Krispy kreme: Birstall Royal Donuts

Have you tried the new bite and reveal donuts? They've been released to coincide with the royal baby, but i am due three days before Kate. We haven't found out what we're having and our server, who was very friendly, said that it was 75% effective! So apparantly its a...girl. We shall see.
We each tried their new summer coolers i had raspberry ripple cream and it was very sweet, but I have a sweet tooth and loved it. The Belgian had the pink lemonaid and found it quite sour-but also liked it.
A fun thing to do with the kids this summer.

So! Bar and Eats: Knaresborough, West Yorkshire

We had a taste-card free trial for a month and so decided to take a day out to Knaresborough and go to one of our old favs for lunch - So! Bar and Eats.
Being a veggie I love it when you can get loads of interesting little dishes to pick at and so this menu is perfect for me.
The nibbles are all around £4 and we got some falafel and hummous (which was a really generous portion) and some breads and drizzles. Mains are from around £7-12. I had the scoobies, pictured below, filled with Mexican ingredients like guacamole, salsa and refried beans. They were great.

My husband had the Italian burger and seemed to enjoy it a lot. The chips were tasty too and you got generous dips with them too. 

The dessert menu looks really tasty, but we were really full and for lunch felt that one starter would have been sufficient, A great place to come with a group of friends of family and you can get a whole selection of sharers. Food is fresh and service was quite good. I would recommend it.

Address:
1 Silver Street
Knaresborough North Yorkshire HG5 8AJ

Macy's: Headingley, Leeds

So glad that this cute little independant cafe opened and replaced the predictable starbucks. It is decorated in a vintage and laid back style. My first visit i enjoyed this deliciously indulgent hot chocolate and a toblerone brownie. Their huge range of flavours and speciality brownies was a huge attraction. The service was really friendly. So much so that when my sister came to visit we went for lunch. I had pumpkin and apple spiced soup and it was a really unique flavour and the bread was soft and fresh. My sister had a chicken and mayonaise sandwich which looked tasty. We both got fresh juices and really enjoyed the combination of flavours. Highly recommended and a grill opening in the evenings so expect another review soon.

Best curries in Bradford and Otley!

So I felt that my much neglected little blog needed some attention and last night when I couldn't sleep I decided that a really useful post would be one about the best curry houses in this area. Of course Bradford is the curry capital of Britain (well maybe Manchester and Birmingham's curry mile competes but...) so I thought that I would give you my top 5 recommendations according to category.

1) Best for good value - Karachi.

Address: 15-17 Neal Street, Bradford, BD5 0BX 

It is one of the oldest and most traditional curry houses in Bradford. It is  very plain interior and there are no frills but great food and even better prices. Starter, main and drink with sundries for under a tenner. Can't complain hey?

 2) Best for desserts: Akbar's cafe

Website  there are several cafe's and restaurants so take your pick, but I like the cafe best as it has a huge selection of Carte D'Or ice-cream- delicious and they make the best milkshakes and sundaes. It is Muslim run and so is dry (as curry houses can be and not a problem for me). My veggie friend said they didn't have a huge selection of veggie curries, but I have eaten here a few times and always loved it and I am veggie.

3) Best for take-away: Jewel of India

Address: 1 Bridge St
Otley
West Yorkshire
LS21 1BQ

It may be because this is just around the corner from us but it seems to recieve lots of positive reviews and praise. I like their selection of curries and their customer service is very good. If your order is over £20 then you get a free bottle of wine. I personally wouldn't eat here as it's quite small inside and I don't like it when you can hear everyone elses conversations etc so I always opt for take-away.

4) Best for veggies: Prashad

Address:  86 Horton Grange Road, Bradford, BD7 2DW

Website is here

I love this place!  And I am certainly not alone - Gordon Ramsey praised it in one of his series'. It is vegetarian gujurati and this is my favourite type of cuisine - so much coconut and delicate flavours. The mixed platter starter is highly recommended - it is like Wonka Land for me so many exciting flavours and textures. The monster dosa is highly recommended - a flaky pancake filled with spicy curry, but make sure you share it on the table as its huge! I even took a meat loving, beer loving Aussie guy here and he loved it despite the fact that it doesn't serve alcohol - the mango lassie was a great alternative though!

5) Best for service: Westbourne Spice

Address: Bradford Road, Otley, LS21 3LS Website
 Our first visit was not a huge success as I think that we over ordered and felt so stuffed at the end that it ruined the experience. However this is now our go-to curry house. The service is amazing and you really do get treated like a King - nothing is too much for them. You are greeted and your coat is taken from you and
the banter is always great all evening. Food is brought to you on trolleys and your plate is cleaned and you get a hot towel - all evidence of a great service. The menu is varied and I have always enjoyed whatever they have recommended. A great pickle tray to start too. We came with my friends and theire little two year old and they provided a high chair and a balloon to keep her occupied and didn't seem to mind too much when she decided that she preferred to toddle around and mingle with the other customers.
We also held my friend's hen party here and they have a little seperate room which they decorated with balloons and banners. They helped to make it a really fun occassion and didn't mind when we were being a bit loud!
The photo below doesn't do it justice and it is lit up at night and is done out quite flashy inside - make sure you check out the etern

Zizzi: Leeds and Shrewsbury

Both venues are new and the Shrewsbury restaurant is really nicely done out and has amazing toilets which are well worth a visit. We tried the new tapas menu and like most tapas its not the best value for money, but the mini calzones were the highlight.
Excuse the quality of the pics - am blogging from my phone (it's how I roll nowadays!)

1) Rustica pizza (I opted for it in wholemeal and it was really tasty) the mezzo et mezzo. One half had creamy new potatoes, cheese and thyme the other half had roasted peppers, chilli, rocket and mushrooms. It was a really great combo and made a change from the usual veggie options.

2) Squid ink linguine - the husband opted for this and said it was very tasty and not too overpowering or fishy.

3) The decor of the Shrewbury restaurant.

4) Dough sticks brushed with garlic butter and rosemary. A great choice to share as a starter.

5) The mini calzones mentioned above.

6) Three other dishes from the cichetti menu (or tapas for Italians) the meatballs, aubergine involtini and insalata caprese.

Check out the menu here. On a par with Pizza Express and more variety on the menu. Would highly recommend - but don't get the calzone as it looked a bit measly compared to the huge pizzas!

Cobbles and Clay Cafe: Howarth, Yorkshire

As part of our anniversary day out in Howarth we stopped at this cute cafe for lunch and to do some pottery painting. This would be a perfect place to bring kids. We sat in the outside dining area at the back and I liked the bunting and the rustic style.
He had a smoked salmon bagel and enjoyed it very much and the salad on the side. I had a platter of olives, hummos and pita. The hummos was homemade and was too sour and tart for my tastes. I loved the cute little heart shaped dishes that the dips came in.

Overall:

• limited but tasty menu
• fun and entertaining in a great location
• delicious cake - perfect for afternoon tea

This is their website

Del'Aziz: Southbank, London

This restaurant has been described as Aladdin's cave of delights and it certainly lives up to this description. We went on a sultry Tuesday night in July and sat outside - we arrived early and were meeting friends so we had a mint tea before we began.
We went for the Levantine Feast for £22 for three courses and it was good value for money and we were 'stuffed' by the end of the meal. For starters you could chose from a variety of mezze and the best part was that they brought round a bread basket with at least five different varieties of homebaked bread and they were very generous and encouraged us to stock up. The hummus and baba ganoush comes highly recommended - there was also an option of hot starters.
We were all pleased with our mains - the portions were very generous and the flavours authentic. My aubergine and mozerella bake was delicious and well spiced - I loved all the melted mozeralla on the top. The lamb shish went down well - although they said it could have been more flavoursome.
The desserts looked delicious and were presented beautifully - it was difficult to chose! However, we found the cakes to be dry and mine (the pear and ginger) tasted of bicarbonate of soda too much. I am very picky about cakes - having sampled some delicious cakes and made very tasty ones too so this didn't live up.

Moroccan spiced lamb shish

Aubergine mozerella bake with French green bean salad

Vanilla and strawberry cake

Chocolate cake

Spiced pear cake

Overall:

• great location on Southbank
• good value menu and reasonably priced a-la-carte
• really helpful and attentive staff
• yummy and abundant bread basket
• lots of choice and variety in the menu