Lee Rosy's Tea, Nottingham

A couple of weeks ago, I went out for lunch with some friends and we ended up at Lee Rosy's for some tea and cake! I have already done a post about this quaint little tea room, which you can see here, and that post will have more information on the tea room.

We sat downstairs on this visit, as there is additional seating there. The stairs lead down to a room with about 5 tables, one of which has comfy chairs and a sofa around. I think this room needs better lighting as it is extremely dark (due to it being below-ground and there is, obviously, no daylight) and it could do with decorating. It looks a little shabby, but I suppose the whole tearoom has a shabby-chic feel to it.

Well in my last post, I wrote to say that I was disappointed that tea didn't come in a teapot. On my second visit, I saw a sign that said that it is possible to get a teapot if you'd like one, but a cup of tea is £1.40. I also found the tea menu on this visit! I hadn't realised that it existed so I got a peach tea this time.

This tea was a gorgeous deep red colour. I felt as though it was steeped to a sufficient time for me this time as the tea had a delicious peach flavour. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of fruit teas!

As we were waiting to order, we surveyed the selection of cakes that the tea room had on offer that day. As well as a wonderful-looking selection of cheesecakes and other cakes, there was one in particular that sounded interesting to me. I've had vegetable cakes before, such as carrot cake, parsnip cake, chocolate and beetroot cake, but I'd never tried courgette cake! The cake was advertised as chocolate and courgette cake with lime and I was excited to try it.

I was quite disappointed by this cake. I didn't expect to taste the courgette strongly in the cake, but it may as well have just been listed as a chocolate cake. I couldn't taste the courgette at all and I'm still wondering where the lime came into the occasion as I couldn't taste that either. The cake was a very tasty chocolate cake though, not dry at all and not too rich.

Spanky Van Dykes, Nottingham

Yeah we went back... We enjoyed it so much the first time we went (see the review here), that we went back when my sister visited! Of course we didn't get the same thing again so it is a different review! We went to Spanky's on a Thursday this time so no 2-4-1 offer :( Please see our other review if you'd like more information on the restaurant itself and its staff!

My sister, Charlotte, chose to have "The Hippy" burger (£4.95), which is a spicy spinach and lentil burger with hummus.

This burger was very tasty but it wasn't as spicy as Charlotte thought it would be. She also says that it was impossible to pick up, a definitely knife 'n' fork job, due to the fact that the burger just fell apart. The hummus was a lovely addition to the burger and the chips were tasty, just a little too greasy.

Mario and I decided to have a sandwich this time as, as the saying goes, variety is the spice of life! All of the sandwiches are served with Spanky's handmade chips. Mario chose to have a NY Deli sandwich (£5.50), which was filled with pastrami, sauerkraut, emmental cheese and "dressing".

This sandwich was delicious and had a tangy tomato relish.  The variety of meats were delicious and were truly enhanced by the sauerkraut. An addition of American mustard really made this sandwich that bit tastier.

I decided to go for the American Swiss sandwich (£5.50) which was a BLT with added CC (chicken and cheese), and how can you go wrong with a BLTCC?!

So the BLT is my favourite sandwich and this was no disappointment. The bacon was smoked beautifully and the chicken was delicious, not dry at all. The emmental cheese added a creamy element. The tomato was a lovely flavour and the lettuce added a gorgeous crunch. With a little mayonnaise, this sandwich soared! I was disappointed with this chips this time. They weren't as crispy as I remembered them to be and were even soggy, but that may have just been my poor memory!

Once again, this restaurant is a great place to eat!! We would definitely recommend it. See our other blog post for more information about this great place :)

Marrakesh, Nottingham

Our flatmate had gone to Marrakesh and had told us of the great feast he'd had there, so Mario and I naturally had to try it out! We decided to go at lunchtime, as we were ravenous! We weren't quite prepared for how much food there was going to be!

Marrakesh is a restaurant located just off of Market Square on Chapel Bar, opposite Las Iguanas. It is easy to get to by foot, tram and bus and is a great location. The restaurant, as you may have guessed, specialises in Lebanese Moroccan food. The restaurant is decorated to suit the style of the food that is served. It is dark and has an exotic feel to it. Moroccan-style music plays in the background as you enjoy the food.

There is both a main menu and a lunchtime menu. The "platter" we'd been told about was on the evening menu and was £15.50 per person. The price really isn't bad for the amount of food you have!!

Mario opted to have a green tea. We were both disappointed when we received the tea. £3.50 for a teabag in a cup of water. If you're paying that price, you should at least have loose leaf and a teapot. I had a mint tea, which did come in a small teapot and had fresh mint leaves in. The tea was lovely and refresh and cost £2.50.

I'll do my best not to waffle on too much about the individual dishes that we had because there were so many! I'll try to give an overall summary of each photo. When we looked at the menu, we thought we'd get maybe a platter with a small selection of each of the mentioned dishes on, we were very wrong!! The dishes we received with the mezze were slightly different to what the menu states, but it was still delicious!

The first things we were brought out were the cold mezze. On the left are vine leaves stuffed with rice, lemon juice and olive oil. In the centre, at the bottom, is hummus, which is chick peas blended with tahina, lemon juice and an olive oil dressing. The dish to the right is Tabbouleh which is freshly chopped parsley, cracked wheat, fresh mint, onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, red sweet peppers with a lemon and olive oil dressing  The dish at the back is Baba Gannough, which is roughly chopped, grilled aubergine, mixed with tahina, garlic, fresh lemon juice, olive oil and topped with pomegranate seeds. These dishes were served with a basket of pitta breads.

  

These dishes were all amazing. The vine leaves were delicious and the hummus was very rich. The tabbouleh was very flavourful and the herb taste was very refreshing. My favourite out of the four was the Baba Gannough. I could have eaten that all day! The pomegranate added such a sweet and light taste to the aubergine and it complimented it perfectly. The pitta breads were also delicious and warm.

We next received two plates with a selection of warm mezze. These pieces were not explained to us, as the dishes above were, so one of them I can't name, sorry!! These plates had falafel, which is fried broad beans and chickpeas with a selection of herbs, cheese samboussek which is feta cheese and spinach in a fried pastry. There was also lamb samboussek, which was the same pastry as the cheese one, but with lamb and herbs instead. The other, which is on the bottom left of the plate, is the one I can't name! It was minced lamb with herbs and had a strong nutmeg flavour to it.  

This plate was very tasty. The falafel was nice, but it's not the best falafel that Mario and I have had. I loved the cheese samboussek! It tasted divine and reminded me of a cheese and spinach pie that I'd had in Corfu a few years ago. The lamb samboussek was also very tasty. The lamb was nicely seasoned and the herbs didn't overpower the intense flavour of the lamb, and the pastry was lovely and crisp. The "unknown" lamb was also tasty but I feel that the nutmeg flavour overpowered the taste of the lamb a little bit.

Next came out three plates of more warm mezze! I was so surprised that we were getting so much food - the table definitely wasn't big enough and we were sat on a table for four! At the top of the picture are chicken wings that were marinated in fresh ginger, herbs and lemon. The middle plate is Arayes, which is minced lamb with parsley on Lebanese bread. The bottom plate is Batata Harrah, which are sautéed cubes of potato with red and green peppers, coriander, garlic, chilli and olive oil.

The chicken wings were really tasty and well marinated. The lemon really complimented the ginger, which added a slight kick to the chicken wings. The arayes, we thought, weren't anything special. I would explain them to be like a Moroccan quesadilla but it was a little... plain tasting! The top Arayes was crisp, but the others were a little soggy as they cooled. The potatoes were delicious! They were slightly spicy but not too overpowering. They were a lovely texture to the potatoes and they were wonderfully seasoned.

Just when we thought the meal was over, the plates were cleared and we were discussing payment, yet another plate was brought out!! Pudding! YAY! Pudding consisted on 5 pieces of baklava, or 5 different variations of it. Once again, it isn't on the menu so I can't tell you exactly what's what!

One of the bite-sized mouthfuls was chocolate, but the others tasted of really delicious baklava. The giant mound of cream in the middle was a little overwhelming but I think it was more for decoration.

We would definitely recommend this restaurant if you fancy something a little different. The food was really delicious and the mezze was a good idea if you're not sure what food to choose! I also liked it because I've not eaten a lot of Moroccan or Lebanese food before so I got to have a taster of a lot of different dishes.  

Joe Delucci's, Nottingham

After we went to Turtle Bay for lunch, we decided to go for some ice cream, and I do love my ice cream! Joe Delucci's sells traditional gelato, or Italian ice cream. Gelato is creamier and has less air in than regular ice cream. You can buy this ice cream in Victoria Centre in Nottingham, on the ground floor. There is a vast array of flavours, from fruity to chocolatey. There are also fat-free, dairy-free and gluten-free options available, so you don't really have an excuse not to eat it!!

We couldn't decide on one flavour so we decided to treat ourselves to two scoops, which is a pricey £3. I think that is a lot of money for some ice cream, even if it is "remarkable Italian ice cream" (as their tag line states) and think 50p per extra scoop would be a lot better. 

I went for a scoop of the cookies and cream and a scoop of dulce de leche. Yuuum!

I decided to get it in a pot as I'd just eaten a monstrously-sized burger, but it is also possible to get a cone. I loved this flavour combination. The cookies and cream ice cream was delicious. The chunks of chocolate cookie weren't too big and the vanilla ice cream wasn't too sweet. I was a little surprised to not see vanilla seeds in the vanilla ice cream, but it was still a gorgeously creamy flavour and consistency. I was a little surprised at the dulce de leche. I was definitely expecting the ice cream to be sweeter than it was, as I expect it to be a more-toffee flavour. It was delicious but not as sweet as I thought.

The flavours Mario opted for were Nocciolata (or chocolate-hazelnut to you and me) and Crème Brûlée. The Nocciolata tasted like a slightly bitter Nutella, which was very tasty! The ice cream was very creamy and not too sweet at all, like other Nutella ice cream I've tasted. The hazelnut flavour was also quite strong and wasn't overpowered by the chocolate. The Crème Brûlée ice cream was also delicious. Once again, not too sweet, the caramel-flavour was perfect.

We would definitely advise you to pop into Victoria Centre and treat yourself to some delicious gelato!

Turtle Bay, Nottingham

Turtle Bay is a Caribbean restaurant which is located in Corner House, close to Victoria Centre and Nottingham city centre.

Their website describes themselves as being "perfect for a big night-out, a quiet dinner for two, lunch with work-mates, somewhere to dump all those shopping bags or just somewhere to break the journey home" and I would agree with them! Turtle Bay offers "Happy Hour" everyday from 127pm and then another one from 10pm-close, so it's a great place to go if you fancy a night out.

Mario and I went to Turtle Bay for lunch a couple of weeks ago (I know, I'm so behind on writing on here!) We'd been before and loved it so had to go back.

We love the drinks here! They're a little pricey at £3.45 a go, but the "Caribbean softs" are all made on site, so it's kind of a novelty! Mario opted to have a ginger beer.

 The menu says that this ginger beer is homemade, like I've already stated, and it's made with spiced pepper, cloves and fresh lime. You get a huge bottle of the drink! The problem is that it's difficult to mix the drink in the bottle, as it's fizzy, so it gets more concentrated as you get through the bottle. Towards the end, Mario said that it was a little too hot (spice-wise) for him and had to dilute it with some tap water, that we'd also ordered.

I decided to have the Passion Fruit Cooler (also £3.45) which contains fresh passion fruit and orange.

This drink was delicious and I love that the passion fruit seeds were still in the drink as it added a nice crunch as you drank it. I think the drinks are a little over priced for what they are, but it's nice to treat yourself to one with your meal and we always ask for a jug of tap-water too so our expensive drinks last longer!

Onto the food! Our food arrived so quickly after we ordered it! The menu does offer a lunchtime offer which are "perfect for lunch or early supper" and these are priced at £6.45 per plate. Mario and I were hungry so decided to go the whole shebang! Mario had the jerk ribs (£9.85).

These ribs are grilled pork ribs, marinated in a honey BBQ glaze with a sour orange chutney. These are served with Turtle Bay's Caribbean 'slaw and either sweet potato fries or rice 'n' peas. As you can see, Mario opted for the rice instead of the fries. When the waiter brought the plate over, the said that this was the biggest plate of ribs he'd seen all day! It was large! The ribs were delicious but we did feel that they were a little drier than we're used to. We think a dry spice mix was used to flavour the ribs instead of a sauce. I think that some sauce  would have been nice, especially with the rice 'n' peas, which were delicious! The spice mix wasn't too spicy at all and on the table there is a selection of sauces for you to use. The coleslaw was also very tasty and had a strong taste of parsley, which was very refreshing.

I went for the Sunny Burger (£9.60), as I do love a good burger!

The sunny burger is a seasoned beef burger with cheese, jerk glaze, salad and pineapple in a toasted bun. This burger is served with their Caribbean 'slaw and sweet potato fries. The burger was very well seasoned and had a great taste to it. The pineapple added a pleasant sweetness to the burger and I was surprised to discover that it wasn't too spicy at all. The burger was enhanced with the addition of some jerk BBQ sauce but was also very tasty by itself. The chips are literally the best thing ever. They are so delicious and because they're sweet potato, it means they're healthy ;) (just kidding!) They are light and crisp and perfectly seasoned. I could eat them all day!! I've already described the slaw above :)

Overall, Mario and I would definitely recommend this place! The staff are friendly and there is a definite relaxed atmosphere to the restaurant. The food is delicious, as are the drinks. We've never tried the alcoholic cocktails, but they look very impressive! During Happy Hour, they're 2-4-1 as well (if they're the same type of cocktail, served together) and there's a selection of 20 cocktails to choose from!

If you wish to book a table, which is recommended if you're going in the evening, call 0115 9475600 or visit http://www.turtlebay.co.uk/booking :)