What I ate in Venice

It already feels as if our trip to Venice was about two years ago after a crazy busy couple of weeks. One way of keeping the memories alive is to blog about them, so here's another holiday blog post!

I posted a photographic summary last week, so this week I've decided to focus on what we ate (and drank) during our time in Venice.

We ate breakfast at the hotel every morning as this was included in the price of our room. I've loved the breakfasts we've experienced at every Italian hotel we've ever stayed in, and Hotel Savoia & Jolanda is no exception. They offer a huge buffet breakfast with loads of choice, and you can be as light and healthy or as deliciously indulgent as you like. I had a hot chocolate every morning along with various combinations of fresh bread rolls, meats, cheeses, pastries, yoghurt, granola, and lots of other sugary beauties. Don't be fooled by the photo below... this isn't an accurate representation of the size of my breakfast!

Breakfast kept us going until late morning which conveniently meant we were hungry again just in time for lunch. We usually had something quick from a little side street, such as a pizza slice or a filled wrap, which we took away to eat as we walked. These lunches were really cheap but so fresh and tasty.

We decided to have a sit-down lunch one afternoon at Hotel Londra Palace's Bistrot 4172 which was spectacular. We sat outside in the sunshine with a glass of Prosecco and a Mojito, and we were given a massive bread basket to start. I ordered the Ravioli dell'alto Veneto and I could honestly have eaten it three times over because it was so perfect.

As if that wasn't enough food to be getting on with, we also went out for a nice dinner every evening while we were in Venice. Due to the great location of our hotel, we didn't have to stray very far to find amazing and varied restaurants. On two evenings, we simply walked downstairs to eat in our hotel's Ristorante Principessa. The other restaurants we tried (Conca d'Oro and Trovatore) were only a short walk away.

Do you know what I really love about Italian restaurants? It's perfectly acceptable to order pasta for your first course and steak for your main, and you can still order a starter and/or dessert if you fancy it. SO MUCH FOOD.

You might think we had more than enough food between our breakfast, lunch and dinner, but you'd be wrong. We also needed to make sure we kept ourselves going with little (and large) snacks throughout the day. We had a scoop or two of gelato most days, and we also had a lovely pastry and hot chocolate in a little cafe one afternoon. I also treated myself to a rum hot chocolate from Venchi which I had to eat with a spoon because it was so thick. Yes, really.

As you can see, we ate rather a lot of food during our holiday. We also made sure we sampled several cocktails along the way, and we had some lovely Prosecco and wine with our dinners.

We stopped off at the hotel bar for a happy hour cocktail nearly every afternoon, and we had some amazing after-dinner cocktails at the LondraBar. 'Amazing' doesn't actually feel like a powerful enough superlative to describe them... they were definitely up there with the best cocktails I've ever had. Cocktails in Italy tend to be served with a selection of snacks, so our constant stream of eating was never interrupted.

I think this blog post proves that our food and drink escapades in Venice get an eleven out of ten (at least). 

Have you visited any of these restaurants, or have I convinced you to try them on your next trip to Venice? 

Restaurant Review: Romeo's by the Sea

It's been a while since I've written a restaurant review so I thought it was about time I rectified this situation! Penarth has some lovely independent Italian restaurants, one of which I blogged about many moons ago (Villa Napoli), so I thought I'd focus on another one of these restaurants for my first review of 2017.

Romeo's by the Sea is situated a stone's throw away from Penarth Pier which means it's conveniently within walking distance of our house. We visited for the first time last August to celebrate our second wedding anniversary and we've been twice since then with my parents.

The picturesque location of Romeo's by the Sea means it has a perfect seaside view if you're lucky enough to bag a table by the window. We've managed this on two out of our three visits so those are pretty good odds! The restaurant has plenty of external seating as well as ample seating indoors and I would recommend that you book a table if you'd like to try it out, particularly if you're visiting over the weekend. 

Romeo's has a very extensive menu and offers something for everyone, whatever your tastes. There are lots of vegetarian and/or gluten free options, as well as a hefty fish and seafood offering. I've tried the Penne Spezzatino, Penne Amatriciana and Tagliatelle Chef and I can very highly recommend all three! We also treated ourselves to starters and a bottle of wine on our first visit to Romeo's which were just as tasty as the mains.  

You'll be pleasantly surprised when you look at the prices on the menu, particularly as the portions are always very generous. I love restaurants where you get plenty of food on your plate and Romeo's certainly ticks that box. Just to give you a rough idea, a meal for four with soft drinks, main courses and two sides cost £54 which I think you'll agree is very reasonable considering the quality of food and those massive portion sizes. 

The staff members are all so friendly at Romeo's and, although the service is always quick and efficient, you never feel as if you're being rushed out of the door to free up a table. We've dealt with lots of different staff members during our three visits and they're always very eager to help and to make us feel welcome. 

Have you ever been to Romeo's by the Sea? Will you be adding it to your 'must-do' list after reading this post? 

Date night at Prezzo

My husband and I still enjoy having date nights every few weeks or so, mostly because it's a good excuse to go out for a nice meal and our love for food knows no bounds. I thought I'd blog about our most recent date night...

Neil (my husband) recently received a voucher for a free bottle of Prosecco from Prezzo so we decided to take the opportunity to try our new local restaurant in Penarth. Prezzo will always be special to us as it's where we went for our first date nearly five years ago, so we were very excited when we found out that there was a branch opening just a mile or so away from where we live.

It was a beautiful day so we decided to walk into town rather than getting the bus or driving. The free bottle of Prosecco would have been slightly redundant if one of us had to drive, and it also meant we could avoid parking stress!

I wore some of my new Ted Baker jewellery and one of the dresses I bought in Toronto's Aeropostale store as I wanted to make the most of our evening out. Although I love relaxing in my hoodies, jeans and Ugg boots, I do really enjoy getting dressed up for special occasions. And I'll happily take every opportunity to wear my beloved jewellery!

Our table was booked for 5:30pm so we started out from our house at a leisurely pace at 4:45pm as we're a fair distance away from the centre of town. We took the scenic route down the old railway track which is always lovely and quiet (apart from a few excited dogs and their frazzled walkers).

We got to Prezzo ten minutes early and were seated straight away. The first thing we ordered was our free Prosecco (obviously) which should have cost £25! We love a bargain and, to be totally honest, we also begrudge paying £25 for something we can get for £6 in Tesco. It was a really tasty variety of Prosecco and went down far too easily. 

We decided to go all out and ordered a starter to share. I must admit that I had a big part in choosing the starter as I can't get enough of a good old mozzarella and balsamic onion pizza bread! This one was beautifully cheesy, garlicky and balsamic-y and I could have eaten a whole one to myself... sad but true. 

After finishing our delicious starter, our mains came along shortly afterwards. I chose the asparagus and mascarpone panciotti and it was REALLY good. Although the portion looks quite small by my usual standards, the parcels were packed full of the delicious spinach, lemon and bella lodi cheese filling. Note to self - I must eat more asparagus as I always forget how much I enjoy it. 

After telling ourselves we probably wouldn't have dessert while we were walking to the restaurant, we (I) promptly changed our minds when we saw what was on offer on the dessert menu. I had the Nutella and banana mini calzones with vanilla ice cream... the whole thing was stunningly amazing. I'll definitely be sampling these again on our next visit!

After feeling suitably full and paying our bill, minus £25 for our free Prosecco, we walked home as the weather was still dry and sunny. As we were home by 8pm due to our early start, we still managed to have a cosy night in with Suits (our current series of choice) as well as a meal out... perfect date night!

Have you been to Prezzo yet? Can you recommend any other venues in the Penarth/Cardiff area for our date nights? Let me know!

Food, glorious food (and drink) - Honeymoon style #2

After eating our way around Rome, we moved on to Malcesine in Lake Garda to discover what food and drinks this little town in the north of Italy had to offer. Quite a lot, as it happens.

We operated at a much slower pace in Malcesine which meant that we had more time to enjoy a few afternoon cocktails. I loved the way we were presented with a little bowl of crisps every time we ordered a drink... I have an unhealthy love for crisps.

If it's even possible, I think we ate even more in Malcesine than we did in Rome. Here are some of the delights we enjoyed during our stay:

My first Bellini of the holiday

Sometimes you just can't beat a pepperoni and cheese panini

Hawaiian pizza

I can't remember what this orange cocktail was called,

but it was lovely!

A simple but amazing starter... glorified cheese on toast

with lots of garlic and olive oil 

Spaghetti, chilli and olive oil... what's not to like?

Yes, we had lots of gelato here too... 

Epic pizza slice!

Glass of wine... I love the bubble glass

This was a STARTER. There were about ten mozzarella balls hidden

underneath the eggs and the cheese strips!

Steak and chips. My first ever steak!

Spinach and ricotta calzone

My favourite cocktail of all time. White Russian!

Lovely breakfast hot chocolate at the hotel

Aperol Spritz. Everyone drinks this in Malcesine!

Another epic pizza slice

More meat and cheese

Looks unappetising but this was one of my favourite meals

of the honeymoon... ravioli with smoked cheese and pistachio sauce

Mint mousse dessert with a shot of limoncello

Lunchtime Strawberry Daiquiri! 

Yet another spaghetti bolognese

More wine!

Last dessert in Malcesine... ice cream bomb

Lovely Pina Colada at the hotel bar

My large and varied breakfast on the last morning... 

We were in Malcesine for six days. That's a lot of eating and drinking opportunities, as you can see from the disgusting amount displayed above. I loved every second of it and don't regret a single bite/sip. 

Food and drink was extremely reasonable in Malcesine (2 euros for a huge pizza slice!) and we ate all our meals outside. Usually under some kind of canopy or sun umbrella, but still outside! Such a lovely relaxing place, and perfect for casually eating and drinking all afternoon (and evening). 

I'll be publishing my last instalment in a few days where I reluctantly admit to what I ate and drank in Venice. Watch this space!