Exploring Flatford for Lunch

[Ad- gifted experience] The world seems to be defrosting, cold mornings are no longer here, and birds have started to come out in full force! With the opening of Flatford’s tea room, Dann and I decided to check out this National Trust site to see how it defrosted along with the rest of the world. We have not previously been to Flatford before and were curious as there were a lot of things to see there.

River Stour

Flatford has a beautiful river you can walk along or go over, called River Stour. It had been raining lately when we went, so the river itself was absolutely gushing, which was very fun to walk along and see. They have a few locks along the river, along with benches to sit and bird watch on it. The field around the river had some flooding, so a lot of the ducks and geese had been exploring this new pond of theirs, but there were plenty of wildlife around. It’s actually a fantastic place to go bird watching!

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Lunch out at The Green Man Pub

While out running some errands with a friend, Dann and I wanted to stop for a slightly bigger lunch as we had a busy day ahead. Wanting to try a pub we’ve seen a few times, we headed over to The Green Man Pub in Old Harlow. The Green Man Pub is in a historic 14th century Jacobean style building, with a lot of character to it. There is a dedicated car park, outdoor seating and plenty of indoor seating. It’s also dog friendly, with treats within one of the entrances.

We went on a soggy afternoon, when the pub was just starting to fill up. We sat ourselves down and checked out the dinner menu. They have a few highlighted beers and some specials that end up rotating along with a classic pub menu. Though we were there for lunch, we ordered off of the dinner menu as that’s what caught our eye.

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Group Dinner at Casa Rufo

[Ad- gifted experience] I spent some time in Bilbao, Spain – where I was recommended a few places to eat, including Casa Rufo. Casa Rufo is sort of like a deli when you walk in; there are cans of different fancy ingredients and a deli display, which had a bunch if items that would go great in some sort of hamper. The inside had tons of wine racks, with lots of bottles of wine sticking out. It feels rustic and quite like a hidden gem, where you would find a bunch of small plates and fantastic wine. Thankfully, one of the members of staff did speak English, so it was very easy to order as well.

Little Plates

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The Toaster – Fantastic Brunch Spot

A friend of mine said I should go to The Toaster and try their hashbrown nachos when I spoke about making weird nacho food for Kai. I had not heard of the place and though I am not a big brunch or breakfast fan, while Kai and Robin were at school (and Amelia still on holiday from her school), we wanted to go out somewhere new. The Toaster came to mind, so we all headed out to see what the food was going to be like. To our surprise, it was probably the best brunch I am ever going to have in my life.

Chia Latte

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Dinner out at The Cock Helsinki

[Ad- gifted experience] While in Helsinki for a work event, we went out to a celebratory dinner to celebrate the end of a fantastic event and a promotion I got within the company! Picking something that sounded and felt like it could be British, we ended up at The Cock. This restaurant is very welcome to people just visiting the area and serves a fun menu with a lot of familiar and classic food. Dann and I both got different starters and mains, for once, off of a set menu that the entire team ordered from. The venue felt cozy, like an upscale pub, and the staff were fantastic.

Beetroot Salad & Beef Tartar

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