Review: Belgo, Soho

A good few weeks ago now I was invited to try out the beers and food at Belgo, a Belgian themed restaurant in the heart of Soho. I have to be honest and admit I'd never heard of the small chain of just five restaurants but I'm a massive fan of Belgian cuisine. Namely moules and frites! How can anyone not like them?! Unfortauely my photos of the mussels didn't come out very well - darn mood lighting - but I do have some mouthwatering photos of the other food I kindly got to sample.

We were served a whole variety of yummy food throughout the night alongside different beers to help compliment the dinner. The restaurant impressively serves over 50 different craft beers so there's something for every taste. My favourite was the cherry beer Kriek which reminded me of my time in Bruges.

The highlight of the dishes we got to try was the incredible rotisserie chicken. It comes in six different flavours but we tried the sweet chilli, lime leaf, ginger and red pepper glaze. Oh my, I could have eaten the whole chicken. It has just the right amount of kick and the meat was very tender.

The restaurant also boasts fresh whole lobsters with a drool-worthy garlic butter, pea shoots, a bowl of homemade coleslaw and salty crispy chips. At just over £30, the dish isn't one of the cheapest you can get in the city but sometimes it's worth splashing out. I can confirm it's definitely worth splashing out for!

The un-pictured mussels were divine. Served in a kimchi Korean-style hot and spicy sauce with pak choi. I loved the unusual flavours - I'd only ever had them with garlic white wine sauce. I couldn't fault the dish at all. The mussels felt fresh and there wasn't an ounce of grit on them. Just needed some bread to mop up the juices!

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see that I amazingly managed to get my face on a beer bottle along with my dinner partner for the evening Lauren. We bravely managed to scoff the waffle below despite being fit to burst. Sometimes you just have to take one for the team eh?

Have you ever visited Belgo before?

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New Year goals - How I'm getting on

We're now in August -  how on earth has that happened?! - so I thought I'd have a look back at my New Year life goals and see how I'm getting on.

1. Read more books
Well I haven't read as many as I'd liked - I was aiming for one a month. But I am reading the second Game Of Thrones book which is a absolute monster so I'm not too disheartened with my total. So far I'm on my 5th book of the year which isn't too shabby. The Girl on The Train, The Fault In Our Stars, The Railway Man and A Game of Thrones: A Song Of Ice and Fire are all been enjoyed this year. Any recommendations?

2. Learn a new skill
Well I never tried to learn any of the news things I promised. But I did take up Lindy Hop dancing. Well I haven't been in about 4 weeks as real life has gotten in the way. But I've really enjoyed trying out something new. It's a lot harder than you would think! I've really missed not going and have a lot more time on my hands so I'm going to pick it up again.

3. Learn to budget
Erm yeah. The less spoke about this the better. This hasn't happened. But I been putting away money to buy a house and the fund is slowly growing. I just haven't stopped spending money on needless things.

4. Concentrate more on my blog
I finally invested in a URL for my blog and am saving up the money for a new layout overhaul. I've been trying really hard to include a variety of content that I would love to read on a blog and hopefully something you like to read. That's why you've been seeing a lot of food recently! It's something I'm passionate about and am really enjoying featuring. I feel like all my time investment is paying and feel really proud of my little space on the internet.

5. See more of the world
I vowed to travel more and this year has been a whirlwind of different places. I was lucky enough to go to the state of Illinois - including Chicago - and Luxembourg on press trips. I'm not quite sure how I got so lucky either! I've recently got back from a week in Barcelona and have a trip to Scotland booked in for October to see a friend. I've seen a fair bit of the UK too thanks to weekends in Wales, Liverpool and Oxford. I'm hoping if my money plans out ok to have a weekend away in Salzburg in December. But who knows.  I won't be jetting off to Amsterdam, Budapest or Newcastle like I thought I would be.  But it's funny how travel plans change and that's the beauty of them.

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OOTD: Denim Jacket

Outfit:
Light wash denim jacket: Primark (similar)
Pastel sun dress: Dorothy Perkins (similar)
Rose gold glittery sliders: Office (similar)
Black chain handle bag: Zara (similar)

I wore this for a lovely afternoon with Hannah and Sarah consisting of lunch at Brassiere Zedal, Bradley Cooper in The Elephant man and cake at the Nordic Bakery. The perfect Saturday I think right? The best thing about going out with blogger friends is that they never moan when you casually mention outfit pictures. They want them done too! Apart from the sliders everything in the outfit is over a year old. I finally got to dig out some summer dresses. I haven't really bought too much recently thanks to the unpredictability of freelance so am enjoying discovering some old favourites.

I was really looking to see The Elephant man despite hearing some less than favourable reviews. But alas those reviews seemed to be spot on. Nothing really happened. It was so short and very hard to hear. It had the potential to be really emotional but just felt a bit flat. Don't even get me started on Cooper's English accent...

Lots of thank to Sarah who seems to be turning out to be my frequent photographer!

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Review, Suvlaki, Soho

Before I jetted off to Barcelona - which already seems an age away - I was invited to sample some greek food at the newly opened Suvlaki in Soho. I've only ever had meze and never tried the street food option so was very excited to treat my tastebuds. Suvlaki is a meat skewer grilled over charcoal. It can be eaten alone or inside a doughy chunky pita bread. It's said to be Greece's national street food.

Suvlaki is a tiny little place with only room for 34 people but they do a takeaway option too. Make sure you're prepared to get up close with fellow diners as there's not much space and they opt for communal style eating. The interior is very shabby chic and nothing too fancy. The grill is near the door and you can watch the chefs do their magic as they prepare your food. I like having a little nose in restaurants!

We obviously went to town - as much as we could at lunchtime! The chunky tzatziki yogurt dip with crispy warm pita bread wet our appetites before the main event. It may not look the most photogenic but the baked feta was absolutely delicious. The creamy feta was filled with juicy tomatoes, salty olives and pepper - I could have just sat there and eaten pots and pots of it. 

For the main course I opted for a regular wrap filled with juicy grilled pork, plum tomatoes, cucumber tzatziki and parsley glazed red onion. The pork was cooked to perfection - nothing worst then chewy meat that takes forever to eat. The glazed red onion was the star of the show and the plum tomatoes gave the wrap some much needed sweetness. My boyfriend decided he needed filling up and went for two wraps. The first consisted of chunky lamb mince with a mixed green salad and green herb sauce. The second was the juicy boar sausage smothered in a hot red pepper sauce and a variety of veggies. I had major food envy when this came out. It's what I'd recommend you opt for!

It's not a cheap lunch option but you really do pay for what you get. It was really tasty, service was quick and it filled us up. We couldn't even manage dinner until very late. Very impressive as we ate at 12! We'll definitely be back.

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OOTD: Black and White Stripes

Outfit:
Black and white sleeveless top: Primark (similar)
Textured black midi skirt: Topshop  (similar)
Chain handled cross body black bag: Zara (similar)
Pony haired block heeled sandals: New Look (similar)

The last few weeks I feel like I haven't stopped. In a good way. I've been lucky to get some freelance shifts at a magazine but working in London again has made me exhausted. I absolutely love being back in the city and wouldn't change it for anything. It's where I want to be without a shadow of a doubt. But I would love some more sleep! The long days and early starts are taking a while to get used too. It doesn't help that my to do list is getting longer by the minute. I need to stop arranging to be such a social butterfly and lay off all the dinners/drinks I've been arranging. My body can't cope and nor can my bank account. But it's just hard when you've been away from The Big Smoke for 18 months. I just want to do everything! You can sleep when you're dead right?

Photos thanks to the beautiful Sarah!

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Review: Debenhams Flowers

Call it growing up but over the past year I've been really getting into treating myself to a bunch of fresh flowers. There's something about them that really brightens up my room. Nothing quite like waking up to something pretty in the morning to help you to crawl out of bed thanks to a special flower delivery.

I decided to go with the beautiful Sunflower Meadow bunch from Debenhams Flowers. Consisting of large sunflowers, beautiful lilies, pretty anteriorhinum and fresh green hypericum berries, it was such a lovely present to receive in the post. The great thing is that Debenhams offer next day flowers which is great if you forget someone's birthday and need a quick present idea! Or if you just decide you need a treat. We all need a treat sometimes!

If you fancy treating yourself to a bouquet, I've got a special 25% discount code you can use. Simply enter DFBLOG25 at the checkout. The only flowers that are exempt from the discount are the flowers by post range. Go on, splash out! Thanks for brightening up my day Debenhams Flowers!

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Review: Fifty9 Bar

Mid-week drinking always goes down well so I was very excited to take up the invitation of drinks and pizzettas at a new bar. Fifty9 has opened where Babble used to be in Mayfair. Located on Berkeley Square, it's a fantastic spot for people watching. You never know who you might spot!

We were given a glass of prosecco on arrival - my kinda place! - before being left to mingle. On a mid week night the bar was buzzing with a big group of people. The atmosphere was very city worker-like with a lot of men in suits. I loved the glass doors that opened out and you could peer onto the square. It would be amazing on a warm summers evening. It's a classy place but without being pretentious. I sometimes worry that Mayfair can be a bit too swanky but didn't feel out of place here. They have a cracking looking club downstairs for the weekend and I can imagine it'll be great fun for a birthday outing.

To help line our stomaches we were treated to delicious crispy gooey pizzettas, chunks of creamy cheese, doorstop crispy bread and slices of tasty meats. They were the perfect snacks to nibble on throughout the evening. Nothing too heavy but enough to take away the munchies. It's not often a place does good drinks AND food!

Do you venture to Mayfair much? Have you spotted Fifty9?

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Review: The Power Of Poison Exhibition, London

Today I was very kindly invited to have a wander around The Power Of Poison exhibition in Brick Lane, East London. Based in the Turman Brewery, the exhibition takes you on a journey about the wonders and dangers of poison and toxics. With live animals, it was fascinating to find out that many of them actually get their toxics from the plants they digest. I loved the myth busting section - did you know the Mad Hatter in Alice In Wonderland gets it name because the mercury in the hat making caused the hatters to go a bit loopy?  I also didn't realise that Cleopatra had committed suicide!

The exhibition is great for all ages. We as young -ha! - 26 year found the information on display so interesting and we spotted some children too enjoying themselves chattering away while their parents were engrossed in the displays. It was a great place to lose a few hours and learn something new.

The exhibition is running until 6th September and tickets are priced at £9 for an adult. Make sure you book your tickets quick!

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