Author: Libby Millier

Polly’s Pantry – Milford-on-Sea

/ Libby Millier / 5 Comments

Now, my review of this delightful New Forest tearooms is going to be quite obviously biased because…my parents own it! But I realised I’ve never mentioned it on the blog and it is a big part of mine and my families life so this needed to change.

Me and Ben travelled to Milford-on-Sea last Sunday to visit Polly’s for the first time, embarrassingly, in about a year. It was also the last day of the Milford-on-Sea Food Festival so we wanted to catch the Farmers Market and general shennnanigans that were taking place on the Village Green.

We arrived in a very windy Milford about 1pm and after a cursory glance at the market decided to head for the warmth of Polly’s before we tackled the stalls.

My Dad works full-time at Polly’s and is the resident chef, manager and general jack-of-all-trades. Because Sunday was expected to be a busy day what with the Food Festival and all, my Mum also came down with him to work for the day. So it was a real family affair!

It was absolutely heaving when we walked inside but we were able to squeeze onto a table for 4 at the back of the tearooms which was later switched to a table for 2 after I offered to swap with 2 ladies who were meeting friends.

My Mum and the two girls working that day were bustling around taking orders so we had a good amount of time to choose our lunch – a bonus because I was really having trouble deciding (as standard.)

Polly’s serves a full breakfast menu til 12 noon (Full English’s, sausage and bacon baps, scrambled eggs etc) and then an extensive lunch menu which includes jacket potatoes, sandwiches, baguettes, panini’s, omelettes and hot meals like ham, egg and chips. I was torn between a hot, buttery baked potato and a simple chicken mayo baguette. In the end the jacket potato won out and we actually both ordered them; mine with ham and cheese and Ben’s with the classic combo of cheese and beans. My Mum scolded me as a ham and cheese jacket potato is not TECHNICALLY on the menu but if you remember from the Morgan Christmas 2011 post, my Dad does a mean baked ham and quite frankly it would have been rude not to sample some.

I took some photos of the interior as we waited for our lunch – as I said before I am biased but I think it is so pretty! There is a collection of vintage teapots on shelves all around the tearooms which always get lots of attention and admiring looks from customers.

As a bit of a treat our lunch was brought out by the Chef himself! Very exciting, I like to think he only does this for extra-special customers.

Here is my jacket potato…I think the photos speak for themselves!

Ben’s was equally resplendent;

We were especially impressed with the generous portion sizes! I loved that we got sides of salad and coleslaw as they paired perfectly with the potato and helped make the dish more of a meal. Needless to say, we were absolutely stuffed afterwards and I’m ashamed to say I couldn’t even finish it! I picked out all the ham and ate it though. Obviously.

I seriously was gutted that we couldn’t manage dessert as Polly’s is world-renowned (ish…) for it’s cakes and sweet treats, many of which are displayed proudly in the windows causing serious pedestrian hold-up.

I would (obviously!) recommend Polly’s Pantry but I hope you can see past my honestly biased review and choose to visit based on the quality of food shown in my photos. Our lunch was delicious but I wish I had taken a photo of the cream tea – two huge homemade scones with vats of clotted cream and jam to slather all over them, plus a pot of tea, with change from a fiver – the cries of delight from customers as they receive their plate says it all!

Piccola Roma – Bishops Waltham

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We’d been wanting to try this new Italian restaurant for ages but only got a chance last Thursday, a good excuse to celebrate the start of the long weekend!

We went for drinks in the newly refurbished Crown Inn beforehand – absolutely beautiful inside and worlds away from it’s previous incarnation – I actually struggled to believe it was the same pub once we were inside! Definitely worth a visit if you are in the village and the perfect place for a cozy glass of wine before dinner.

We arrived at Piccola Roma about 8pm and it was very quiet in the small restaurant with only a couple of tables occupied. The lovely owner greeted us and said we could pick any table we wanted, a huge bonus in my book! We chose a little table for two right in the window and ordered a glass of wine and a beer.

The decoration is really lovely inside with dimly lit tables and a generally romantic atmosphere. There was a couple on the table next to us and a family  on a larger table near the door. There was a huge print of the Colosseum stretching over the wall next to us which got us chatting about how much we’d like to visit Rome one day.

We perused the menu first and decided to share a couple of starters in order to leave room for what sounded like a stellar line-up of main choices.

We ordered mixed olives and the bruchetta. Both came out looking magnificent!

The olives were perfect – fat, pitted and doused in a flavourful garlic, chilli and herb oil. The bruchetta was presented as a trio and we halved each one to ensure a complete tasting experience. My favourite was the chopped olives – perhaps an olive overdose for some given our second starter but the intense olive hit was just perfect teamed with the crispy grilled bread. The mixed pepper and sliced tomato bruchetta were also lovely and we obviously scraped the plate clean of balsamic glaze.

I was having some trouble deciding what to order for my main and was stuck between a having a bowl of cheesy, creamy, comforting tortellini or just going for it with a massive steak. The owner came over and chatted to us for a bit and eventually I plumped for the steak after she declared it “the best I’ve ever eaten!” Obviously biased but I’m not going to let a declaration like that pass me by and before I knew it I’d ordered it, medium rare please.

Ben was absolutely spolit for choice at this restaurant and had a choice of at least 3 different main courses! We had seen on the online menu that they served an aubergine parmigana which he was quite keen to try but after asking our server we learned it had been taken off due to lack of interest. Unfortunate but understandable. In the end he went for the pesto pasta with a side salad of onions and tomatoes.

Our main courses were brought out and I literally could not have been more excited to see the sheer size of my steak. Ben said as soon as he saw it he knew we’d be coming back! It was a 10oz rib-eye steak with a creamy dolcelatte sauce, chips and a salad. I have recently become obsessed with blue cheese and have been adding it to pretty much everything I eat so the chance to have a steak slathered in it pretty much made my day.

We were both impressed because I have only ever had a steak like this in Florida – sitting proudly on the plate, taller than everything else. Normally I get a bog-standard sirloin or similar which, while delicious, cannot match the impressive appearance of a fillet or rib-eye. The steak was perfectly cooked and in fact next time I may have to chicken out somewhat and order it medium as  the thick, meaty centre was very very rare. As it should have been! Only I wasn’t expecting the sheer girth of it and overcompensated thinking they would err on the side of caution.

The insanely rich sauce complimented every single bite of the steak. I was so tempted to ask for more sauce (pretty much to just drink) but I remembered I am actually on a ‘diet’ (using the MyFitnessPal app, it’s amazing!) and although we had walked to the village and so burned an additional 300 odd calories, I really shouldn’t push my luck. As it was I really scraped my plate clean, using the chips more as a vehicle to get sauce into my mouth than a side dish in their own right. They deserved more than that really as they were lovely chips.

Ben was very happy with his main course and although it appears quite small and forlorn in the vast bowl, he was actually struggling to finish!

His side dish of onion and tomato salad was somewhat resplendent in appearance and rather stole the show from his main.

More balsamic glaze, score! He was pleased because the pasta was cooked al-dente (they actually state this on the menu and you can ask for it to be cooked longer if you prefer) and the pesto was fresh and flavoursome. The salad provided a lovely contrast to the pasta and helped break up the unavoidable monotony that afflicts most pasta dishes.

We were contentedly full after our main courses and I was pleased we had shared a starter (although does it really count as sharing if you order 2…) and happy to leave without dessert in order to avoid the wrath of MyFitnessPal. Our dinner came to £42 which we thought was really very reasonable with a drink each and starters. Saying that, I did order the most expensive thing on the menu so we could have quite easily kept costs down if I’d gone for the tortellini. Oops.

We will definitely be going back to Piccola Roma given it’s fantastic food, convenient location and friendly service. The owner was very pleasant to chat to and we learnt that she lived in Rome for 6 years and actually met her husband there, the chef at Piccola Roma! Fantastic to hear we were receiving real authentic Italian food and for me, lovely to hear the back story from someone who is so obviously passionate about Italy and Rome.

Narcoosee’s at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa

/ Libby Millier / 3 Comments

Here is another of the amazing restaurants we ate at while in Florida last year. Narcoosee’s is a Signature restaurant located at the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa hotel, near the Magic Kingdom. As I said before, we were on the Disney Dining Plan and used 2 credits each for this meal. It was so worth it! One of the best meals I’ve ever had, ever!

First of all, the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. My dream hotel and WDW’s ‘flagship’ resort. Look how beautiful it is! Of course, it’s very very expensive and we will never be able to afford it but a girl can dream…

(Taken from the official Disneyworld website)

Narcoosee’s is outside the main hotel, down by the lake. It is actually set over the water and offers stunning views across the Seven Seas Lagoon and over to the Magic Kingdom, perfect for watching the fireworks after dinner! We had planned this as our Anniversary dinner as we had been together 7 years which is definitely cause for celebration –  I added this to the online reservation I made 180 days before.

Our ADR was for 7.10pm. We were greeted by a lovely Cast Member who wished us Happy Anniversary and said there was about a 10 minute wait and would we like to wait on the balcony? Ummmm yes please! So we went out the little side door out onto the balcony that goes all the way round the restaurant. Such amazing views!

We had been out there about 5 minutes when we were told our table was ready. We were led inside to a PERFECT TABLE, right against the window, opposite the Magic Kingdom with a view of the castle. Little bit of pixie dust there I think! I was so pleased.

Our server was Amir and he was just perfect – kind, funny, attentive, knowledgeable…I sound like I’m describing a blind date but he was just lovely!

He introduced himself, wished us Happy Anniversary and produced two Happy Anniversary badges from behind his back! Adorable! He then asked us what we would like to drink and produced the menus for us to have a look at. But, not just any menus. personalized “Happy Anniversary” menus with Minnie and Mickey on! I was so excited, we both thought this was such a cute touch and it really made our night.

I just ordered a glass of rose and Benji ordered a Sam Adams. Apologies for the poor photos, it was very dark in the restaurant.

Amir then bought us out some delicious warm sourdough bread, with butter topped with sea salt. Yum! I’m a total salt fiend and had to refrain myself from scraping it all off the top and dumping it on my bread so that Ben could actually try some.

Every time Amir came over to check if we were okay we ended up deep in conversation as he was just a really chatty and interesting guy, we learned he had worked at Narcoosee’s for 12 years and absolutely loved it, you could tell he loved his job and was very proud of the restaurant.  This made me really happy because Narcoosee’s gets very mixed reviews with lots of people saying it is their least favourite signature but right from the moment we stepped in I could tell we were going to love it.

We were REALLY GOOD here and decided not to order starters. Shocker! There wasn’t anything on the starters list I was dying to try and I really really wanted to be able to finish what I was anticipating would be an amazing main course.

Once we’d munched our way through most of the bread and had a good long look at the menu, Amir came over to take our order. I was of course torn between various items and needed help! From the moment I saw the Narcoosee’s menu (like a year ago…) I knew I was going to order the famous Surf and Turf. But, the dish was now being served with mashed potatoes (the menu changes seasonally) which I’m not the biggest fan of, and I was also tempted to order the Filet Mignon as that came with a delicious sounding risotto. As I was uming and ahing about which to order, Amir said ‘Well why don’t we just get you the Surf and Turf with a side of risotto?” Yes please! I was a very very happy girl. I ordered the steak medium rare.

Benji was a lot easier to please as there was only one veggie option bless him. He opted for the Fall Vegetable Lasagna.

Orders placed, we sat back with our drinks and waited, taking in the lovely calm atmosphere and looking out toward the castle.

Not long after, our main courses were delivered to our table and we just sat there in stunned silence staring at them. They looked incredible!

This was my dinner. I ordered the Butter-poached Lobster Tail and Grilled Filet Mignon with Boniato Mashed Potatoes, Fall Vegetables, and Shallot-Red Wine Butter Emulsion, but substituted the mashed potatoes for the Gruyère Cheese and Caramelized Red Onion Risotto from the Filet Mignon dish. I got the shallot-red wine reduction too which was a bit of a bonus!

I took one taste of the reduction and poured it half over the risotto and half on the steak as it was just the most rich, amazing flavour – it needed to be enjoyed with all areas of the plate. I reserved the butter emulsion for the lobster and dipped each piece in…then pretty much poured the rest on the last mouthful. I promise you, not a drop of either was left in the pots. Very classy.

This was the first time I’d ever had real, properly cooked lobster and it is without a doubt the best thing I’ve ever eaten. The filet was fabulous of course, but the lobster was just in a different league. It was buttery, sweet and tender and I savoured every mouthful. The veggies were lovely too, perfectly cooked and a nice accompaniment to the rich meat and sauce.

Phew! Can you tell I liked this dish!?
Ben had a perfectly cooked lasagna, a huge portion, stuffed with roasted vegetables like courgette, pepper, onions, butternut squash and spinach. It was all bound together in a flavourful tomato/cheese sauce and topped with extra cheese that was mega crispy! It was sat in a crazily vibrant bright green sauce that turned out to be pea sauce. Just incredible. He ate every single last bite of his as well.

Amir came over half way through to ask how we were doing and we asked him loads about the food and I was gushing quite a lot about it all as I tend to do and he seemed really pleased.

All too soon I realized my plate was empty! Nightmare! Luckily I still had a tiny bit of room for dessert, PHEW! Just a tiny bit though.

I had to order the Almond Crusted Cheesecake. Had to! Look how beautifully it was presented to me.

It came with a lambert cherry sauce and it was absolutely to die for. I was so full I thought I might keel over but I managed to force down most of it. The almond crusting gave an amazing crunch to the cheesecake, perfectly complimenting the sweet, rich creamy insides. Mmmm. I ate it with the cherry sauce and it was grand.

Ben pulled a bit of a wildcard here and chose the cheeseplate! Which was really exciting as I’d wanted to see a signature cheese plate but I didn’t think I’d get to. He really enjoyed this, a bit of a treat. Neither of us have huge sweet tooths, I often find I need something sweet after dinner but I normally only need a couple of bites and then I’m done so it was nice to find we could order cheese as a dessert if we fancied.

Artisan Cheeses – Humboldt Fog, Fourme D’Ambert, and Pleasant Ridge Reserve with accompaniements.

While we were enjoying our desserts/trying not to be sick, Amir came over with a surprise!!

How amazing is that. He set them down and said “Happy Anniversary, I wish you seven more years of happiness!” I’m surprised I didn’t cry!  Once we’d eaten all we could of our desserts it was coming up to 9.30 and Amir came over and advised us that the Magic Kingdom fireworks would soon be starting if we wanted to watch it from the balcony. Perfect timing!

It was fabulous to stand out on the balcony, champagne in hand, watching ‘HalloWishes (the Halloween version of the usual ‘Wishes.’)  There were lots of other people out on the balcony but plenty of room for us all to stand and see everything.

Once the show was finished we went back inside to pay for our delicious dinner. We decided to give Amir a super duper big tip because we felt he had just gone above and beyond as a server and we had really enjoyed hearing about his life and his job at Narcoosee’s and just his company in general! At one point we were even considering asking him if he’d just sit down and join us!

He was really pleased and thanked us lots, he then made my night even more as I asked if we could keep the personalized menu’s and he said he could do one better than that and disapperared for a second, returning with two new personalised menu’s for us in a Narcoosee’s envelope. What a lovely, special memento of our night.

Narcoosee’s is a wonderful restaurant with delicious food and is second only to California Grill in our opinion. Obviously we didn’t get a chance to try any of the other signature restaurants (that is for our next trip!) but judging by these two, the standards will be pretty high! They’d have to be very good to beat these two though. Incredible food and one of the best meals I’ve ever eaten.