Going Vegetarian at The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe

For two birthdays on the trot now I've visited The Waiting Room and on both occasions, the food has been delicious. The Waiting Room is a vegetarian restaurant located a stones away throw from Eaglescliffe train station. 

Its menu changes seasonally and is always full of amazing creative items that won't make you miss having meat for the night. We visited on Friday night and this year sat in the back conservatory area. With its reclaimed cinema seating and eclectic decor, this area sits away from the main eating area at the front, giving you a feeling of privacy.

Having already surveyed the menu before we visited, I was pretty sure of my choices. For our starters I picked the hazelnut, mushroom and parsley pate and Matt chose the goats cheese, spice red onion and almond baklava. Both were very nice, but I kind of wish I'd picked Matt's dish as mine was a lot of hazelnut and not as mushroom flavour as I'd hoped. 

For our mains, I wanted to go with something that I knew I would enjoy. Last year I decided to go for items that sounded nice and were a bit of a different meal for me, but I ended up being disappointed as I'd gone too far out of my comfort zone.

On our most recent visit, I chose the infamous and highly-recommended puy chilli wholemeal enchilada and Matt went for the roast garlic, courgette and spinach buckwheat galette with an organic poached egg.

When mine arrived it was massive! It tasted amazing, so full of flavour and heat from the chilli. I didn't manage to finish it all but they kindly packed it up for me to enjoy the next day (which I did). Matt thought his dish was gorgeous with a good mix of flavours and the addition of the egg on top really tied it all together.

Although we were both bursting at the seams, for a birthday meal it would be rude to not get dessert. Matt went for his regular, sticky toffee pudding, and I chose the chocolate pecan brownie. The sticky toffee pudding did not disappoint and the brownie was super decadent and gorgeous with the ice cream.

Overall I really enjoy visiting The Waiting Room. There is always something different to try and as I'm a fussy meat eater, I know I'm always going to enjoy all the vegetables!

Have you visited The Waiting Room?

Bill's Restaurant in Manchester (Review)

Recently we took a short trip to Manchester in which we made sure to pick some brilliant eateries. One that we chose, that I know you'll all have heard of, is Bill's Restaurant. Lots and lots of bloggers have been recommending Bill's and I've only just had the chance to try it. I am happy to report that I love it! Bill's strapline is breakfast to bedtime, so we decided to pop along for lunch. Inside everything is back to basics and there are a lot of up-cycled items. There were gorgeous pieces of lighting including beautiful chandeliers and industrial downlighters around where we sat. There were lots of yummy items of the menu but in the end, I chose a halloumi burger, fries and a pink lemonade float with vanilla ice cream. Matt picked a macaroni cheese with butternut squash and a side of sweet potato fries.

The burger was lovely. Having it in a sesame bun was just right and it had a little bit of sweet chilli sauce inside with the salad which complimented it perfectly. It was supposed to have hummus and peppers in but they aren't my cup of tea and it tasted just as great without them. Matt enjoyed his macaroni cheese but he said it could have done with a bit more cheese. I'd never had an ice cream float before but I decided that Bill's would be the place to do it. It was so sweet and sickly but also tangy because of the lemonade. I had a good go at drinking it but couldn't finish it all!

The atmosphere was lovely in Bill's and I wish we had one up here, even if it had to be in Newcastle! In Bill's, you could also buy some of the items they used in their menu such as jams, chutneys and items of dinnerware such as teapots. We didn't make any purchases as it was our first time but I can imagine after a few trips we'd have our favourite bits that we'd like to take home.

Have you been to Bill's? Do you like it?

UGOT Food Review - Newcastle Train Station

ÜGOT kindly invited me along to try out their Newcastle Train Station shop for some lunch. As I don't live in the immediate area I tagged this on to a trip up to Newcastle for a different blogger event. I got there early so I had enough time to pick my food, sit and enjoy people watching.

When I got there the guys were super helpful as they explained what all the different options they had and what extras they provided. They didn't have the whole selection left to pick from as it was around 5pm when I visited but there was still some tasty meals which I struggled to pick from.

I finally decided on a falafel & kale wrap and a nettle ice tea with fresh berries. I took a pew outside the shop and munched away at my wrap. It was super tasty with all sorts of healthy bits inside including kale, couscous, lettuce and tzatziki dressing. The taste of the falafel was a bit dry but it was definitely not lacking flavour.

I was dubious at first about the ice tea as I'm already an avid drinker of peach black tea. As it was nettle tea I thought it might taste bitter but I think the infusion of berries certainty helped and it tasted lovely and refreshing. They also have earl grey and elderflower ice tea which I'd love to try.

After my wrap, I went back inside to take a few more pictures for this post and the guys offered me some frozen yoghurt to try. I was given a mix of normal and chocolate. It tasted lovely but I swear it tasted fruity, I was very confused but assured they were the right flavours! They also offer pomegranate & raspberry and carrot cake flavour. I want to try these so bad.

Overall I had a really great experience at ÜGOT. The food is such good quality and what they serve is super healthy and good for you. It's nothing like you'd find anywhere on a normal high street. The service was friendly and helpful and the interior was really creative and cool. I really wish they had an ÜGOT in Middlesbrough as I'd be going there every day for lunch! If you pass this place on your journey in or out of Newcastle Station I'd recommend it. They also have a few other locations in the UK including York Train Station.

*this meal was provided free of charge but all opinions are honest.