Coppa Club - Sonning

Shortly after posting about my favourite places to eat in Reading, a fellow Berkshire friend of my recommended Coppa Club in nearby Sonning. I love nothing less than a leisurely local food endeavour, so yesterday, my sister and I headed to the lovely Thames-side town to sample some of the finest, fuss-free Italian-style grub.

Sonning is a quaint and typically English village, complete with cute cottages, barge boats and some really lovely pubs, and not to mention the fact it's where George Clooney calls home! Located overlooking the rural end of The River Thames, Coppa Club has got the picturesque setting down.

Inside, this pub-come-restaurant is so very tastefully decorated. With deep teal soft furnishings, marble surfaces, geometric floor tiles and exposed brick walls, this place looks like it's come straight off a Pinterest board. 

And it's not just the interior that's photogenic, the food is pretty gorgeous too. The menu features breakfast, brunch and dishes available all day, along with some carefully chosen lagers and cocktails - this place has got you covered whatever the occasion. 

To drink, Emma had a glass of Rose and I chose a Curious Brew IPA. Both were a perfect accompaniment for the food, which we had an abundance of! Off the 'nibbles' section of the menu we chose; sticky chorizo sausages in a honey, mustard and smoked paprika glaze as well as some Italian sausage rolls with hot mustard. We all know I'm a huge chorizo fan, but these were so deliciously flavoursome and moreish. The sausage rolls also did not disappoint, flaky pastry and delicious fennel sausagemeat complete with a splodge of fiery English mustard - heaven. 

We then had two dishes from 'small plates and sharing'; seared king prawns and winter beets ricotta bruschetta. The prawns were giant and so meaty, cooked in garlic, lemon, chilli and olive oil, served on a piece of crusty bread - gorgeous. The winter beets bruschetta stole the show for us, beetroot whipped with ricotta, horseradish and lemon on top of a crisp bruschetta, garnished with parmesan shavings, pea shoots and parsnip crisps, it was incredible.

And as if that wasn't enough food for a light lunch (as you can tell, we aren't that good at 'light' lunches), we ordered the Coppa Club hot pizza and club slaw. The sour dough pizza was topped with spicy salami, fiery sausage meat, tomato and mozzarella, a perfect pizza. The slaw was fresh and delicious, mixed with yoghurt, lemon and mint.

All in all, Coppa Club offers the most perfect food, in the loveliest of surroundings and I will definitely be going back soon. And as always, if anyone has any more restaurant recommendations, I'm all ears!

Meatcure - Leamington Spa

When Leamington Spa's very own fuss-free burger joint opened its doors last month, I knew I had to give it a go. So, without further a do, cue obligatory burger post...

There is no denying that Leamington is brimming with yummy mummy cafes and trendy pubs, but the one thing I have noticed it was lacking is it's own burger place.

Enter Meatcure. First opened in Leicester and now located on none other than my very own road (hashtag blessed...), this place is exactly what Leamington has been missing.

Now we all know how much I love London's Meat Liquor and Bournemouth's 7Bone, so you can only imagine my reaction when I heard this place was opening just in time for my return home from uni - Christmas come early!

Louis and I ventured for a speedy but laid-back dinner before going to see the new Star Wars film last night and we were pretty pleased with both the burger and the film.

We started off with our fave craft ale, Camden hells, followed by 2 burgers in brioche buns served with chips and a portion of beer battered onion rings to share.

I ordered 'smokey and the bandit'; a beef patty with the addition of cheese, lettuce (minus a tomato of course), smoked streaky bacon, house mayo, mother sauce and caramelised onions. Louis had a 'raging bull' - same as the above, but chorizo instead of bacon.

Both burgers were delish. Oozing patties slathered with melty classic burger cheese and perfectly crispy bacon, all encased in a glossy brioche bun. The onion rings were delicious but a little too greasy for me! The chips were skinny and crisp, exactly how they should be.

Deliciously fresh but filthyly tasty burgers right on my doorstep - what more could a girl want?

Polpo Soho

If you live in London, you would have heard of Polpo. This Venetian small plates restaurant is taking the capital by storm. First opening in Soho back in 2010, and popping up in a number of other locations all over London, along with a best-selling cookbook and queues out the door, can you blame me for wanting to see what all the fuss was about.

My boyfriend and I spent a lovely couple of days in London which mostly entailed eating and drinking our way through every London borough. Both huge fans of laid back Italian dining, we headed to Polpo for a late dinner. Polpo is so polpular (haha, geddit?!) that we ended up waiting for just over an hour to be seated. This wasn't much of a problem though, as in the basement, Polpo have a little bar where you can indulge in an Italian beer or four whilst waiting to be seated.

It's no wonder this place is so popular. The menu is very impressive, offering some Italian classics like arancini (deep fried cheesy risotto balls - how can you go wrong), alongside some more unexpected dishes (you wouldn't find rabbit, apricot & sage terrine in no Bella Italia...) I've said it before and I'll say it again, I LOVE small plate dining, I think it's the greedy girl in me who wants to try everything on the menu.

They recommend 2 to 3 plates per person and we went for; arancini, a gorgonzola & prosciutto pizzette, coopa, peperonata & goat cheese bruschetta, spicy pork & fennel meatballs and chicken cotoletta aioli.

Every dish was incredible. The arancini were perfection - exactly how arancini should be. The pizzette was light, flavourful and extremely moreish. The bruschetta was easily our favourite - so simple but so delicious. The meatballs - spicier than we were anticipating - tasted so authentically yummy. And finally the chicken, which arrived last but was another one of our favourites, beautifully cooked and accompanied with a delicious aioli.

This was all washed down with a few Moretti beers and a delicious bellini.

All in all, exceptionally good Italian food without a stodgy carbonara in sight. Polpo is well worth a visit, and even worth the hangry hour we waited!

Señor Ceviche - Soho

Kingley Court is quickly becoming my favourite place to dine in London. This amazing little multi-storey square tucked behind Carnaby Street is home to a number of my top London restaurants; Stax Diner, The Rum Kitchen, Pizza Pilgrims and a more recent favourite - Señor Ceviche.

With it's luminous green exterior, it's hard to miss this Peruvian gem. Serving amazing South American inspired dishes alongside some more unfamiliar cocktails, this place does laid back Peruvian eating exceptionally well.

My Mum and I visited Señor Ceviche last week in search for a different kind of dinner. The restaurant is quite small, but open plan, with a view straight into the kitchen where you can see your food being made fresh in front of you. The interior is stylish and bright - with walls plastered with neon posters, wooden furniture painted bright colours and festoon lights draped across the ceiling.

We both started off with a Cusquena beer - light but full of flavour, thumbs up from us both.

What I really like about Señor Ceviche is the menu. Quite limited but it still has an excellent variety of small tapas style dishes. The thing I love most about small plate dining is that you get to try a little bit of everything. We chose: chilli corn to nibble on, followed by, tempura mixed fish, spicy chargrilled chicken and Peruvian fries. The chilli corn was something I had never tried, but was really delicious and very morish. The deep fried fish consisted of baby squid, cod and prawns served alongside a spicy jalapeno mayonnaise - it was amazing. The batter was so light and not at all greasy and the jalapeno dip was the perfect accompaniment. The 'super chicken' seemed really understated on the menu, but was deliciously crispy, tender chicken with a kick. It was topped with fresh spring onions and peashots alongside another zingy mayo. The 'patatas fritas with huancaina and tomato fondue' (chips topped with a puréed tomato and melted cheese to you and me) were a delicious Peruvian take on the slightly less glamorous cheesy chips.

Señor Ceviche has a really fun, relaxed South American vibe and the food they serve is so deliciously excellent. The waitress was kind enough to give me a keyring entitling me to 15% off my next visit - I'll be back before you can say 'Jalapeno'!

Burger & Lobster

When I first moved here, I started keeping a list of all of the places I wanted to eat in London. Thanks to the influence of Time Out, the food envy of fellow bloggers and mouth-watering meals posted on Instagram, this list has got pretty extensive. I can tell you that it now stands at a grand total of 35. Sadly I have only made it to around a third of my foodie conquests (although probably a good thing for my waistline and bank balance...)

Now that my time in London is nearing the end, my boyfriend and I headed to the home of some of the most Instagrammed lobster rolls in existence - Burger & Lobster. Tucked away behind the hustle and bustle of Oxford Street is the raved about restaurant with a drinks menu almost 10 times as big as it's food menu. You may know that Burger & Lobster has only 3 items on it's food menu, and quelle surprise, 1 is a burger and the other 2 are lobster.

We started with a beer each; mine a light Japanese beer and Louis a stronger Brooklyn lager. For mains, I had the lobster roll and Louis had the burger (which are both served with chips and salad). The lobster roll was my first ever experience of lobster and boy was it a good one. Served in a toasted brioche roll, the lobster meat was mixed with a deliciously zingy Japanese mayo, topped with chives and served alongside the most indulgent of garlic sauces. Louis also thoroughly enjoyed his burger - thumbs up all round.

The restaurant has a no nonsense good grub vibe with semi-industrial interior and dark wood furniture. When you walk in there is a wall of lobsters in tanks, apparently some worth up to £200!

Although the food was lovely, £20 per main seems slightly steep. It was a really enjoyable experience and I will be sure to have lobster again. But for now; to start making my way through the remaining 11 on my list before June...

Bread & Butter - Gourmet eatery and coffee shop

If there is one thing Leamington Spa has an abundance of - it's coffee shops (along with expensive vintage shops of course). Every time I visit it seems as if there is always somewhere new to get your caffeine fix. When my mum enthusiastically suggested heading to Bread & Butter for Brunch last week I was keen to find out what it was like. My mum knows her coffee, and by knows I mean that even Starbucks doesn't quite make the cut for her. I knew she meant business when she dubbed the coffee from Bread & Butter as 'the best coffee in Leamington' - and she was right!

Besides from fantastic coffee, Bread & Butter also offer a really lovely food menu offering a quite short (but impressive all the same) list of dishes. They offer gourmet toasties, posh brekkies and mouth-watering cakes amongst a range of other tasty goodies. To eat, I chose their parma ham, brie, pear and rocket wholemeal toastie, an unusual choice for someone who doesn't like ham! But the risk paid off - gooey melted brie, sweet pear, salty ham and sharp peppery rocket made a delicious combination making me salivate even at the thought! My mum chose the haggis and a (perfectly oozy - action shot below!) poached egg on ciabatta. I had to have a bite and can safely say that my first taste of haggis was actually really tasty.

Being a sucker for beautiful interiors (my Pinterest board says it all...) it was the rustic look and feel of Bread & Butter that really struck a chord with me. Mason jar filament lamps, natural wood and even autumn leaves on the floor, this place feels really wholesome but also very tasteful.

So if you're ever in Leamington and fancy a proper coffee and some fabulous food, pop down to Bread & Butter - I think you'll love it.

Stax Diner - A Review

Anyone who knows me knows there's nothing I like more than indulging in a filthy burger. From Five Guys to Byron, I have tried most burger joints in existence, but I'm pretty sure I'm onto a winner with Stax Diner...

When I first moved to London, a friend and I spent the day in Central and stumbled upon Kingly Court. The square is nestled behind the bustling Carnaby Street and has three stories of the best foodie haunts in London - Pizza Pilgrims, Senor Ceviche and Rum Kitchen to name a few. Kingley Court is the ideal setting for dining. With al fresco seating perfect for the warmer months and dripping in Christmas lights later in the year, it is lovely all year round.

It was a hot, stuffy day in London when my friend and I were on the hunt for a milkshake and Stax Diner delivered the goods. A peanut butter milkshake and a portion of chips later, we were sold. The following week we went back with another friend in tow, but this time to try their burgers.

The menu is relatively limited, but in this case less is definitely more. The burgers are fuss free fantasticness at a very reasonable price. They serve milkshakes (standard and alcoholic), buttermilk fried chicken and something called a cajun onion blossom which looks like a giant tear and share onion ring *drool*. They also offer a variety of unusual lagers, ales and stouts that differ from day to day, as well as a mouth-watering brunch menu.

The interior is like their food - fuss free and authentic. The place is small, the walls covered in vinyl records and band posters and the furniture has an industrial feel painted yellow, red and black. And of course a diner isn't complete without a neon sign.

If there is one person who rivals my burger obsession, it's my boyfriend, so when we spent the weekend in London I knew where we had to go for late lunch. To drink I had a deliciously tangy fresh pink lemonade, served in a mason jar. We both went for 'bring home the bacon' burger; juicy medium rare beef patty inside a bouncy brioche bun with cheese of your choice, caramelised onions and maple glazed beef bacon - what burger dreams are made of. We also shared a portion of their 'boardwalk fries' - skin on cajun flavoured chips to you and I. We wolfed down our burgers and following a few grunts of appreciation, all that was left on the greaseproof paper was a small pool of burger juice and some stray onions (I had to restrain myself from polishing off both).

For all my fellow burger buddies out there, head to Stax - you won't regret it.