Scott’s Hill Bar and Restaurant

We’ve been out for brunch today at one of our usual haunts, and when we went for a wander afterwards we noticed that Scott’s Hill is now open. I don’t really know how people felt about Charango, I’d only been there for a drink… perhaps I missed out. But I thought I’d pop my head in this new place today.

The outisde seating looks much the same, if now a little less bright. I like the look of the comfy sofa outside. I think I’d be very happy to plonk myself on that we a few pints one afternoon.

Inside is really smart now, and with a menu like this, I think we’ll be bringing our parents to try it out pretty soon.

The guy working there was more than happy for me to nosey round and take a few pics, so they win points already on the friendly-o-meter, and it looks from their twitter account (@scottshillchorl) like they are up for doing offers and interacting with people, both of which I’m keen on.

The decor and menu seem a little bit in contrast to the events they are advertising but I definitely like the sound of it…I’m up for giving the food and an evening out there a try. Here’s hoping it can become one of my favourite places to hang out this summer.

Try the Croma Early Bird Deal (and breakfast at The Lead Station)

Just wanted to share with you very quickly how much I enjoyed the early bird offer at Croma one evening last week. The deal is £9.95 for a beer, glass of wine or soft drink, a garlic bread, dough balls or mixed leaf salad, a main course of pizza or salad, followed by tea or coffee. It’s available Sun – Thurs 4-7pm and I think presents really good value for a casual meal out.

We both ended up having the same thing, the peppered steak pizza…

… and I think it goes in my top 5 pizzas of all time! Possibly because I’ve never had steak on a pizza before, and didn’t realise just how much of a good combo it would be.

I think the atmosphere in there is very relaxing, and the food is simple, but always good. So I think it’s a really good option for winding down and chatting after a hard day at work.

Oh, and in a hungover state yesterday, we managed to drag ourselves to The Lead Station for some much needed breakfast, so I took the pics that I didn’t manage to get last time.

The Eggs Benedict, I’m told were perfect yet again, and as you can see, the Full English is enormous! This is without mushrooms or blackpudding! Loads of really good quality bacon sausages.

You don’t get potato cakes with most breakfasts, and it is a very welcome addition. Set me right up for the day… I went straight back to bed!

Gem x

A very Chorlton birthday!

Last weekend it was my better half’s Birthday, and I had lots of surprise treats planned for her! We had been to a wedding the night before and were a little worse for wear on her actual birthday, so in the afternoon we bobbed round to Simon Dunn for a sugar hit! After teacakes, we chose a few chocolates and sat for a while with a mug of hot choc.

While we were there we saw them making up some giant easter eggs and carefully wrapping them. There are some beautiful ones, so if you haven’t already got yours, I’d highly recommend you take a look. Much nicer than the branded ones.

The next day I had booked a table for 12pm at The Lead Station for all our family. Turns out they still serve breakfast at that time, which was a bonus for us! Some of us ordered the Eggs Benedict, others opted for the haddock, but I had a full english breakfast. I wish I had remembered to take a pic of our food, but it was just too good! I had tucked in before I thought of it! I genuinely cannot wait to go and have breakfast there again. My partners family are very discerning when it comes to food, and they deemed it excellent, so that is all the seal of approval I need. The staff couldn’t do enough for us, and lit the very silly candles on the very silly little cake we had brought.

The next day I had booked us into The Tea Hive for Their Afternoon Tea. It looked like excellent value for money, at £14.95 for the stand (I was sure it was going to be per head!), but I could not believe how much was included.

We chose 3 types of finger sandwiches, and the tea that we wanted, then they presented it all beautifully on a traditional cake stand, alongside their usual vintage china. We also got scones with jam and cream and 4 different cakes! We had to take some home even though we sat there for a good couple of hours.

It was just one of the most relaxing afternoons we have had in a long time, and I’m really looking forward to bringing my friends to try it. I never thought I’d be choosing my favourite tea strainer, but this is it. Very cute!

And a Chorlton birthday wouldn’t be complete without gifts from Pad and sweeties from Bittersweet. I am starting to worry that I’m becoming a little bit obsessed with this place….

Sher Akbar – they had a bit of a rough night! Proof on the other hand….

We went to try Sher Akbar last night with high hopes and a spring in our step…. but it didn’t go so well! It’s very near our place, so as we wandered past, I nipped in to make a reservation for later on. They were very busy, but the gentleman on the door said 9.30 would be a good time, and he would see us then. I was a bit surprised that he didn’t want to take my name, but I wasn’t going to tell the man how to do his job, so we went off for a drink (more about that later).

We returned at 9.30 and the man was no where to be seen. Another staff memeber greeted us and said it would be a long wait for a table, because we weren’t booked in. I said I had spoken to someone who was going to hold a table for us, to which he replied ‘that’s not possible’. So that made me feel a bit stupid, and wasn’t the best welcome, but we decided to wait. Next, there were no clean glasses so we couldn’t order drinks at the bar. Then we waited 15 minutes to order. Another 15 minutes and our food arrived, but our drinks still hadn’t.

Now might be a good time to point out that the food was very good. But I was left feeling so irritated by everything else, that I can’t really say much about it. It wasn’t an enjoyable experience, and I’m 30 quid worse off for it. The staff were stressed, people were walking out, we saw 6 other people making complaints and it all just felt really awkward. They said they had just been blown away by how busy it was, and they clearly weren’t prepared, and they are very new so I want to be supportive, but my hard earned cash and time are precious to me and I wasted a fair bit of both last night! Perhaps I should give them another chance when they are settled in, but to be honest, I doubt I will. It’s not cosy enough for me. It looks flashy from the outside, and inside it’s very bright so the candles are pointless, and basically I’ve just not warmed to the place.

On a much happier note, we visited Proof last night for the first time. I’ve always wanted to go in, but it looks a bit daunting and now I’m really sorry that I’ve been missing out. They have a really interesting cocktail menu, with lots of things I have never tried before.

We were spoilt with gorgeous cocktails, excellent customer service and a nice chat with the staff. Their attention to detail with the drinks was really impressive, and the girl serving us was obviously really knowledgeable about all the ingredients and what was best to use. Seeing the effort put into the drinks made them all the more enjoyable. They also have offers on 2 for 1 cocktails regularly, so I think it’ll become one of my haunts this summer.

Simon Dunn Chocolatier

Simon Dunn Chocolatier opened today on  Wilbraham Road, right next to Oxfam, and I was very keen to try it out. Perhaps a little too keen as I was their very first customer! Simon Dunn has a chain of shops across quite a few different areas of the country and is a long established brand. I received a warm welcome ordered a hot chocolate, which came with very Harry Potter mini chocolate frog.

 

 

As they had literally just opened, the place isn’t fully stocked yet, but they did have a cabinet full of tempting handmade chocolates…

…and the beginnings of an amazing selection of gifts, inlcuding these chocolate boxes, lollies and chocolate champagne bottles.

The staff have got one thing spot on already though, creating a friendly, comfortable atmosphere, where I felt happy to just sit and read for a while. I’ll look forward to going back again.

New restaurant – Sher Akbar

While out on our little stroll this afternoon we noted some progress on the new restaurant on Manchester Road. This is a really large unit situated just next to Tesco, and it had become a bit of an eye sore because it was empty for so long. A few weeks ago we saw them dressing the tables inside, and today they were putting the signage up, so the opening must be pretty soon.

Now, I’m no detective, but this sign outside…

And this van parked nearby…

…lead me to believe that maybe, just maybe, it the new place is linked to the one in Northenden. Amazing powers of deduction… I know. I can’t find any reviews for Sher Akbar, so if anyone knows anything about it, do share. I have seen inside the place, and it looks a little OTT and flashy, but that’s not always a bad thing. Looking forward to trying it already.

Gem xx

ps. tried a huge piece of Raspberry and Amaretti Crunch Cake in Tea Hive today. Wowzer! We sat, ate, drank, and got a bit of work done.

Happy Birthday Blossom

Blossom is 6 today, and to celebrate there is a free gift with every purchase! We had nipped in to buy some gorgeous orchids we had spotted outside and were given a bonus bunch of daffs. Even with this horrible weather today, we couldn’t help but feel cheered by their beautiful display.

Arian

Just wanted to share with you our experience of Arian last night. This small restaurant on Barlow Moor Road serves Iranian food, which I had never really tried before, but we were told it was quite similar to Greek cuisine. The choices on the menu all seemed quite familiar, with kebabs, houmous, falafels and various stews, it was really difficult to make a choice because it all sounded so good.

The portion sizes are really generous. To give you an idea, if there are 4 of you I’d probably recommend ordering 3 starters and sharing. They keep you supplied with flatbread for dipping and sharing, so it’s a sociable kind of meal you can get stuck into. I went for the stuffed pepper to start, which went particularly well with the bread.

I also got to try some of my friends starters, and the falafels, which I will definitely order when I go again. My main course was the house kebab, with 2 types of lamb and chicken, I struggled to finish it, but as it was so delicious I soldiered on! The meat was really well seasoned and tender and the rice was so tasty I’d have been happy with a bowl of just that!

Just to say a little bit about the service and experience at this point, it is very small, but that meant the service was excellent. There were ten in our party, and all our food arrived very quickly and together. The staff are friendly and will make every effort to make you comfortable. It does not have an alcohol licence, so you may bring your own, but I fell foul of the no mixer rule. My own fault really, but as I was drinking gin, I had brought tonic and was told that I couldn’t drink that as they sold soft drinks. Fortunately I had wine too. This makes for an amazing value meal. It came in at £13 per head including corkage and a service charge. We all thought it deserved more and paid accordingly. It’s on the other side of Chorlton from us, but we will be taking a stroll over there often I think. Give it a try!

Christmas begins in Chorlton!

So Christmas has been creeping into Chorlton gradually…. but last night we felt like we had been hit with a giant Christmas stick! In a good way! At the lights switch on we enjoyed some delicious mulled cider and carols by the big tree on the green, then a bit of late night local shopping and a meal at The Lead Station. Couldn’t have wished for a more lovely Christmassy evening!

The pic above is a cute mini bunch of flowers! The girls in Blossom are so helpful.

The view from the green last night.

Today in Chorlton