cypriot delights

We spent a week in Cyprus for a wedding and discovered an authentic taverna right next to our hotel. We were walking up the street, feeling hungry and not in the mood to walk far...we spotted Cyprus Tavern and away we went up the dirt track. I don't know the name of the street but if you ever find yourself at Olympic Lagoon hotel , Agia Napa (yep, I went there and lived the tell the tale!) this little place is right beside the hotel.

The taverna became a favourite, it is run by a couple and the food is home cooked and fresh. It's lovely sitting outside. Everytime we came to the taverna , I ordered tzatziki. It was perfectly creamy and refreshing, especially when washed down with a glass of rose.

The vegetarian mousakka was really tasty, not too heavy, just a great mix of aubergine, potato and tomato. I loved it so much I ordered the dish two out of three times I visited.

The ambience at the restaurant was very friendly, we loved the lady who always served us. The second night we went, we took all the family and had a table for 17! They had no problem at all coping and the food was so tasty. On our last evening we were back at Cyprus Tavern and the owner mentioned her home made baklava was on the dessert menu. I LOVE baklava so ordered it straight away. It was perfectly sweet and just amazing.

cake at the well

One Sunday afternoon we met for a Sunday lunch at The Well in Clerkenwell.

I'm always disappointed when I'm craving a Sunday dinner, arrive at the pub and low and behold, what's on offer.....take a guess...yep....risotto.....now don't get me wrong, risotto is my favourite food and I love cooking it. But it does get a bit tiresome on a Sunday when all around you meat eaters are tucking into giant yorkshire puddings, crispy roasties, broccoli and vege and lashings of gravy. What do us veggies get, some asparagus risotto! Not quite the same.

Anyway, because I felt robbed due to lack of Sunday dinner, we all shared the below dessert...it was...amazingly perfect chocolate pie with lavender ice- cream..which is quite possibly my favourite ice cream in the whole world.

http://www.downthewell.co.uk/

caffs of st leonards and hastings

From the £1 Cafe which actually look decent inside, to the highly recommended Katie's Pantry, this is a tour of caffs I came across during a day trip to St Leonards spent picnicking by the sea with my lovely lady and dear friends M&B.

When we arrived to meet the boys we were treated to a delicious sponge cake they had collected earlier that morning at the Oak Bakery.... (above)

This little caff below looked very cute and had an outdoors area

and this picture captures the brashness of British seaside life perfectly for me....

chaos at caravan

One rainy day I met the boys at Caravan, Exmouth Market. In the space where Al's was for years, I had heard some great things about this place. Cafe culture in Australia and NZ is huge and there aren't many places to compare the similarities with. So I headed with two NZ boys and one Brazilian to see whether Caravan was antipodean heaven.

This place is popular- we had to wait 45 minutes for a table, but we ordered some coffee and started to catch up on the night out we'd had two evenings previously.

Sticking to the antipodean spirit of things I ordered a flat white, which was perfect.

We were told that our tables would be ready and as we saw the waitress clear the table we all took our seats. Big mistake! The owner came over and told us the table was, in fact, not ready and we must continue to wait. Slightly confused, we exchanged glances and stood by the door. Matters became worse when the owner came over again, stared into our eyes and said that when visiting a cafe we must do as we are told and only sit when told too!

Now, I understand the owner seems to be a perfectionist, but c'mon, to be told once was fine, but twice? We were made to feel we'd done something terribly wrong.

But we had a laugh and ordered our brunch. I went for avocado and chilli on toast, with a side of bubble and squeak and a tomato juice. It was delicious, the avocado was mashed, the chili added that extra kick.

However, I think the bubble and squeak should be left to the classic working man's caff. This was more like some sort of deep fried ball....

I would recommend Caravan,   but be warned , you nust do as you are told! Our experience is apparently common, I heard that my friend's colleague cried after the owner was rude to her. Not great for business!

http://www.caravanonexmouth.co.uk/

it's not crockery, it's not a cake....it's graffitti

anti capitalism tea and cake give away

It's the Saturday just prior to the election (yup, I know, it's taken me a while to write this entry!)

Wandering around Dalston I discover a rally against capitalism giving away free tea and cakes.

Of course, it was my duty to try it out....

But I hung around the stall and even took these photos but didn't get my mitts on any cakes...

Still, lovely idea 

enjoy caff dalston

One Saturday, I wandered around Dalston with a stinking hangover, craving food, being nosy in caff windows looking for the perfect place to sit and collect my thoughts. I spotted Enjoy Cafe as there was a little lady in the window rolling dough and this has always intrigued me. So, I wandered in, took a seat, ordered a much needed Diet Coke, cup of tea and doughy delight. 

Does anyone know what these are called??

I have no idea...

But they are tasty and filling and great hangover food!

I rate Enjoy Cafe 3.5 tea cups!

vegantastic rootmaster birthday

About a month ago, I had a wonderful birthday celebration with my nearest and dearest.

The Rootmaster http://www.root-master.co.uk is a unique vegan restaurant by Brick Lane. I reserved an area at the back of the bus and we squeezed about 12 people in the space. 

It was really cosy and intimate, I loved sharing vegan food with all my friends. The service was very friendly and the food was delicious. To start we all shared some vegan mezze plates. The food was tasty but a bit too much lettuce and we weren't given any plates to eat it with ...bit messy!

I didn't take any photos of the main dishes, but among us the tart proved the most popular when ordering but I saw some disappointed faces when it arrived! My other half ordered the kofta balls, which were yum. I had a tofu tower which was perfect- I really enjoyed having food that you can't order elsewhere. It was a huge tofu stack with a curry like sauce....

Then came the cake. The bus only allows vegan food so this was a surprise as M had ordered this for me. It was a little touch to cut so we all had to hold the plate together. I loved the cake and the bus staff gave me a container to take it home :)

All in all, a very happy birthday was had. The fact that you're eating on the bus makes the experience all the more fun, the food is fresh and tasty, the staff were fab and couldn't fault the service. The only downside is that there is no loo, so you have to use the pub next door (although I must say witnessing salsa class was amusing)