The Great British Summer has taken quite a while to engage this year.
Any ounce of clear sky has people scrounging outside with their shorts and flip flops trying to squeeze the most out of the beautiful weather.
It's a whole different story back in Marbella...
My newsfeed is replete with pictures on the beach, screenshots of the 35º C heat (that's 95º F for you lots across the pond!) and many many shots of sangria, paellas and San Miguel to make me even more jealous.
And I wonder again why I didn't plan a Spanish getaway home this Summer...
So I've had to start wearing my own blue sky instead.... And who knew Viscose creases soooo easily?
I raced home from work quickly slipped out of my work clothes and into something more fun and flirty and listened to our new female PM's speech on BBC news whilst I did my hair.
Somehow we made it to our reservation early. For once.
This Cinderella blue dress is from ASOS and can be found here. It's a wrap around so is easily adjusted (for after dinner food babies).
If you prefer Sleeping Beauty it also comes in pink here.
I even had him dressing in blue.
Queue gin and tonic, olives and natural sun-kissed skin (thanks to Mac).
Staff at the Chequers were mighty friendly and enthusiastic; eagerly recommending their favourite dishes or wines.
I almost forgot for a moment we were in Britain.
They brought us the cutest mini loaf of freshly baked bread which we shared with olives and dipped in garlic butter.
One thing the Chequers is great at, is gin. And for a gin-lover like me, I was in paradise. They have an entire list on their menu dedicated to gin and not just the usual suspects.
Gins infused with Chinese green tea, coriander and blueberry, pink gin with herbs and so many other weird combinations which, like a miracle, taste insane when paired together.
I opted for the Whitley Neill, a rather exotic gin infused with African Botanicals: Baoab Fruit (which come from those gigantic African trees) and Cape Gooseberries (aka Physalis not to be confused with you know what...). Paired with Fentimans tonic it was a taste of refreshing Summer.
Before we knew it our starters arrived and what a delight to the senses.
The oriental duck salad for him.
I ordered the crab cocktail with guacamole and tacos.
The duck salad looked and smelt so amazing I couldn't help but dig in...
That duck salad hit me in all the right places.
The tacos were homemade, crunchy and uniquely refreshing.
My cocktail was good, but I was suffering from serious bouts of food envy.
It was very very yummy but that duck salad though... If only I'd never tasted it!
I found the cocktail sauce a little rich. I think I could've done with a couple more tacos or a little more lettuce to soak up all the sauce, but that's just me. Some people loooooove it smothered in sauce.
We also had Rose join us for the evening.
She was pale and lively with a hint of cherry.
From Verona she was, and she was an excellent companion to make all of the important life decisions with, like which filter looks best on Instagram.
Ah she was so smooth and a delight to have with over dinner. Alpha Zeta Rosato is her exact name if anyone was curious.
Soon our mains were with us.
He ordered the special Surf & Turf Bavette with calamari.
And I couldn't help but dig in...
I will offer you to try my food and I will expect you to offer me some of yours back.
Sharing is caring.
And also the best way to figure out exactly what the best things to order are on the menu for next time. Like those calamares and Bavette steak (which had all the right flavours and tenderness).
Or these homemade croquettes, made with Bechamel which made them all the more creamy and delicious. Or the forever green vegetables.
I ordered the Pancetta wrapped BBQ pork which came with leafy greens and those to-die-for croquettes. The BBQ sauce was super tasty and combined with the croquettes was a dream.
The pork was a little tough, as you can sometimes expect pork to be. I don't usually go for the pork but the pancetta and BBQ sauce and croquettes just sold it to me!
The pork was a little tough, as you can sometimes expect pork to be. I don't usually go for the pork but the pancetta and BBQ sauce and croquettes just sold it to me!
But not when it came to dessert. Oh no!
He ordered the flourless chocolate cake. Did you read that? FLOURLESS, no flour meaning kerching for all you gluten free! Like he is SUPPOSED to be, but loves pizza, pasta and cake too much...
So, yeah, the cake was great and all and I would definitely order that myself or attempt to cook at home, but I think we have all forgotten the simple powers of what strawberries, cream and chocolate can do to you.
THE most British Summer dessert ever right? I made an excellent choice here ladies and gents.
The strawberries were sweet and so flavoursome, the clotted cream yes! The chocolate yes! All together, yes yes yes!
But let me tell you about the main attraction.
Meet Mr Homemade Shortbread over here who kind of stole the show.
Crumbly, buttery and sprinkled with sugar.
Dipped in cream with a topping of chocolate.
Oh and there it is again!
Making me pull more faces like this, need I say more?
No, because things started getting all a bit too weird...
I blame Rose, she is such a bad influence!
You can find The Chequers at Eversley Cross in Hampshire. You won't miss it as you drive through the quaint village of Eversley, it's the one with the hugeee tree, idyllic picnic benches and many many locals enjoying a pint or a bite to eat. Website here.
The Chequers is also part of the Peach Pubs association (they are NOT chains). An association of like-minded gastropubs with exquisite taste. There are many round the country, so if you like the sound of the Chequers you may like other Peach Pubs in your area. Find them here.
All I ask is that you let me know when you book a table, I still have quite a lot of different gins on that list to try and drinking alone is never good.
P.S: have you found me on Facebook yet? If you like following my adventures, give my page a little like to never miss a post.
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