English Country Pub Fine Dining; The Mutton

Since opening a few years ago, The Mutton at Hazeley Heath has been a firm favourite local pub for Friday drinks as well as their award winning menu of traditional pub dishes done to a five star standard.

So this Saturday we decided to book a table in the restaurant for date night and as always enjoyed a delectable meal complete with top service.

Now we are well into September, it felt like the last weekend I could get away with white jeans and mules, so I wore my Topshop white slim fit jeans paired with a ruched detail backless top, my gorgeous Senso pink satin mules and a Cult Gia dupe mini box bag.

Blush pink hues for date night is a timeless classic and I would’ve worn my pearls to complete the look, but with a nigh neck top on I opted for statement gold drop earrings which I recently got from Na-kd.

With 8:15pm reservations, we arrived at The Mutton for 8pm to have an aperitif. I sipped a classic Dirty Martini which was delightful; I felt very Carrie Bradshaw from Sex & The City

The interiors at The Mutton are very classic countryside chic with a subtle modern twist, and the low lighting in the restaurant makes for the perfect sophisticated evening atmosphere.

To start we shared the sourdough bread with charcoal butter and homemade spicy pickles which were divine.

For main course I ordered the chargrilled sea bream, crushed potatoes, seasonal vegetables and white wine sauce with a side salad, whilst my boyfriend had the sirloin steak with nduja butter, fries, pickled shallot, parmesan and rocket salad.

I had a glass of the Gyotaku, Christophe Mittnacht Alsace, French white wine upon recommendation from the waitress as a pairing to my fish dish.

As always it was a 10/10 meal presented beautifully, cooked to perfection and full of incredible flavour.

We savoured every last bite and with clean plates all round, we left very satisfied indeed.

The bill came to just under £150 so its certainly on the pricier side for a meal out, but definitely worth it for a special occasion or a treat for date night.

The Mutton at Hazeley Heath remains our top spot for fine dining in Hampshire, so be sure to try it for yourself if you’re in the area – https://themuttonathazeleyheath.co.uk

Summertime Eats

These past few weeks in the UK have been a scorcher with temperatures hitting over 33 degrees on many days and the humidity pretty unbearable when you don’t have a pool to jump into! With this ongoing heatwave I’ve eaten even more fresh fruits, colourful salads and delicious seafood, so I thought I’d share a few of my favourite meals from this week to give you some yummy inspo too.

During summer I tend to swap my usual oatmeal bowl for a refreshing smoothie bowl. Just take a frozen banana, frozen blueberries, frozen strawberries, a splash of soya milk and blend to make the most dreamy purple bowl of sweet goodness, best served in a coconut bowl for that aesthetic photo. I topped mine with more blueberries, strawberries, nana chips and toasted nut mix, but you can top your bowl with whatever you have going in the cupboard really.

Friday evening was a night with my girls and my friend made the most delicious teriyaki salmon buddha bowls for us. In the bowls she started with a bed of grains layered with the edamame beans, spring onion, cucumber, avocado and then topped it off with the crispy baked salmon pieces marinated in soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, lime and sriracha. Paired with a few bottles of bubbles whilst catching up with the girls, this was a simply divine way to wind down from the work week.

You can’t let a heatwave pass by in England without doing a classic BBQ, so that’s exactly what we did this weekend back at my parents house. As always it was a team effort to put together this wonderful spread of incredible food.

Dad was on the Weber barbecuing the chicken, sausages, trout, prawns, corns, mushrooms and courgettes, whilst my mum and I were in the kitchen assembling all of the accompaniments. We had new potatoes, an artichoke parma ham salad, and my speciality as always was the greek salad. I even roasted up some padron peppers to graze on whilst we cooked and sipped our rose wine in the sunshine – this is what summer is all about!

So that’s a taster of what I’ve been eating this week and as you can see, my meals are always full of colour to pack in those nutrients and make me feel good. Whilst I like a glass or two of wine over the weekend, I also make sure to nourish my body with healthy, fresh, wholesome food as this is what makes me feel amazing from the inside out; balance is key 🙂