Lockdown Free For My Birthday and Wedding Anniversary COMPLETE- DAY SIX ADDED UPDATED 01/06

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by WIGGYSMUM

Oh wow Nicki what amazing birthday & anniversary celebrations you had !
My head is spinning with all those cocktails , I’d probably only manage 3 at best before collapsing
Delicious food too 😋 and a show , perfect 😍

See more...

Thank you so much, a show food and cocktails is the perfect day, cant wait to see Chicago next weekend for our final anniversary treat

[princessnicki]

DAY FOUR ANNIVERSARY

We were woken by our alarm at 8.30 which is a long lie-in for us as we usually wake up at 6.30 on a weekend! I nipped across the road to Cafe Nero to pick up a light breakfast for us. It was such a nice sunny morning, i love cities at this time of day when its quiet and calm. I completely forgot to take pics again but we shared a Tuna Melt Panini, Caramel Crispy Square and i had a Pistacchio Frappe and Brett had a Hazelnut and Salted Caramel Iced Coffee. Something milky is my go to drink the morning after a few cocktails!

We had a lazy morning catching up on American Idol before checking out at midday and leaving our bags in storage for the day. We took a slow walk down to the other end of town for our brunch reservation. The weather was beautiful, i regretted not booking food and drinks outside!

We arrived at Mans Market and I think we may have found the best bottomless brunch in Leeds! Mans Market is the place to go to for Chinese street food- they have everything covered, from brunch to lunch to afternoon tea to tapas style sharing plates to big hearty plates of hangover food. This was our first time trying the brunch and it did not disappoint- you will not leave here feeling hungry like you can do at other places! You can also leave very drunk if you want to, as not only do they give you a bottle of fizz as soon as you walk in to get you started, but you also get unlimited beers as well as the option to upgrade to add unlimited Bellinis or Cocktails- oh and it also lasts 2 hours! Of course we went for the cocktail option and were pleasantly surprised to see four choices on there- Jade Dragon, Hong Kong Island Iced Tea, Kobe Tai and Bubblegum Daiquiri. The staff are very friendly and always on hand to top your drinks up- they run a system where you can hang up a sign to say you are ready for your next drink which is a fantastic idea for a bottomless brunch! We stuck to cocktails and gave them the bottle of fizz back as we had more cocktails planned

Food wise they offer you plenty to soak up all of the booze! First you are given a snack of Prawn Crackers and Sweet Chilli sauce, then a sharing starter platter of Chinese favourites, followed by a main course box with noodles or rice as well as a side of Salt and Pepper Chips and Chilli Garlic Broccoli. The food here is always delicious, not overly salty, great flavours and is always served piping hot to the table

All in all a fabulous experience and we wouldn’t hesitate to do this again to try more of the main course dishes (and the Bellinis!)

STARTERS (FOR 2 PEOPLE)
Prawn Crackers
Spring Rolls
Salt and Pepper Chicken
Prawn Sesame Fingers
Satay Chicken Skewers

Brett chose Crispy Chilli Beef with Noodles for his main course and he absolutely loved it. It was really crispy and the sauce was sweet but had a really good kick of heat to it- it was a really good sized portion too for brunch considering we had been given a starter too. We loved the little American style Chinese takeaway containers that this was served to the table in.

My main course was Char Sui Duck with Egg Fried Rice and it was absolutely gorgeous! I was pleasantly surprised to see so many pieces of meat in the dish as well as some greenery as I do like to break up a treat meal with some fresh veg! The Duck was a mixture of crispy pieces and soft pieces that fell apart. The rice is a great choice to pear with this dish. The sauce was delicious and had flavoured all of the rice- I would 100% order this again

We would have been more than happy with the rice and noodles to accompany our main courses but you also get two additional sides to share of Salt and Pepper Chips and Chilli Garlic Broccolli. The broccoli was crunchy, which I love as I hate soggy veg, and the sauce was really strong in flavour. You can’t go wrong with Salt and Pepper Chips either, these had plenty of Chinese 5 Spice flavour as well as heat from the pepper.

Very stuffed we headed back out into the sunshine- the city was a lot more awake now and the bars were packed out with people enjoying the warm weekend. We walked up towards the top of town to try the latest cocktail bar to hit the scene- Pastel. This is a cute little cocktail bar near the Kirkgate Market. The cocktails are very Instagrammable but they are a little on the sweet side so you couldnt drink more than one or two. I was a bit disappointed that most of the ones i ordered they couldnt do as they were missing the ingredients

Taste The Rainbow (Rum, Tequila, Pineapple, Basil, Lime, Skittles)

Pastel Fizz (Raspberry Rum, Chambord, Lime, Cream, Soda)

Caught In The Rain (Coconut Rum, Blue Caracao, Lime, Coconut, Pineapple, Sweets)

Honey Ill Grab The Coffee (JD Honey, Kahlua, Milk, Chocolate)

Good Time Spritz (Vermouth, Grapefruit, Yuzu, Prosecco)

Pastel Pop (Gin, Elderflower Liquer, Pineapple Soda)

Our next reservation was our favourite bar Tabula Rasa. This is owned by the most famous bartender in Leeds, The Greektender Mr Filippos Filippopoulos. This guy is a pure showman and everyone loves him. He makes some of the best cocktails we have ever tried too. He puts some serious effort into what he does. I didnt get any pictures of us in here so this is from one of our previous visits.

Here we tried some of our favourites

Paloma with Mezcal instead of Tequila- i absolutely love Mezcal so i always pick cocktails with this if its possible!

Irish Coffee- Brett swears this is the best one he has ever tried, even better than the previous title holder at Swift in London

Transatlantic and Jolly Roger- both of these are basically like Rum Old Fashioned

Anna Karenina- this is basically Parma Violets in cocktail form, i love it!

We normally stay here for hours chatting and enjoying the music (they have a seriously good playlist!) but we had to go over to the o2 to watch a band familiar to you Dibbers- Scott Bradlee's Post Modern Jukebox (they regularly play the festivals at Epcot). They are an American group of singers who take classic songs and sing them in a different style or era. For example the girls sang Wanabe by Spice Girls in the style of the 1940s wartime songs.

I loved the red haired lady- she joined the band a few years ago and the bassist looked after her in Germany when she was struggling with the cold weather, buying her a sweatshirt. She said he has been buying her sweaters ever since that tour and they just recently got married. I love a meeting at work love story 😆

I was hoping that American Idol contestant Casey Abrams would be appearing and he was the compere as well as singing some songs. He sang Africa by Toto and Stacys Mom by Fountains of Wayne which were both really funny and entertaining.

My favourite performance of the night had to be Douglas Jnr who sang a soulful jazz rendition of Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. Oh my god his voice was incredible, i would watch the band again just for him

An absolutely fantastic concert and we wouldnt hesitate to see them again.

After a long but amazing day we headed back to the Radisson to collect our bags and book a taxi home (there were no trains running due to the strikes!). Brett decided he was hungry so we ordered an Uber Eats from German Doner Kebab, which arrived just after we got home (pics from a previous order but we got the same things)

[princessnicki]

DAY FIVE

Our actual anniversary was a Friday but with two busy weekends in other cities planned we headed back to our favourite local restaurant again. The summer menu has just launched so we were really excited to try the new dishes. We desperately wanted to sit outside but the weather was having none of it.

After enjoying a couple of pre-dinner cocktails in the bar area, we sat down to dinner.

Sweetcorn and turmeric fritters, yoghurt, mint and garlic sauce

We always tend to order a few small plates as we dont usually order dessert, so we were really happy to see so many new additions to the new menu. This one was probably my favourite of the night- it had the consistency of an onion bhaji but was packed with sweetcorn instead. The dipping sauce was a perfect light accompaniment to the fried fritters. I wasnt sure about the lemon but it was there to break up the flavour of the turmeric and it completely worked.

Black pudding bon bons, tomato relish, onion and chilli salsa, streaky bacon crisp

This is an old favourite that is back on the menu in a new form. We love black pudding and this was cooked perfectly. We were surprised by how much large pieces of chunky bacon that we got.

Baked feta, red pepper, smoked paprika, sourdough

We loved this dish- the feta was soft and creamy (even after spending time taking pictures &#128518 and tasted great on top of the sourdough! The pepper was a great pairing and there was a lovely kick of heat from the oil it was cooked in and the paprika cut through

For mains i went for the Butcher’s Salad (rainbow cherry tomatoes, peppers, cucumber, red onion, potato crisps, 8oz Rump steak, fried egg, bacon bits, lemon mustard dressing)

I had to try this salad, it has everything you need out of a dish, meat, carbs, egg, sauce and lots of fresh greenery. It is a European idea and is basically a meaty salad. It didnt disappoint- it was so flavourful and came with a whole piece of steak cooked pink. There were plenty of potatoes and bacon bits as well as a large pile of fresh salad. The salad dressing was really refreshing and enhanced the flavour of the whole dish. I cant wait to order this again al fresco!

Brett went for The Greek Burger (lamb burger stuffed with feta cheese, tzatziki, rocket, slaw, onion rings, chips)

A nod to the owners previous life in Greece, we were really excited to see a Lamb Burger on the menu! This was a thick perfectly seasoned patty cooked pink (or more well done if you prefer) and stuffed with Feta cheese, topped with homemade Tzatziki. It was so delicious, there was a good helping of the rich and creamy cheese and the lamb was amazing quality. Brett devoured this and would 100% order this again

Too full for dessert we headed back into the bar to finish the evening off with a couple more cocktails before calling it a night just before 10pm as poor Brett was up early the next day to do overtime at work!

[WIGGYSMUM]

Nicki what a fabulous couple of days!
The Chinese has made me very hungry 😋
Great cocktails too 😊
Emma xx

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by WIGGYSMUM

Nicki what a fabulous couple of days!
The Chinese has made me very hungry 😋
Great cocktails too 😊
Emma xx

See more...

thank you highly recommend the Chinese brunch if you are ever in Leeds on a weekend, great value considering all the food you get and then starting you off with a full bottle of prosecco

[ClaireNJ]

Originally Posted by princessnicki

DAY FOUR ANNIVERSARY

We were woken by our alarm at 8.30 which is a long lie-in for us as we usually wake up at 6.30 on a weekend! I nipped across the road to Cafe Nero to pick up a light breakfast for us. It was such a nice sunny morning, i love cities at this time of day when its quiet and calm. I completely forgot to take pics again but we shared a Tuna Melt Panini, Caramel Crispy Square and i had a Pistacchio Frappe and Brett had a Hazelnut and Salted Caramel Iced Coffee. Something milky is my go to drink the morning after a few cocktails!

We had a lazy morning catching up on American Idol before checking out at midday and leaving our bags in storage for the day. We took a slow walk down to the other end of town for our brunch reservation. The weather was beautiful, i regretted not booking food and drinks outside!

We arrived at Mans Market and I think we may have found the best bottomless brunch in Leeds! Mans Market is the place to go to for Chinese street food- they have everything covered, from brunch to lunch to afternoon tea to tapas style sharing plates to big hearty plates of hangover food. This was our first time trying the brunch and it did not disappoint- you will not leave here feeling hungry like you can do at other places! You can also leave very drunk if you want to, as not only do they give you a bottle of fizz as soon as you walk in to get you started, but you also get unlimited beers as well as the option to upgrade to add unlimited Bellinis or Cocktails- oh and it also lasts 2 hours! Of course we went for the cocktail option and were pleasantly surprised to see four choices on there- Jade Dragon, Hong Kong Island Iced Tea, Kobe Tai and Bubblegum Daiquiri. The staff are very friendly and always on hand to top your drinks up- they run a system where you can hang up a sign to say you are ready for your next drink which is a fantastic idea for a bottomless brunch! We stuck to cocktails and gave them the bottle of fizz back as we had more cocktails planned

Food wise they offer you plenty to soak up all of the booze! First you are given a snack of Prawn Crackers and Sweet Chilli sauce, then a sharing starter platter of Chinese favourites, followed by a main course box with noodles or rice as well as a side of Salt and Pepper Chips and Chilli Garlic Broccoli. The food here is always delicious, not overly salty, great flavours and is always served piping hot to the table

All in all a fabulous experience and we wouldn’t hesitate to do this again to try more of the main course dishes (and the Bellinis!)

STARTERS (FOR 2 PEOPLE)
Prawn Crackers
Spring Rolls
Salt and Pepper Chicken
Prawn Sesame Fingers
Satay Chicken Skewers

Brett chose Crispy Chilli Beef with Noodles for his main course and he absolutely loved it. It was really crispy and the sauce was sweet but had a really good kick of heat to it- it was a really good sized portion too for brunch considering we had been given a starter too. We loved the little American style Chinese takeaway containers that this was served to the table in.

My main course was Char Sui Duck with Egg Fried Rice and it was absolutely gorgeous! I was pleasantly surprised to see so many pieces of meat in the dish as well as some greenery as I do like to break up a treat meal with some fresh veg! The Duck was a mixture of crispy pieces and soft pieces that fell apart. The rice is a great choice to pear with this dish. The sauce was delicious and had flavoured all of the rice- I would 100% order this again

We would have been more than happy with the rice and noodles to accompany our main courses but you also get two additional sides to share of Salt and Pepper Chips and Chilli Garlic Broccolli. The broccoli was crunchy, which I love as I hate soggy veg, and the sauce was really strong in flavour. You can’t go wrong with Salt and Pepper Chips either, these had plenty of Chinese 5 Spice flavour as well as heat from the pepper.

Very stuffed we headed back out into the sunshine- the city was a lot more awake now and the bars were packed out with people enjoying the warm weekend. We walked up towards the top of town to try the latest cocktail bar to hit the scene- Pastel. This is a cute little cocktail bar near the Kirkgate Market. The cocktails are very Instagrammable but they are a little on the sweet side so you couldnt drink more than one or two. I was a bit disappointed that most of the ones i ordered they couldnt do as they were missing the ingredients

Taste The Rainbow (Rum, Tequila, Pineapple, Basil, Lime, Skittles)

Pastel Fizz (Raspberry Rum, Chambord, Lime, Cream, Soda)

Caught In The Rain (Coconut Rum, Blue Caracao, Lime, Coconut, Pineapple, Sweets)

Honey Ill Grab The Coffee (JD Honey, Kahlua, Milk, Chocolate)

Good Time Spritz (Vermouth, Grapefruit, Yuzu, Prosecco)

Pastel Pop (Gin, Elderflower Liquer, Pineapple Soda)

Our next reservation was our favourite bar Tabula Rasa. This is owned by the most famous bartender in Leeds, The Greektender Mr Filippos Filippopoulos. This guy is a pure showman and everyone loves him. He makes some of the best cocktails we have ever tried too. He puts some serious effort into what he does. I didnt get any pictures of us in here so this is from one of our previous visits.

Here we tried some of our favourites

Paloma with Mezcal instead of Tequila- i absolutely love Mezcal so i always pick cocktails with this if its possible!

Irish Coffee- Brett swears this is the best one he has ever tried, even better than the previous title holder at Swift in London

Transatlantic and Jolly Roger- both of these are basically like Rum Old Fashioned

Anna Karenina- this is basically Parma Violets in cocktail form, i love it!

We normally stay here for hours chatting and enjoying the music (they have a seriously good playlist!) but we had to go over to the o2 to watch a band familiar to you Dibbers- Scott Bradlee's Post Modern Jukebox (they regularly play the festivals at Epcot). They are an American group of singers who take classic songs and sing them in a different style or era. For example the girls sang Wanabe by Spice Girls in the style of the 1940s wartime songs.

I loved the red haired lady- she joined the band a few years ago and the bassist looked after her in Germany when she was struggling with the cold weather, buying her a sweatshirt. She said he has been buying her sweaters ever since that tour and they just recently got married. I love a meeting at work love story 😆

I was hoping that American Idol contestant Casey Abrams would be appearing and he was the compere as well as singing some songs. He sang Africa by Toto and Stacys Mom by Fountains of Wayne which were both really funny and entertaining.

My favourite performance of the night had to be Douglas Jnr who sang a soulful jazz rendition of Use Somebody by Kings of Leon. Oh my god his voice was incredible, i would watch the band again just for him

An absolutely fantastic concert and we wouldnt hesitate to see them again.

After a long but amazing day we headed back to the Radisson to collect our bags and book a taxi home (there were no trains running due to the strikes!). Brett decided he was hungry so we ordered an Uber Eats from German Doner Kebab, which arrived just after we got home (pics from a previous order but we got the same things)

See more...

That chilli beef & noodles looked so good 🤤🤤

[princessnicki]

Originally Posted by ClaireNJ

That chilli beef & noodles looked so good 🤤🤤

See more...

it was delicious, a great brunch

[princessnicki]

DAY SIX ANNIVERSARY

Today was our main anniversary celebration and an excuse to dress up fancy. I actually chose something a bit different to wear after buying my first ever jumpsuit- it is cocktail print so it had to be done. I also got some bright red boots with a bit of a heel so i was nervous that my feet were going to hurt all day! We got the train over to Manchester at 10am, the trains are a nightmare at the moment so its better to get an earlier one than you need as there are so many cancellations! We had another taxi nightmare! Despite me booking it the night before way before we needed it, it didnt turn up until 20 mins before our train was due. Luckily we got to the station with just minutes to spare and caught the train.

We arrived in Manchester at 11.15 and lunch wasnt until 12.30 so we headed over to Alchemist to try some cocktails from the new summer menu.

I picked Holy Smokes (Mezcal Verde, Banana, Pineapple, Citrus, Smoke) to feed my latest obsession with Tequila and Mezcal. It had a really bold smokey flavour but was fruity, refreshing and easy to drink too

Brett chose The Edible One (Avallen Calvados, Green Apple, Lime Sherbet, Salted Caramel, White Choc Cream Foam, Stroodles Cup) this is supposed to be a sustainable cocktail as the cup is edible. He loved the actual cocktail drink but the cup was a bit much so he didnt finish that

I chose Raspberry Ripple (Bloom Raspberry and Rose, Licor 43, Citrus, Raspberry, Fizz)
This tasted just like the retro icecream with the vanilla and raspberry flavours- it was like a dessert in a glass

Brett tried the Irish Coffee (Jamesons, Demerara, Coffee, Baileys Foam, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Served Hot) out of curiosity and it wasnt bad, very sweet but still quite nice. Nothing will ever beat Tabula Rasa in Leeds and Swift in London for him- i think its because they both use Slane Whiskey.

We didnt want to be tipsy before noon so we ordered a couple of bar nibbles- Plant Based Salt and Pepper Bites, Sesame Oil, Spring Onion, Chilli and Crispy Buttermilk Chicken, Sriracha mayo

I loved the vegan ones, they were the perfect salty little drinking snack. The portions werent too bad either for the price and they nicely soaked up our pre-dinner drinks.

Our lunch reservation was somewhere we have been wanting to try for ages- Six By Nico. This is a six course tasting menu, that changes its theme every six week and i couldnt be happier with the one that we got- Hollywood! Each course was based around a classic film or 90s nostalgia and you can add on a snack course and a special themed cocktail so we decided to go for these too!

We found the price to be quite reasonable for a fine dining tasting menu but without affecting the quality of the dishes. We were a little apprehensive that the theming was too good and the food would become secondary but that wasn’t the case at all- every detail was thought out perfectly, the dishes tasted amazing and the ingredients were high quality. The service was also perfect for the tone of the meal as the servers were very attentive and explained to you what each element of the dishes are. The portion sizes were a good balance of taster plates with a couple of slightly larger dishes, and we left feeling satisfied but not uncomfortably stuffed. The restaurant is slightly on the louder side for a fine dining as most tables are located by the open kitchen but we liked the atmosphere (there are some quieter tables nearer the bar area if you want a more quiet date night). We highly recommend visiting here for a special occasion or date night- the food was amazing and the themed menus that they come up with are the icing on the cake.

We were served our Aperitif and Snack Course first

"Good Morning Vietnam!"
Prawn & Peanut Rice Paper Rolls
Hot & Sour Pork Pho
Crab & Shrimp Cracker With Pickled Melon and Lime

This was a great way to start the meal as we love Asian inspired nibbles- our favourite was the Pork Pho, which was a hot delicious rich fragrant broth

“Tequila Mockingbird”
This was an absolutely delicious Spicy Marg- it had a good hit of Tequila, refreshing Lime and a giant chilli with a spiced rim. We decided to make ours really spicy by nibbling the chilli and dropping the spice into the drink!

“Run, Run, Run As Fast As You Can…(Shrek)
Duck Liver Mousseline, Granny Smith Apple, Gingerbread

This was absolutely gorgeous- the rich bold strong pate was complimented by the sweet gingerbread man and tart apple. We both agreed that this was a contender for our favourite course of the whole meal.

“Leave The Gun, Take The Cannoli” (The Godfather)
Chicken Ballotine, Royale Cannoli, Confit Yolk, Smoked Leek, Hen Of The Woods, Chicken Broth.

The Cannoli was really creamy but light and tasted absolutely delicious. The chicken tasted like it had been Sous Vide as it was so tender and fell apart on the knife. Everything was paired with another amazing rich flavourful broth. The yolk was just about runny which was perfect as it meant it didn’t completely soak into the broth and take away from the flavours of that.

“Vincent Vega’s Ultimate Burger” (Pulp Fiction)
Beef Onglet, Burger Sauce, Tomato, Aged Cheese, Crispy Potato

When I first read the title of this dish, I was expecting a Slider but it was actually a deconstructed burger consisting of Steak Tartar (which I guess makes more sense with the theme of the film!). The meat was soft, tender and seasoned perfectly and the crisps were tangy and salty finished off with a helping of strong flavoured cheese. Another great course.

“The Curse of the Black Pearl” (Pirates of the Caribbean)
Cod, Confit Tomato, Wild Garlic, Smoked Roe, Squid Ink, Lemon, Seaweed

This was the first of the two main dishes that were slightly bigger portions and was another contender for our favourite courses. The cod was cooked to perfection- it had a slight crisp on the edge but the fish was so juicy and flaky. The Black Pearl packed a real punch, it was like a smooth rich mousse that had a strong bold fish flavour

“What's Your Favourite Scary Movie?” (Scream)
Chinese Red Pork, Sweet and Sour Red Pepper, Cauliflower, Beignet, Crackling

As a huge fan of the film, this was always going to be my favourite course but it was genuinely a delicious plate of food that was themed perfectly. The pork was gorgeous, soft and tender and seasoned beautifully with Chinese spices. We thought the red cauliflower looked like a heart from the opening scene but we could have been reading too much into that- it tasted amazing we love a crunchy flavoured cauliflower. The sauce was plated perfectly to look like blood splatter too.

“Who Ya Gonna Call?” (Ghostbusters)
Strawberry, Lemon, Pistachio Mille Feuille, Flamed Meringue.

As huge pistachio lovers, we absolutely loved this dessert and not only did it taste absolutely delicious and rich but they nailed the presentation too with the Slimer green cream. The toasted meringue was gorgeous and sweet against the tart strawberry sorbet. A fantastic final course!

To finish off the meal, the Manager came over with the bill and “Life Is Like A Box of Chocolates” (Forest Gump), which was a nice tough as they contained two delicious chocolate truffles each. We wouldn’t hesitate to book here again and the beauty of it is you will never get the same menu twice so can try lots of different creations

They also kindly brought us over a glass of fizz each to toast our anniversary. Brett isn't a huge Prosecco/ Champagne fan so i had these and he ordered a Mezcal and Ginger Beer (my husband is clearly trying to copy me and my new found love for this spirit )

On the way out we saw a couple of Disney friends enjoying a date day so we had a quick chat with them.

Our next stop was at Blinker bar. This is a brand new bar that only opened last week located in Spring Gardens, just two doors down from our restaurant reservation. It is owned by Dan who has worked in some of Gordan Ramsey’s establishments. It is in the perfect place for post dinner drinks at the other fabulous spots on this street such as Gotham and Rosso. The menu focuses on the classics (there is a whole section of Martinis and Old Fashioneds) as well as some of their own seasonal creations. The spirits are all high quality and the staff are amazing at executing a fantastic cocktail. The atmosphere has the perfect balance between a high end cocktail bar and somewhere you can relax with friends. Of course we had to sit at the bar as Brett likes to watch the drinks being made.

We wanted to check this out as the owner of Seven Tails Brandy had dropped us a message on Instagram saying that they were included in two of the cocktails, so of course we had to start with these

Nectarine Fix (Seven Tails, Chartreuse, Nectarine, Lime)

Champagne Cocktail (Seven Tails Brandy, Champagne, Sugar Cube)

Both were so easy to drink and really refreshing- Seven Tails is such a good quality Brandy and would fit right into most cocktails

We also had the signature cocktail
The Blinker (Rye, Pink Grapefruit and Raspberry)

Charlie Chaplin (Plymouth Slow, Nectarine, Apricot, Lime)

We loved everything we tried here and you can tell the cocktails are created by someone who has worked in high-end bars. We usually prefer cocktail menus with Signature creations on them rather than the classis but we could have happily sampled the whole menu here

Special mention to the large selection of Old Fashioneds on the menu- Brett enjoys one of these after a meal especially one with a twist exploring different flavours. This one was the Tropical version and he absolutely loved it as it was so smooth and flavourful. Of course he loved their specially stamped B ice cube too

I also had this beauty and forgot to make notes of what it was called!

On the way out we saw our friends again and said they should come meet us later for a drink.

We had a reservation at the other side of town at Three Little Words for some more cocktails and small plates as we werent sure how filling the tasting menu would be. This bar is somewhere that we have wanted to try for ages as they have a large interesting cocktail menu and some delicious sounding small plates. I wish we were hungry as the menu was right up our street with Skirt Steak, Chicken Wings, Homemade Sausage Roll but we just settled on the Duck Parfait Choux Buns (and a portion of Triple Cooked Chips which i forgot to take a picture). The buns were basically savoury profiteroles and were really light and airy.

We sat at the bar and they were consistently busy on a Saturday afternoon which was great to see. Our cocktails of choice were 100 Problems (Oak Infused One-Eyed Rebel, Honey Comb Cordial, Pistachio Orgeat, Espresso, Salt) and Painted Lady (Haçienda Gin, Pisco, Pomegranate, White Chocolate, Lemon, Lime).

Both were on the sweeter side but delicious. If you love Gin then you need to visit here as most of their cocktails are gin based featuring ones brewed at their own distillery.

We were supposed to go and see Chicago at the Opera House but all of the trains except one had been cancelled. We made the sad decision not to go as the train was 90 minutes after the show ended and we didnt want to risk that getting cancelled too. The tickets were £13 each so it was cheaper to lose those than risk a pricey Uber. We planned to get a train when we finished our cocktails but i received a message from my friend asking if we fancied a drink with them so they came over to meet us. We had another round of cocktails here before heading back to Blinker bar for a couple more cocktails. It was soon 9.30 and i was starting to feel a bit tipsy and in need of a pizza to soak everything up.

So you remember what i just said about missing Chicago so we could definitely get a train home? Yeah we missed all of the trains! I was so nervous opening the Uber app but we managed to get one for £40. As our booked train was cancelled we got a £17 refund and we didnt need a £7 taxi ride home from our local station so technically it only put us £16 extra out of pocket. But we could have gone to see Chicago after all we soon arrived home and Brett nipped up the road to the nearest takeaway and picked us up a pizza to share. We ate this watching Bling Empire on Netflix before falling asleep.

And thats a wrap on our anniversary and birthday celebrations for 2022. We didnt take nowhere near as many pics as i would have liked today as we ended up getting sidetracked.

Now to have a quiet summer and save up for Bretts 40th birthday holiday

[ClaireNJ]

Oh I like the look of the Edible One 🙊🙊and those bar nibbles
Shame about Chicago that’s one I’ve love to see too
Can’t believe you still missed all the trains 🤦🤣😂
What a lovely time you’ve had for your Anniversary & Birthday
Great photos and I look forward to Brett’s 40th 🎂🍾🥂🍷🍹🥃🍺🍸x
Ps you both always look FAB, I love both of your hairstyles 💕💕
X

[WIGGYSMUM]

Nicki what a boozy day 6 anniversary 🤪
I love that you even dressed a little out of your style, how did your feet bear up ?
Perfect end to the day pizza & Netflix
Xx