Afternoon Tea at Boulevard Brasserie, London | Lifestyle

It's been a while since we had something a little fancy on Honeypot Blogs hasn't it? Today I thought I would share with you my utterly delightful experience I had at Boulevard Brasserie for Afternoon Tea! My dear Vernia really fancied having scones and jam and she suggested that we go for afternoon tea somewhere in London and she found this great deal which was about £27 per person and it includes a variety of different sandwiches and sweet treats but also bottomless tea and bottomless prosecco for an hour and a half. 

Boulevard Brasserie was just off of Covent Garden and I frickin' love that Covent Garden area, so much there is always something fun to do or see and this restaurant/cafe wasn't a place I had ever been before so I was excited to try it out.  

As soon as we walked in we were welcomed so warmly, everyone was so polite and smiley, they really seemed happy that you were there which I adored. The cafe itself is really cute with classical French design and there are 3 floors and we were seated on the middle level.
When we got to our table the lady described perfectly what we were to expect, so explained that we had an hour and a half at the table and the variety of foods we will be served. She also left a little menu which also explained the details. 

I have been to other bottomless prosecco brunches before and know that sometimes they can be a bit tight with the bubbles but I have to say this place definitely wasn't, they topped you up in perfect timing always and only when you really needed it which I loved. The food was divine, I went straight in for the sandwiches first and had to have the little salmon bagel because I don't know why but all of a sudden I have become obsessed with smoked salmon, I just can't get enough! Then I tried out the salt beef and gherkin sandwich which was served on rye bread, again I really liked this but the flavours were quite strong so I think its not one everyone would love. Then I moved on to the little foccacia number which had mozzarella and pesto in it, I mean I was in heaven by this point! The last sandwich was cucumber and cream cheese and honestly, I don't like cucumber at all so I skipped that one. 

We then moved onto the scones which were so damn good, the had two fruit ones and two plain ones so me and Vernia just had one of each one which meant we still had two scones each which I thought was actually really generous. I think they would have offered us more clotted cream because the serving for 4 scones was quite small but we were fine in all honesty. 

Then I dived straight into the dessert plate where I pretty much face planted this chocolate square, this little thing was so rich, it was like a thick ganache which a biscuit base, it was delicious, Vernia couldn't quite manage to eat it all but I inhaled mine. Then I had the tiny little macaron which was raspberry so it balanced the richness of the chocolate cake. 

My afternoon at Boulevard Brasserie was actually perfect, the service was incredible the food was delicious, the atmosphere was lively yet intimate and the company was the best ever!  

Where are your favourite places for Afternoon Tea? 

Mattarello Restaurant, London | Food

Today I thought I would share with you guys a tasty little number because it's been a while since I had a foodie post. One of the main things I miss about Italy sometimes  has to be the food, oh my god I need good Italian food and I just didn't think it was possible in England until I went to Mattarello.  Mattarello is an Italian word for rolling pin, which gives a subtle nod to the notion of handmade which all good Italian food is. 

The restuarant itself is nestled in a little street near Aldgate and I was surprised when I walked in because it looks so chic and so welcoming, plus the waiter was thrilled to explain a little more about this delightful restaurant to us. It's actually a restaurant that has it's roots in Bologna in the Tuscan region and having lived in Italy you know I love Tuscany. He gave us a lot of advise as to his favourite foods and recommended traditional dishes as true proud Italians always do. I had to get the Aperol Spritz which had more of a kick in it than others I've had in the UK which kept me rather happy I must admit.  

It was quite hard to pick a started I must admit, but we opted for a selection of cold meats which included, Salami, Proscuitto, Mortadella and I "think" bresola but then had this rather delightful friend pieces of bread. In the picture they look quite hard but they were delightfully soft and doughy, I was in heaven!  

What to have for the main meal was an easy decision for me, as soon as I saw Tortellini I knew I'd be having that, it was nice that they added a little twist with it by serving it with a Bolognese ragu as opposed to like a butter sauce. It was divine and the portions were so generous, I actually left some pasta because I couldn't eat any more. It was cooked to perfection which is aldente and it was just like being in Italy again. 

We had to make sure there was enough room for dessert, I actually nearly went for a Tiramisu but I opted for the Panna Cotta with berries because I wanted something a little lighter. The  panna cotta was a little softer than I expected but it was just the right amount of sweetness to tame the sharp edge of the berries. Perfetto! 

Buonissima! 

I will be going back to this restaurant again, without a doubt! When it comes to the price personally I would say it's inline with any London restaurant we paid about £47 each but we had much food it was more than worth it! 

Which Italian restaurants do you recommend? 

Suda Thai Cafe Restaurant, Covent Garden | Food

My name is Toni and I love Thai food and I don't care who knows it! Now that's out of the way, I think it's time to write about my utterly delicious trip to Suda Thai Cafe Restaurant near Covent Garden. All this year I have been banging on about how much I want a good chicken pad Thai to my bf and because he was probably sick of hearing me moan he decided to book a table at this restaurant for my birthday and I was bloody thrilled! 

I've never been to Suda before but after reading the menu I literally couldn't wait and had decided what I was having before we even turned up to the place! We booked the table online but to be honest the place is pretty big so if you went at like 7ish I would think they could probably squeeze you in anyway but it's always best to book anyway! 

Doesn't that just make your mouth water?  For starters we opted for the Suda sharing platter which has actually changed a little since we had it, online the menu says that the platter includes A selection of our signature starters :chicken satay, kanom jeeb, duck roll, fish cake, prawn cake & chicken on toast but as you can see ours had these little sweetcorn cake things but basically everything else was the same and it was heavenly! The flavours were so good and it was just enough for the both of us but we did also order some Thai crackers as well, for good measure! 

For main I just had to have my chicken pad Thai, slight disclaimer I started eating before I took a picture and realised last minute which is why it's a cropped picture of the pad Thai because the parts out of shot were devoured by me! The chicken breast was cooked really well, juicy and even had a little bit of skin on! The peanut dressing had a real sweetness to it which mellowed out the chilli a little and then coupled with the noodles this dish was an utter delight! 

Of course this all HAD to be washed down with just one or two cocktails, I had the Lady Gaga and the bf had Suda Passion! Yummy and strong! What more can a gal need? In total the meal came to around £60 (I think) which isn't the cheapest but it is London and the meal was incredible! I would definitely go to Suda again! 

What is your favourite cuisine?  

MEATliquor, London | Food

I'm getting hungry just looking at this food, of course today I am going to talk about my experience with MEATliquor in London. I will apologise for the picture quality, but the MEATliquor restaurants are dark as anything so I had to use my flash but I still wanted to share it with your guys anyway! 

As you know I am back in the UK and loving life, I recently met up with my pal Alisha after she finally came back from her travels around Vietnam and we needed a bloody big catch up so we went to get some food. Alisha is the pal I'm gonna explore different restaurants with around London, we both love different cuisines so she is like the perfect partner. As you can see we kinda went all out in MEATliquor and ordered pretty much everything, but you have to indulge every now and then, obvs!  

So let's have a chat about the actual food, we both ordered burgers each and I had the Tower Block Burger which was a fired chicken fillet, with cheese, slaw, jalapeños, onions, Russian sauce (no idea what that was, but it was nice) and a hash brown! That's a lot of burger and it was literally built like a tower, I could barely eat it. The chicken was cooked so well and wasn't dry or too crispy. For sides we shared, fried pickles which has THE yummiest Blue Cheese Sauce, fried mac and cheese and some fries. I loved the fried mac and cheese, but i mean, what's not to love? The fried pickles were also bloody nice but they were a little big so when you bit into them the pickle would strip out of the batter so you were kinda left with just the battered shell, but it was still nice. The fries we perfectly thin and crisp and as you can see a bloody massive portion which is perfect for sharing really. 

We also had cocktails and I tell you what they are delicious, they had kind of unusual flavour combinations but worked so damn well. I had the Bristol Fizz which had vodka, with pear, strawberry and lemon juice with a little bit of fizz o top it up and it went down bloody well. 

The atmosphere at MEATliquor is like SUPER relaxed, the waiters and waitresses are very chilled and not at all intrusive when taking your order, the decor is very trendy with a kinda Hoxton/Shoreditch kinda vibe. They don't have napkins, they just have paper on a roll, like kitchen roll. You can't book a table for parties smaller than 6 so you just rock up and hope for the best, but as it is so causal I image it's not too hard to get a table. 

Overall, the food was great, the drinks were great, it was the perfect way to have a relaxed but foodie catch up with a pal. 

Have you been to MEATliquor?

Jamie's Italian, St Paul's | Food

Turns out I don't actually need to go all the way to Florence to get yummy Italian food, I'll come back immediately! I'm joking of course, but I did want to say that this food at Jamie's Italian was delicious. 

My old work pal was invited to check out the new restaurant at St Paul's which is just around the corner from my previous office, he thought it would be a great idea to turn it into a team lunch and well I'll use any excuse to have a glass of prosecco at lunch! I know there are a lot of mixed reviews about Jamie's Italian restaurant, like I get it, if you go to Italy the food will always be better, I get it but you know what I like food and I'm not pretentious, I'll always give it a go. I've never been to and Jamie's restaurants before but I will say that I was pleasantly surprised. I do have to say that the staff was amazing, our waiter was the sweetest little guy always make sure we were OK, offering his opinion on the food we picked out, very accommodating. 

The choice on the menu was vast! Everything from burgers, to steak, to pasta to Italian nachos, which i think is really great.There was 7 of us so obviously people are going to want different things and I must admit as I was looking around what everyone else had I would have been happy to have any of those, apart from risotto, can't stand the stuff. But let's talk about what I chose, which was the Penne Carbonara. I love a carbonara, the creamier the better really and I do prefer penne pasta to tagliatelle or spaghetti just because it's less messy. I would say that portion size was a pretty good size perhaps fractionally too large for my lunch but I wouldn't have it any other way. When it came to the table I did look and think that there wasn't as much sauce as I expected. However, once I stuck my fork into it I realised that all the sauce and chunks of pancetta was underneath the first little layer of penne. The sauce was spiced perfectly, it had a peppery kick to it. The little flakes of bacon on the top was incredibly fine and crispy, very delicate. Overall, I think it was pretty damned tasty. We had a discount on the food but personally, I think even at full price it would have still been well worth it. 

Have you been to a Jamies Italian restaurant?

A day in London | Lifestyle

Last weekend me and my dad went up London, to The Shard and to have a bit of wander. For Christmas I bought him The Shard tickets because he has always wanted to go up there. He was born and raised in London, so bloody loves the place which is where I think I get my passion for it from. I managed to take a couple of pictures just of random bits that we did. 

First stop we had to go to Borough Market, its like the best food market EVER! Bold statement I know but it's just so lovely. Various different foods, from ready to eat, to cold cuts, to bread to raw meat. They have it all and it was booming! I must say I had a little treat of some macaroons.

We then had a little wander around Southwark Cathedral, I do just love looking around churches and cathedrals so much history and just generally really pretty. I love that the front of this building is covered in flint. 

Then we moved onto The Shard, it was really hard to take pictures because everything was behind glass so the reflection was always present but the view was literally amazing.  My dad really enjoyed it, would definitely recommend if you haven't been up there already.

We then had to stop for a bit of lunch of course, my dad wanted to try out Wagamama and I bloody love noodles so we went on a hunt to find one. 

Then we just had a bit of a wander down some random streets just taking it all in, we actually found this tiny little garden in the middle of all these office blocks it was so out of place but so pretty at the same time. 

And finally, no trip to London would be complete without a walk along the southbank stopping to have a look at the book stalls. 

Such a lovely day, I work in London but I never really get a chance to just walk around and properly explore. 

Where do you love to go in London?

Wahaca Restaurant | Review

Last week I went to a restaurant  called Wahaca in Soho, which is a Mexican restaurant influenced by Mexcian Market foods. I went along with my work colleague, Tineal, and a couple of clients but it was incredibly informal, consider it a gathering of pals. 

I've never been before, it was actually a suggestion based on someone else but it had a really good feel about it. We had booked the table in advanced, me and Tineal were running late but when we arrived the lady was so lovely and told us to go downstairs to meet the rest and they'll get the table ready. There was a very relaxed but nice vibe about the restaurant.

It was quite quirky and interesting loads of things to look at and a bloody massive menu. Our waiter was a guy called Fede and he explained perfectly the different dishes and gave advice on what we should order, he was great. 

We of course had to start with cocktails, I tried the passion fruit Cosmo which was gorgeous!! Really tasty but you couldn't really taste any alcohol which is always a bonus. I also tried the watermelon version too!

For dinner I went with a couple of tapas style dishes, I chose the Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla and the Steak Taco which had cheese, guacamole and salsa on

The food was lovely, we didn't have to wait too long and it was so flavoursome. I've been to some Mexican restaurants before and they have been a little bland but these dishes were packed with flavour. My favourite was easily the Chipotle Chicken Quesadillas. Two of the girls also tried Cactus Tacos which were apparently really nice. The prices varied depending on what you were ordering, most of the tapas style dishes were around the £5 mark, which I think is a fairly standard price and the cocktails were about £7. 

Overall we had such a great experience there I would definitely go again. 

Me and Tineal have a bit of a sweet tooth and when I say "a bit" I mean "a huge", on the way back to the train station we stumbled across a Gelato shop called Snowflake. I don't even know where to start with all the amazing flavours they had, from coffee to chocolate to mango to strawberry, I really struggled to choose. It really reminded me of one of those gelato places you get on holiday where all the different tubs are out for you to see and perfectly on display. After a long while of staring lovingly at each, I finally decided on Praline. 

Easily the best ice cream in London! 

Have you been to Wahacha or have you tried Snowflake gelato?