Bristol’s Best Bits: Mathilda’s Chilli Bar

More food! I’m spoiling ya.

Can you believe that it’s been almost a whole year since I wrote this post about the awesome Mathilda’s Chilli Bar? No, neither can I. My writing style has definitely improved!

On the weekend the fantastic Mathilda’s celebrated their first birthday in style, with a fully booked birthday party, a free bar, and more fried pickles than you can shake a stick at. Not wanting to miss out on any of the action, myself and Thomas popped along to wish them a hearty congratulations on turning another year wiser.

Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol
Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol
Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol
Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol
Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol

Tucked away in the deepest corner of the newly revamped Bear Pit, Mathilda’s is just how I remembered it. The school style table and chairs were arranged in a canteen fashion in the sleek monochrome tiled interior, with the open kitchen kicking out all sorts of delicious smells. The balloons were out in full force and the party was in full swing as we stepped in from the rain, and so we joined in with the festivities by ordering a delicious brew from New Bristol Brewery and perused the menu.

Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol
Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol
Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol
Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol
Mathilda's Chilli Bar Bristol

I opted for half and half last time, so to shake things up a bit, this time I went all out and plumped for their straight up meaty treat, the Texan brisket chilli, served with spicy guacamole and sour cream. Our choice of side was another easy decision – these deep fried pickles are quite honestly one of the best things I have ever eaten, even if I can taste a heart attack with every delicious mouthful.

So, was it as good a year on? The answer is a resounding YES. Just as before, the chilli was incredible – nicely spicy, a generous portion (maybe even a little too much), with the fluffiest rice on the side. I should really order a different side dish next time I go, but these pickles are just too good to pass up. I did quiz our lovely waitress as to what mysterious ingredient they put in their blue cheese dip to make it taste quite so heavenly, but she wasn’t giving the secret away so easily.

I’m so glad that Mathilda’s has lasted a whole year, usually small businesses find the first year the hardest, but luckily the food scene in Bristol seems to be going from strength to strength. Thank you to the lovely people at Mathilda’s for inviting me along, and here’s to many more successful years!

Jamie’s Italian, Bristol

Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol
Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol
Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol

The weekend before last, to celebrate Thomas turning a quarter of a century, we were kindly invited along to test out the rather impressive looking Jamie’s Italian Bristol, situated at the top of Park St. I’d been along to the equally beautiful one in Cheltenham, but had never popped in here before, so was looking forward to seeing what this branch had to offer.

After a few quick drinks in the Christmas Steps, myself, Thomas and his parents trekked up the hill to test out their menu on a surprisingly busy Sunday evening. The restaurant is much bigger than I had anticipated, stretching over four floors, with a lovely bar area if you fancy a drink and a quick nibble. We were shown to our table by a very friendly waiter, hastily ordered a bottle of wine and perused the menu.

Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol
Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol
Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol

To start, we chose a massive butternut bruschetta and some of the ‘Italian nachos’ to share between us. The bruschetta was fantastic, but completely overshadowed by this other brand new creation – pulled pork inside a crispy ravioli shell, with a smoky chipotle tomato dipping sauce. Everyone agreed that it was absolutely amazing.

Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol
Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol
Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol
Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol
Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol

Our main courses didn’t disappoint, either. I chose a vegetarian main course, because I’m a firm believer in testing the quality of the restaurant on the effort they put in to their veggie options. I was pleased to see that they also offer vegan dishes, although you have to have a bit of a chat to the waiter about these. I had a porcini fettuccine (which sounds delightful when you say it out loud), which came with a spoonful of lemony crumbs to sprinkle on top. It was delicious – all my favourite things on a plate!

Tom surprised me and went for a salad, but to his credit, it was full of beef. Beautiful, delicate strips of bresaola and a substantial salad of leaves, artichoke, Colwick cheese, crushed almonds and ricotta – amazing! Tom’s dad went for one of the specials on that evening – a whole sea bass served with mussels and crispy potatoes. I’m a bit funny about fish, but apparently it was delicious. Tom’s mum went for one of her faves, calve’s liver and bacon with mash, which she really enjoyed. All in all, we were very pleased with our mains, and even more so with the lovely waiter chap who kept checking that everything was OK (and more importantly, topping up our diminishing drinks).

Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol
Jamies Italian, Park Street Bristol

Not satisfied with our bellies being stuffed with delicious grub, we ordered a couple of puddings to share between us. We went for a sour cherry and almond tart (another two of my favourite things) and the lemon meringue cheesecake, topped with a beautiful layer of fluffy marshmallow-y meringue. They were both absolutely incredible, and we polished them off no problem!

We were really impressed with Jamie’s Italian in Bristol, the service was absolutely faultless, the restaurant was beautifully decorated (the toilets were the fanciest things I have ever seen!) and we chose some really amazing dishes, which all added up to a fantastic evening out. If you haven’t yet been up to the restaurant on Park St then I urge you to do so – you won’t be disappointed!

[I was invited to review this restaurant, but all opinions are my own]

Bristol’s Best Bits: Workhouse Cafe

MOAR CAKE!

Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol

A few months ago, hot off the heels of our trip for cake fun-times at Tart, me and Thomas finally got to try out a place that I’d been dying to go to for months, if not years. Workhouse Cafe sits at the bottom of St Michael’s Hill on Perry Rd, just up from the BRI and almost directly opposite the big sign that says ‘to the Christmas Steps’. You’ve probably driven past it a few times – it’s the beautiful big building on the corner, once home to a butchers, but now home to some of the tastiest home grown food money can buy.

Produce sold at the Workhouse cafe is mainly sourced from their own allotment, and their cakes are baked daily. They also have a fantastic selection of teas (over 20!) and their coffee is some of the best I’ve tasted (and I should know).

Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol

We went at lunchtime on a Friday, as I’d attempted to go at the weekend once and like most places around the town centre, it was packed! We got there just before 12 which is when they start serving lunch, so we perused the menu and glanced over their excellent cake selection whilst making our choice.

In the end we both went for a panini – I had goat’s cheese, butternut, rocket and almonds, and Tom had an ox cheek Rueben. They were both MASSIVE, and absolutely bloody delicious. Mine contained some of my favourite foods of all time, yet despite this, I think I preferred Tom’s. Ox cheek is something I don’t frequently dine on, but it was absolutely incredible – paired with tangy coleslaw and between super crunchy sourdough style bread it was absolute heaven.

Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol
Workhouse Cafe Bristol

The next tricky part was deciding which cake to follow our amazing sandwiches, from a selection of many delicious looking treats. After much umm-ing and ahh-ing, and eyeballing the bread and butter pudding for far too long, we I went for a chocolate stout cake with cream cheese icing. The piece we were given was absolutely humongous, and needless to say, we did not finish it in one sitting. It was the richest, moistest, deliciously bitter and ridiculously chocolately cake I have ever eaten, and was even more excellent paired with a damn fine cup of coffee.

Even if you’re just in the mood for tea and cake Workhouse Cafe definitely won’t let you down. If you’re in and around the town centre or near the Christmas Steps then take a walk off the beaten path and up the hill, or if you unfortunately find yourself at the BRI during their opening hours then pop in pick up a sandwich and a bit of flapjack, you most certainly won’t be disappointed.

Bristol’s Best Bits: Tart

Tart Patisserie Gloucester Road Bristol
Tart Patisserie Gloucester Road Bristol
Tart Patisserie Gloucester Road Bristol

Ahh, tea and cake. It’s like a fundamental right of British people to stop whatever they are doing at around 3pm and placate themselves and their dwindling sugar levels with a slab of cake or a nice biccy and wash it down with a nice hot brew. Such is our collective love of the good stuff that it’s almost become part of our national identity, with winners of everyone’s first love The Great British Bake Off being practically heralded as royalty as soon as they win the top prize.

Tart Patisserie Gloucester Road Bristol bakewell tart
Tart Patisserie Gloucester Road Bristol

There are many amazing cake establishments in Bristol, but the one I find myself going back to is Tart, slap bang in the middle of the longest stretch of independent shops in the UK, Gloucester Road. It’s like a mecca of tea and cake, and always my first port of call if it’s a nice cup of Rosy I’m after. What I like about it is its ability to appeal to all groups – it’s the type of place you could take your mum, meet a friend for a catch up, or while away a few sunny hours sitting outside by yourself, watching the world go by.

We headed up on a busy Sunday afternoon to just get out of the house, really, on one of those occasions where you need to treat yo’self for no reason whatsoever. I don’t think you ever need an excuse to eat cake. For me, my treat was a pot of Earl Grey and a slice of Victoria Sponge (classic!), for Tom it was a single espresso and a generous slice of chocolate torte.

Tart Patisserie Gloucester Road Bristol
Tart Patisserie Gloucester Road Bristol
Tart Patisserie Gloucester Road Bristol

It goes without saying that the cakes are absolutely amazing. My usual favourite is their orange polenta cake but sadly on this occassion they had run out :( next time, it will be mine! All of their teas are loose leaf and freshly brewed before your very eyes, plus they do a brilliant every day offer of tea and cake for just a fiver, meaning our little outing cost us no more than £10!

Next time you’re up Gloucester Road and have been shopping your heart out at Repsycho and Fox & Feather, take a little rest, put your feet up and enjoy a lovely hot cuppa and slice of homemade cake from Tart. You won’t be disappointed.

Pact Coffee

Sunday morning brunch - Pact coffee and croissant

I do love coffee. For me, there’s nowt better on a Sunday morning than dusting off the Aeropress and making a proper good cup o’ joe. I never really used to drink coffee til I started a proper job, and needed something to rouse me from my post-commute slumber at 8am. Two years and probably a million cups later, I’ve most certainly grown to tell the difference between a right good brew and a cup of brown dishwater masquerading as the good stuff.

I was scrolling through Twitter one day, as you do, when I came across something which . Rule number one of social media, make people laugh. Rule number two, include Tom Hiddleston. Follow these rules and you’re on to a winner. Naturally, I hot-footed it over to Pact’s website to take up their excellent offer of £10 towards my first delivery.

Pact-coffee
Pact-coffee-2

But Lily, what on Earth is a Pact coffee when it’s at home?

Quite simply, it is a coffee subscription service (cue all fellow caffeine addicts to fall off their chair in glee). Pact roast and grind their own beans, then pop them in a little brown jiffy and post them to your home, or office, or secret underground bunker, or wherever you fancy. You need never run out ever again! What I like is you can specify your chosen brewing method, so the coarseness of the ground beans suits whichever receptacle you are going to brew it in. Already suitably impressed with this attention to detail, I popped the kettle on.

This most certainly is not Nescafe. It is downright delicious. The beans are roasted and ground right before they’re popped in the post, so you can be sure that it’s as fresh as it can be.

Pact have a range of beans and brews which change on a weekly basis, and when I subscribed back in October (I know, I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while) I was sent Finca La Montana, a toffee-apple tasting variety, and Finca La Joyeria, which supposedly tastes of poached pear and dark chocolate. I like these handy little tasting notes on each pack, it gives a point of reference if you have a preferred taste in mind. Each variety has tasting notes from the coffee connoisseurs on their website, like fine wines (I know which I’d rather be drinking).

Pact-coffee-3
Pact-coffee-5

As well as the coffee in each delivery you also get a little double-sided magazine, which shows you what the Pact people have been up to, plus gives you special deals on t’other side. I’ve fallen in love a little bit with Pact coffee – everything is designed really beautifully, from their packaging to their website, plus they keep you updated as to when you’re special parcel is arriving, and make sure it arrives promptly.

The only thing I struggled with is the frequency of deliveries. Back when I signed up I chose a bi-weekly delivery, and found that I hadn’t got through my last pack by the time the new one arrived. I’m more of a weekend drinker, you see. They offer weekly deliveries too, and can even keep your office supplied with delicious fresh coffee. In the end I had to cancel my subscription until I’d used it all up, but I’m seriously considering signing up again, particularly now you can choose to pause or reschedule deliveries, or bring them forward if it’s been a particularly difficult week.

Drinking proper coffee is one of those little luxuries I think you can afford to do every day – like wearing M&S tights, or treating yo’self to a pain au chocolat every morning for brekkie. Thankfully, Pact coffee are here to help convert the world from instant brown dishwater, one delicious cup at a time.

{FYI – this post isn’t sponsored, I just really like coffee}

Posted in food / Tagged brunch, coffee, pact coffee, subscription, weekend / Leave a comment

TGI Friday’s Brand New Menu

Frequent readers of this blog may well already know how dedicated to burgers I am. And even hot dogs, for that matter. So when lovely Lyzi got in touch to ask if I wanted to pop along to the unveiling of TGIs brand new menu, I couldn’t really say no could I?! It would ruin my excellent burger ambassador credentials.

TGI Fridays Bristol

We arrived at TGIs and were very warmly greeted by our hosts, and immediately ushered towards the bar to order a drink. Lyzi had a fancy gin cocktail, but I opted for one of their famous milkshakes, which the bartender chap said they had been serving since the 60s! I went for the obvious choice, chocolate. Needless to say, it was absolutely amazing; ridiculously thick and made up of probably about 90% ice cream. I drank it waaaay too quickly and felt a bit sick. Rookie error.

TGI Fridays Bristol bloggers

We were then escorted over to our VIP area (!) and had a photo taken on the red carpet, which was a bit of a surreal experience! After a brief chat with the chef and a preview of the new dishes, it was time to take our seats, along with SJ and Hayley. It’s been a long time since I’ve been in a TGIs – probably about 7 years – but I was impressed by the level of décor in this place. There were guitars and mixtapes hanging from the walls! Awesome.

TGI Fridays Warrior burger
TGI Fridays Mexidog hot dog
TGI Fridays bruschetta
TGI Fridays hot wings

The new menu is nothing short of amazing. There’s a truly epic burger on the menu to please the carnivores, plus some innovative and really tasty looking veggie options. It’s also currently only available at a few selected restaurants, so at Cabot Circus you have the chance to try something exclusive! SJ had a really nice looking starter of bruschetta, while Hayley tried their pork belly skewers. Me and Lyzi made the exact same food choices – chilli chicken wings to start, followed by a ‘Mexidog’ hot dog, served in a brioche bun with a mound of guacamole and creamy southwest sour cream, topped with pickled jalapenos.

It was all of my favourite foods wrapped up in one. The hot dog itself was amazingly good quality, and the softness of the steamed bun was just the right texture when paired with the creamy guac and crunchy toppings. I was slightly disappointed that it wasn’t too spicy, but that might be welcome news for some people. The chicken wings more than made up for it though, they were hot! Thankfully we were given some wipes to tidy ourselves up with; along with their amazing blue cheese dip they’re definitely not first-date material, being slightly on the messy side.

TGI Fridays cocktails
TGI Fridays Blueberry Breeze

After a couple more cocktails (including this lovely non-alcoholic treat, Blueberry Breeze) it was time to waddle back home. Thank you so much to TGI’s for the invite, and I look forward to seeing the new menu rolled out across all restaurants in the UK in the new year.

Posted in food / Tagged , burger, chicken wings, cocktails, dude food, exclusive, food, hot dog, hot wings, new menu, sponsored, tgi fridays / Leave a comment

Simple Butternut Squash and Pumpkin Soup Recipe

Cor blimey it’s cold! I understand that it’s a bit of a blogging cliche to talk about how the time has flown, and ‘is it November already?!’ but I honestly don’t know where the time has gone. I seem to have blinked and missed most of autumn; one moment summer was clinging to the tails of September, but now winter has come back with a vengeance. I had two scarves on last night to shut out the cold, and I’ve put my heating on in honour of the nippy weather. Winter is well and truly coming.

pumpkin and butternut squash winter warmer soup | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

To combat the parky weather outside, I harnessed all my autumnal powers to make a true winter warmer – this simple pumpkin and butternut squash soup. I inherited my awesome soup-making skills from my mam, she does a mean leek and potato, and I reckon this soup could be my signature dish.

Soup is super easy to make, and you can quite literally use whatever you’ve got in – frozen veg, leftovers, even tinned tomatoes. I happened to have a little pumpkin and half a butternut squash to hand, so I rustled up this guy to warm up a cold afternoon.

You will need (serves 2-3):
– small edible pumpkin, cubed
– 1/2 butternut squash, cubed
– a few cloves of garlic
– olive oil
– 750ml chicken stock
– an onion, sliced

pumpkin and butternut squash | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Step one: cut up your butternut squash and pumpkin, nestle some garlic cloves in there, sprinkle over some salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Pop it in the oven at 200C for about 45 mins. It will come out all charred and delicious, a bit like this!

roasted charred pumpkin and butternut squash | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Step two: Fry your sliced onion in a bit of olive oil until soft. Take the cloves of roasted garlic and squish them into the pan as well. Peel the skins off the roasted veg (be careful, it’s hot), chuck it in the pan and fry that off for a bit too.

pumpkin onions and garlic being fried | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog
(I’m aware this is probably the worst photo I’ve ever taken, but it was pretty steamy)

Step three: Top up with chicken stock, and leave to simmer for around 20 mins.

pumpkin and butternut squash winter warmer soup in ikea pan | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Step four: BLEND BLEND BLEND. You can either use a stick blender or a liquidiser, but remember to let it cool down a bit! You don’t want to get splashed by hot soup. Not nice.

pumpkin and butternut squash winter warmer soup | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Step five: Apply to face, preferably with a big slab of bread and butter, and watch the horrible weather outside lashing against your window. Alternatively, pop it in a Thermos and go for a walk in the woods. Either way, it’s sure to warm your cockles and make you feel all autumnal. Lovely.

Hey winter, you can stay. We’re over summer, anyway.

Posted in food / Tagged autumn, butternut squash, food, healthy, pumpkin, recipe, soup, winter / 2 Comments

Best of the South West

The South West of England, Bristol and Bath in particular, never fail to surprise me. Despite having lived in the former for 5 years, I am still discovering new things and new places, and one of the perks of being a blogger in this amazing city is being invited to document these experiences.
I’ve had a busy couple of weeks, and have had the chance to test out the best of what the South West has to offer, in my humble opinion.

Shopping in Bath
Ah, Bath. It’s like the classier, prettier and slightly beige younger sister of Bristol, never failing to disappoint in entertaining tourists with endless cobbled streets with tiny adorable pubs, impressive abbeys, beautiful weirs and of course top class shopping. A couple of weeks ago I had the absolute pleasure of joining fellow bloggers at Duo Boots in Bath, to determine my #DuoBootTribe – that is, whether I belonged to the ankle boot tribe, knee high tribe, or even dared to go over the knee!

ornate mirror in Duo boots, Bath | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

I’ve experienced shopping in Bath on a couple of separate occasions, but there are always new places to be found. We parked up in Broad Street car park and took a detour through Milsom Place, which looked absolutely beautiful in the early evening light. I made a mental note to myself to come back and try Jamie’s Italian, perhaps when the evenings start warming up again.

Duo boots, Bath | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

We were hurriedly ushered inside the impressive looking shop in the nick of time, just as it started to rain! There were nibbles and bubbly galore (my kind of event) as we took to the shelves to pick out our perfect pair of boots. I was completely overwhelmed – there was so much choice, and I had no idea where to start. I’d picked out the Mandel boot from their website as a favourite, so went to try those on, but found that they were slightly too lower cut for me. I know a couple of other bloggers quite liked that about this particular boot, but I think they made my feet look tiny!

In the end I settled on their ‘go-to’ Cuban heeled ankle boot, Abel. I was properly measured up and found that I am a 38 (UK5) and regular width. An impressive perk for shopping at Duo is that you are guaranteed to find a perfect fitting boot – not only do they come in three width fittings, but knee high boots come in up to 21 (TWENTY ONE) different calf widths! I decided to go for grey, as it’s a little different to the usual black, but sadly they didn’t have the grey in stock at the Bath store, so I had to settle for…

black glitter Abel Duo ankle boots | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

… black glitter! Uh-mazing. I can’t tell you how in love with my new boots I am, I was very sad when I had to take them off at the end of the evening. I can just tell that these are going to be my go-to for the festive season – they look great teamed with everything, and are perfect for jazzing up an outfit. Expect plenty of outfit pictures soon!

Entertainment in Bristol
When I first moved to Bristol five years ago, Cabot Circus was barely a year old. I lived about a 30 second walk from its main doors, over the road in student halls. Topshop and H&M were on the walk home from me, which was great for Cabot, but terrible for my student loan. Cabot Circus is still going strong all these years later, and as well as shops and a countless number of restaurants, offers one of the plushest cinemas I have ever set foot in.

Showcase Bristol XPlus screen | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

I was invited along to Showcase to test out their brand spanking new ‘X Plus‘ screen, the very latest in cinematic wonderment. As well as having a curved screen and super vivid projection, it also has Dolby Atmos surround sound, which was a little terrifying to say the least – they test it out with a really long advert at the beginning which immerses you in a rainforest, and it feels like water droplets are leaking from the speakers positioned directly above your head. Seriously, this sound is pretty impressive.

selfie in Showcase Bristol XPlus screen | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog
cinema ticket for Showcase Bristol XPlus screen | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Sadly, the only film they had on which I could see was the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles jaunt, which is one of the worst films I have ever seen. It did give me a pretty good test for the new XPlus screen though, which is worth the few extra pennies on a regular 3D upgrade. I’ll be dragging Tom back to see the new Hunger Games movie when it comes out in a couple of weeks!

Whilst we are on the subject of cinema, it’s worth mentioning that if big commercial movies, surround sound, 3D and giant squishy seats ain’t your thing then a hop, skip and a jump away tucked into a little nook in Stokes Croft is the Cube, where I volunteer once every couple of weeks. You can usually find me ushering outside the auditorium, drinking tea and ripping up tickets. If you’ve never been before then you are missing a treat! It really is one of Bristol’s little gems.

Culinary Experiences Outside the City
The last exciting little trip in my two-week blogging adventure was a trip out to Almondsbury, for a food blogger evening courtesy of the Swan pub. I’d passed this little pub countless times before – trips up and down the A38 to and from Gloucester took me right past its front door. Myself and 6 other Bristolian foodies were treated to miniature versions of their best selling dishes, then tested our knowledge and the creativity of the chef in a little food quiz at the end of the evening.

smoked salmon canapes | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog
massive burger at the Swan Almondsbury | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

The pub itself was inviting, though I was rather uninspired by their real ale choices (I sound like a right CAMRA snob, don’t I?!). The food more than made up for it though, my favourite being the signature Swan burger, the simplest of all the items on the menu. The menu is pretty experimental, but it builds on the basic elements of classic dishes (like the burger), so making a choice is easy, unlike a lot of gastropubs these days with their ‘jus’ and reductions and foam atop every plate of food you order. The Swan offers decent grub in a welcoming environment.

oak smoked salmon roe | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

I did fairly well at the food quiz, coming third (woooo!), and sampling some interesting creations along the way, including oak smoked cauliflower puree and salmon roe, a Guinness reduction turned into ‘lollipops’, and an amazingly tasty cream cheese brittle, which suspiciously resembled white chocolate. A massive thanks to the Swan for having me, and Emily at nomnomcomms for inviting me!

I feel incredibly lucky whenever I am invited to try out the best that this fair city has to offer, especially when I get to experience things on behalf of the blog. A massive thanks go out to Duo for helping me find the most amazing pair of boots and for a fantastic evening, and also to Showcase for letting me have a sneaky peek of their fantastic new screen.

Posted in adventure, fashion, food / Tagged Bath, , cinema, duo boots, pub grub, showcase cinemas, sponsored, the swan almondsbury, xplus / 2 Comments

Review – Byron Burger, Clifton Triangle, Bristol

Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Dude food. It’s an epidemic. Ever since Adam Richman first hit our screens with Man v Food a few years ago, it seems every restaurant and upmarket pub in the land is clamouring to offer burgers, ribs and pulled pork sandwiches, all served up with a healthy dose of home made ‘slaw’. The latest to join the growing list of these fancy altars of meat on the Clifton Triangle is Byron, a trendy joint which first sprang up in Kensington in 2007, and has been spreading itself across the UK from the capital since then.

I was invited along to sample the menu at Byron for myself (I took Tom with me because he is somewhat of a meat connoisseur), to see whether it lived up to its excellent reputation. I’ll admit, I had only heard faint whisperings of some mighty burger mecca which went by the name in the capital, and on hearing of its impending arrival to Bristol, I assumed it would be much the same as the competitors, churning out their themed burgers with a heap of over-salted fries. It turns out that they do things very, very differently at Byron.

Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

The concept of the Byron burger is simple – it’s just high quality meat, served in a proper soft bun, with whatever you fancy on top, and a pickle on the side. That’s it. I already liked this place – usually when eating at a posh burger restaurant they all have weird names, and come with something that you’re not so keen on. I ordered blue cheese and bacon, and Tom had their chilli burger, which comes with green chilli, american cheese, shredded iceberg and chipotle mayonnaise. The burgers come as they are, with sides ordered separately, so we decided against chips and went for onion rings and courgette fries because they sounded interesting. Our waiter recommended we try it with the ranch dressing, so we got some of that plus some aioli too.

Onion rings at Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog
Courgette fries at Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

These were, hands down, the best onion rings I have ever had. Ever. They were so crunchy, not too greasy, and had some kind of delicious special seasoning in the batter, plus they had the benefit of being absolutely huge. The courgette fries weren’t bad either, coated in a crunchy crumb, and especially nice with the ranch dressing, and we had the world’s biggest bowlful of them! To be honest, we could have had one side between two, but we were being greedy and I wanted to try as much stuff as possible. I was a bit miffed to find the aioli not as garlicky as I would have hoped (now if that’s not the world’s most pretentious sentence, then I don’t know what is!), but so far our meal was off to a very good start.

Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog
Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog
Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

The main event certainly did not disappoint, either. Tom ordered his burger medium rare (we were told we couldn’t have it rare, I guess a rare burger would just be mince plopped into a bun) and it was nice to see that they had actually taken this into account when cooking our burgers. We were also both pleasantly surprised to find that when they say chilli, they really do mean chilli – it had a good kick to it, and wasn’t this watered down ‘spicy’ food like a lot of other high street chain restaurants offer but fail to deliver, this was definitely hot.

My bacon and blue cheese burger was quite simply heaven in a bun. There was a huge heap of cheese (the key to my heart), and the bacon was thinly cut and perfectly crisp. I’m not a massive fan of lettuce, and usually pick all the salad out when ordering a burger, because it’s usually a massive soggy wedge of tomato and a giant heap of lettuce which does nothing for me except make the bun damp. The salad in this burger was so delicately sliced you wouldn’t have even noticed it, and didn’t detract from the main event at all. Two thumbs up!

Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog
Craft beer at Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

I guess you can’t have trendy dude food without having craft beer, and Byron is no exception. They do all sorts of Hackney-brewed ales, and we sampled the Beavertown Smoked Porter, which despite its hefty price tag was a very delicious brew indeed. I’m a fan of ale, but not entirely sure which side of the fence I sit on with this weird hipster tradition of selling it in tiny cans, although apparently it’s better for the beer as well as being better for the environment. Who would have thought, eh?

Chocolate brownie at Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog
Knickerbocker glory at Byron Burger Bristol | Lily Doughball UK Lifestyle Blog

Despite being completely stuffed we decided to try a dessert each too, of which Tom opted for something chocolatey, as he always does. I had a pretty hard time deciding. One of the main points of Byron is to keep the menu simple, which I like. However I didn’t really think there was much choice on the pudding front, as it all seemed to be the same old brownie/sundae/cheesecake option, but in the end I went for a knickerbocker glory. That was the correct choice. Somehow they even managed to make ice cream, hot fudge, strawberries and cream taste completely amazing. Plus I got a big long spoon!

In short, Byron is a simple place, dedicating its heart and soul to one thing only – making bloody amazing hamburgers. This was honestly some of the best food we have had (and we’ve eaten a lot of burgers!) and well worth its London price tag. I love the whole aesthetic of the brand as well, its really well executed and the restaurant looks very smart tucked away in the fancy side of town. If you’re visiting Bristol and are in the mood for a burger after a spot of shopping on Park St, I’d say Byron is definitely worth a trip up the hill.

{I was invited as a guest to this restaurant; all words and opinions are my own}

Posted in food / Tagged bbq, , Burgers, byron, byron burger, clifton, dude food / 2 Comments

Urban Foraging for Nakd Bars

Nakd bars healthy snacking | Lily Doughball

I’ve talked previously about the importance of healthy snacking, and in particular my struggle with it. Too often I forgo the fruit and snacky vegetables in favour of biscuits, crisps and Fanta (my beverage of choice), despite my best efforts to eat more healthily. My favourite tea time treat, to fill the awkward 3pm-gap between lunch and dinner has to be, hands down, Nakd bars. These little nuggets of joy are my favourites for a grab-and-go lunchbox filler – they come in about a million different delicious flavours, and all guaranteed to be 100% natural, gluten, wheat and dairy free, so you know you’re doing your tummy good. Some of these tasty flavours I haven’t tested out yet, but I was lucky enough to be sent a box to sample their best-sellers (*).

Nakd bars healthy snacking | Lily Doughball
Nakd bars healthy snacking | Lily Doughball

My current favourites are the Pecan Pie, Cashew Cookie and Gingerbread, of which I got samples of the last two, yay! These are the three go-to flavours when I’m stocking up my Asda basket, and to be honest I wasn’t brave enough to branch out and sample any others. I’d not previously been a fan of the Cocoa Delight bar, but luckily enough Tom loves anything which remotely resembles chocolate, so he snaffled these up in no time. Included in my sample box were a few variations on the cocoa theme – Cocoa Mint, Cocoa Orange and Caffe Mocha. I absolutely adored all three of these, despite my aversion to the chocolate. The stand out flavour for me though has to be Rhubarb and Custard. I did a small squeal of joy when I saw the bright pink peeping out of the box, and the flavour did not let it down at all. It was almost like a creamy custard-tasting cashew cookie, but with a sharp tangy rhubarb aftertaste, which was absolutely delicious. I will definitely be purchasing more of these!

Nakd bars healthy snacking | Lily Doughball
Nakd bars healthy snacking | Lily Doughball
Nakd bars healthy snacking | Lily Doughball

Whilst foraging in the lavender for my Nakd bars, there were a few cheeky bees taking an interest in my cornflowers. I feel a little bit better for having a hideously overgrown garden now that I’m safe in the knowledge that I’m going the wildlife some good! She didn’t pay much attention to my Nakd bars though, I got to keep those all for myself.

Nakd bars healthy snacking | Lily Doughball

If you haven’t tried Nakd bars yet, and are in to eating clean (or are just a repenting serial snacker like myself) then I really urge you to give them a go. This is just a small taste of the flavours they have on offer, and for the amount of delicious ingredients inside, they really are good value for money. These are my afternoon treat, and cereal bars in general manage to keep me a lot fuller and feeling a bit more nourished than if I were to have a rich tea biscuit!

Are there any flavours which I haven’t mentioned which I need to try? Let me know!

[this product was a gift, but opinion is my own]

Posted in food / Tagged eat clean, nakd, nakd bars, nutrition, sponsored, vegan / 2 Comments