Hello Happy Bunny

Thomas Carr at the Olive Room was recently rewarded a Michelin Star for its use of fresh, local ingredients and superb flavours, and it is certainly very popular. I was wanting to try the food here, but the restaurant is currently closed at lunchtimes and closed on my only day off! So…I have been waiting a long time! On their Facebook page last year, they announced they had late cancellations for Christmas lunch, so why not try something different to your usual Christmas fare? When you arrive, it is not what you would expect a Michelin Star restaurant to be like. It is quite a small restaurant, we almost drove past it! Inside there were only two other tables and the owner’s family seated for Christmas lunch. I can’t imagine a lot of people can be seated on a weekend night. The other Michelin restaurant I have visited was Castle Terrace Restaurant in Edinburgh, where the restaurant was huge, grand and the staff professionally trained. The Olive Room resembles a more smaller and cosie...

I have never been to a Pizza Express before, despite many people saying that the food is delicious. Last month, I tried it for the first time. We visited on a early Monday evening and sat next to the kitchen. You are able to see the chefs cooking the food. The food is a mix of pizza (obviously) and pasta. I was in the mood for a lasagne. My partner had a mozzarella and tomato pizza with added meat toppings. The desserts are quite big. This is a tiramisu we shared for afterwards. I love the napkins – they are so funny! I was fairly impressed with my first visit, much better than Pizza Hut and Prezzo, related competition in the area. The food is generously sized and tasty, and the service was very knowledgeable and helpful. The price is great value too. From time to time, they hold their own offers – they had a free dessert if you order starter and a main. Before leaving, they gave me a 2 for 1 mains voucher to use in January, so it is easy to save money when you eat here. I...

In November, we made another visit to The Pier House. It was a quiet Monday evening so we managed to get a window table. Unfortunately for us, it is winter and dark outside, so we couldn’t enjoy the view! >.< For starters we shared the crab and crayfish fishcakes. This is slightly spicy and is similar to Thai flavours for me. The fishcakes are quite big so it is a good thing that we shared! For my main course, I had the Pork Belly, with an apple compote in the centre, on top of a duck and sausage cassoulet (like a bean stew). This is topped off with a stick of pork crackling. This was delicious – cooked perfectly and lots of flavour. The presentation is beautiful as well. I tried my best but I couldn’t finish it. The portion was too large for me! My partner chose the special Port Ho burger. It comes with onion rings and salad, and we swapped out regular fries for sweet potato fries. For dessert, I had a trio of desserts, which includes chocolate torte, creme brûlée...

Last week, I met up with my sister in Exeter. Unfortunately due to the recent bad weather we had a little train trouble but when we eventually arrived, the first thought that came to our mind was FOOD! We had a craving for Italian food and originally we wanted to go to Jamie’s Italian but it was fully booked. Nearby is Carluccio’s, which my sister said was quite good so we headed there. The front of Carluccio’s resembles a shop with cakes, biscuits and other Italian sweet treats which you can buy to takeaway. Behind this is a dining area – it doesn’t look particularly impressive or restaurant like. It looks like a cafe (indeed some people just ordered tea and coffee). The menu looks quite good – it displays Italian dishes with impressive ingredients. We opted for the Christmas menu – 2 courses for £17.99. I opted for the Risotto Festivo (a mushroom and spinach risotto with porcini oil and cheese wafers on top) and the Panettone with vanilla ice cream – I went for the more Christ...

Turtle Bay is a Caribbean style restaurant in Stonegate, York. I went for a family lunch. To drink I had a passionfruit and orange blend, which was lovely. To eat, I had the 1/4 Jerk Chicken served with slaw and spicy chips. The sauce for the chicken was nice, a little bit hot. To share, we also had the chilli and lime squid, which I wasn’t a big fan of but others did like. The service was pleasant if a little disorganised, but this could be due to new waitress training. Price wise, the food is fine. My main dish cost around the 7pound mark, which was not too bad. This is the first time I have tried this type of food, and I would never say no to trying something else from the menu (I see they have goat…). For Caribbean cuisine in York, Turtle Bay is a good place to start.

So this week’s collection begins with Barnstaple Coffee Shop. They have added a new Chocolate Orange cake to their range, and I love this one so much! The sponge is chocolate orange flavoured itself, with orange biscuit balls and a slice of Terry’s on top. It’s been a while since I last went to The Chocolate Teapot in Bideford. I was wanting some of their Eton Mess, but there was none available! Nevertheless, all of their traybakes look gorgeous and I treated myself to two – Aero Mint and Chocolate Orange (I have a bit of craving for chocolate orange haha). Definitely a must for chocolate lovers these traybakes are full of chocolate pieces inside too! Back to Barnstaple, Green Lanes cafe had some Halloween specials last week. I had the Severed Finger Dog, £4.85 with chips. Whilst I applaud their efforts to get into the spirit (haha) of Halloween – having cut the hot dog like a finger – I was a little disappointed. It felt like a cheap poor quality meal to me, nothing reall...

So I have been back to Green Lanes Cafe a few times and have tried their specials. The first is ham, egg and chips. I also tried the Cornish pasty, beans and chips. These were decent meals at good prices. The portions are very big and filling, and plenty of chips on the plate! Another hotspot in Barnstaple is Lindsey's, a cake shop and cafe. The highlight is their cheesecakes - I have tried strawberry, mixed fruit, chocolate and mango and passionfruit. Last week, I tried their banoffee pie (I had a craving for banoffee...) and it was sublime!  Lindsey's also does a cheesecake loyalty cake where if you buy 8 cheesecakes, you get the next free.

Some food and drink photos from this month… Macaroni Cheese with Garlic Bread, The Corner Cafe in Barnstaple. This was one of the specials priced at £3.50. This was delicious – portion size was just right and satisified my craving for cheese! Victoria Sponge with a pot of Earl Grey tea, Barnstaple Coffee Shop. Again part of their afternoon tea deal. The filling is a little too sweet but the sponge was soft and fluffy. All-day Breakfast Bap with Chips, Green Lanes Cafe. The bap includes bacon, egg and sausage. This is a filling and indulgent meal, very good value! Driftwood Coffee Shop, Barnstaple. This is a caramel latte, priced at £3.00. The pricing is similar to Costa Coffee but the coffee here tastes amazing! The staff are very friendly. Driftwood also serves food as well – I saw another customer order a sandwich, and they are very big indeed!

The last few weeks have been wonderful weather, giving me time to enjoy the summer while it lasts! And where better it spend it than the beaches in Devon? First, we went to Ilfracombe –  a small town that has plenty of shops, cafes, entertainment and sand. We had lunch at The Ilfracombe Fryer, a fish and chip takeaway and restaurant. The restaurant was very busy – we managed to get the last table. We had to wait a while to order, before we caught the attention of one of the waitresses at the counter. The food was tasty and well priced. I had the scampi and chips. There are magnificent views of the sea and cliffs in Ilfracombe. Visitors often walk up the big hill to enjoy the sea breeze and see the whole of the town from the top.     There is also an Hockings ice cream van, famous ice cream in Devon. For those who like plays and shows, there is the Landmark theatre. During the day, there is also a cafe to take a break. Iflramcombe has also transfo...