with information but gave you enough, including the animals' level of vulnerability in the wild e.g. 'critically endangered'.

I loved the display cabinet of different bird eggs, (above) Eliot was also interested in the different sizes which included replicas of eggs of extinct birds such as the dodo.

We continued enjoying looking at and reading about the different creatures in their enclosures even though Eliot continued to pester us about the train and play area. From meerkats to bearded dragons back to the mammoth donkeys and the other animals in-between, there is plenty to see.

It was when we were back near to the mammoth donkeys that we realised the train was being put away for the day. Shock, horror, we thought this may end in an epic meltdown from Eliot being the train fanatic that he is, luckily he didn't but he was disappointed he was unable to have a ride. I was surprised as it was around 4pm and the zoo was open until 5:30pm. It was pretty quiet and perhaps that was why the train was put away but I felt there should have been timings visible somewhere or it should have been mentioned when arriving and entering the zoo. I wasn't even aware that tickets to ride the train had to be purchased until after our visit. This is something you could definitely be made aware of when entering.

So with a train ride fail under our belts, we headed to look at some more big cats, two Bengals and a Malaysian tiger. Again I could watch these big cats for hours, and was in awe at being so close to these incredible animals.
The tiger enclosures are quite new and there are indoor parts where there is lots of information about tigers and the conservation work Hamerton does.

After exploring the tiger enclosure we headed to the 'Stroll A Safari' where you'll find sheep, ducks, chickens, camels, alpacas and pygmy goats. Some of the animals can roam out of their enclosures and you can feed them with food from the feeding station which you will need 20p coins for. Unfortunately the animals had ventured back into their enclosures so we missed out on feeding any.

Luckily Eliot didn't mind as he was still keen to spend time on the play areas. Before doing so though we headed to the shop so he could buy a souvenir as we didn't want to miss the shop too! I must admit I'm not a fan of gift shops as they're usually overpriced but there were a fair few items at pocket money prices. Eliot did spend a very long time deciding what he would like but in the end chose a zoo themed story book and a dinosaur egg which you're meant to put it water and it hatches but he ended up cracking it open whilst pulling it out of the box.

We were one of the last few families there so Eliot pretty much had the play equipment to himself and enjoyed the end of his day out climbing and going down the slide.

Overall we had a really enjoyable afternoon at Hamerton Park Zoo, if you're not too far away and looking for days out in the last week of the summer holidays it's definitely worth a visit!

Things we loved...

• Opportunities to see some of the animals being fed
• Able to observe the animals in large enclosures
• Information available not too overwhelming
• Covered picnic areas so still able to eat outdoors in wet weather
• Some walkways around enclosures covered so able to stay undercover in some areas if weather is wet
• Play area for babies and toddlers as well as older children
• Opportunities to stroke/feed some of the animals

 

Things that could have made our visit even better...

• Being given a map on arrival (the park is not huge but as we arrived at a feeding time this would have enabled us to get to the enclosure quicker)
• Being told that train tickets need to be purchased on arrival/having a sign near the train pick up point
• Having train start and finish times visible to avoid any disappointment
• Wasp control measures around café and picnic areas

 

 

Hamerton Park Zoo is open everyday apart from Christmas and Boxing day. Adult entry is £13.99 per person, children between 3-8 years pay £8.99 and under 3's go free. Tickets can be purchased online or on the gate. Head to the website to get your 10% off voucher!

 

 

* We received free entry and a £25 voucher to spend in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own