Ocean Beach Cafe, Bar and Bistro | Restaurant Review

We love going to the beach! The kids love being in the water, they love the sand, and we have basically made it so we can pack up for the beach and unpack afterwards in under and hour. This includes making lunch, packing up all our towels and beach toys, and getting water shoes on! Now that restaurants are back open, we figured we’d try some out near Shoeburryness, our favourite beach of choice. Our first adventure was to the Ocean Beach cafe, bar and bistro.

Provencal Meatballs, Parrilla Chorizo and Cajun Crab Croquettes

Continue reading “Ocean Beach Cafe, Bar and Bistro | Restaurant Review”

A Day Out at Boom Battle Bar Lakeside

[Ad- gifted experience] I got the chance to go along to the new Boom Battle Bar at Lakeside as apart of their press day. The self-titled ‘Adventure Bar’ chain is an interesting twist on pubs, as if bars had gone down a different path than ‘more taps’ and instead focused on the pub games. Cribbage and horseshoes are out though, and while darts remain it does so with a twist and is joined by axe throwing, nail hammering and fun-fair style physical games.

Where I’m from we have a lot of pubs, there’s probably a pub for every 3k people in the town, and it’s a big town. We also have clubs, chain bars, and you can drink at the restaurants too. When you walk into most of the pubs though, be that your King’s Head, Red Lion or White Hart, they’re all pretty similar. Lots of tables and low seating, a row of stools at the bar, a tv in each room. A lot of these places feel tired (and tend to be filled with the retired) and certainly don’t feel welcoming – it feels like it’s uncommon for places to gain ‘regulars’ based on proximity, more so on association. Boom Battle Bar in Lakeside feels like a response to that, an attempt to try and make an actual destination that does a lot of things that pubs used to do decades ago; to be a place to entertain, meet up, play a few games and relax.

Continue reading “A Day Out at Boom Battle Bar Lakeside”

A Day Out to Paulos Circus

[Ad- gifted experience] Ever since seeing Circus Fantasia, Robin and I have been keeping our eyes peeled for more circuses to visit. There is just something about all of these different performances, ones that you can not take your eyes off of, in quick succession. It feels magical. Dann always describes it like boss fights in JRPGs – intense, with loud music, drawing in all of your attention and captivating you. Over quickly, when you just want to see more. When we were invited to Paulos Circus, we were all very excited to get along! This circus had acts we had never seen before, which is already pretty exciting! Though Circus Paulos is running at a smaller capacity, due to COVID, it is still packed with amazing performances and a lot of fun.

Continue reading “A Day Out to Paulos Circus”

Las Tapas Eat Drink Indulge | Restaurant Review

Tapas is always an exciting time out! While looking for places to eat nearby, Dann came across Las Tapas in Brentwood. This restaurant has loads of small plates, as well as a full dining menu and desserts, but we went with one thing in mind; ordering lots of tapas! The menu looked fancy and lovely, the venue was small but nice, and we were excited to be back out and about at a new place to eat! Let’s dive into what we had.

Drinks

Las Tapas

Continue reading “Las Tapas Eat Drink Indulge | Restaurant Review”

Tim Hortons UK – Canada’s Favorite Coffee Place | Restaurant Review

Now, you may have heard that Canada’s favorite breakfast place has come to the UK, opening up a location in Harlow. Tim Hortons has coffee, breakfast sandwiches, wraps, lunch sandwiches, donuts, pancakes and more, on their current limited menu. At the moment, we have been to Tim Hortons way too many times – mainly because it’s nearby. A bit because its new and nearby, a bit because with lockdown, Dann and I haven’t been to anywhere new in ages, and a bit because we have been moving and it is nearby. We’ve actually sampled quite a bit of the menu.

Donuts

Continue reading “Tim Hortons UK – Canada’s Favorite Coffee Place | Restaurant Review”