YO! Sushi New Menu | Bournemouth

On Tuesday, I was kindly invited down to YO! Sushi in Bournemouth for a tasting event of the brand new menu, Flavours Of Japan. The delicious new dishes range from the succulent Chicken Katsu Sando to Tokyo Banana Cake. They've gone back to Japan for this new menu to curate a line-up of authentic street food, crafted from the freshest ingredients on the high street – and I couldn't wait to try it out for myself.

Wonderland | Mayflower Theatre, Southampton

I've been super lucky to see a few shows recently, and I have really fallen in love with the Mayflower, it's the biggest theatre on the south coast with over 2,300 seats in the auditorium. The staff are always so warm and friendly, and I know I'm guaranteed to have a great evening. When I was kindly invited to see Wonderland yesterday, I honestly had no idea what to expect. There have been so many adaptations of Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, that I was intrigued to see how it would be portrayed on stage.

Beauty & The Beast Afternoon Tea | Town House at Kensington Hotel, London

Located in the heart of one of London's most most desirable neighbourhoods, Town House at The Kensington Hotel is located on the corner of two of London’s iconic thoroughfares, Queen’s Gate and the Old Brompton Road, and is spread across three classically designed drawing rooms, serving locally-sourced, seasonal modern British cuisine.

With open fires found in nearly all the hotel’s ground floor reception rooms, entering The Kensington feels rather like walking through the doors of a lovingly restored London mansion. The beautiful high ceilings and heritage décor make it feel extremely welcome.

Miller & Carter Review | BH2 Leisure Complex, Bournemouth

Last Friday night, my boyfriend Benji & I were invited to dine at Miller & Carter in the new BH2 Leisure Complex area of Bournemouth. Conviently located in the centre of town, the complex has an Odeon Cinema, a new car park and is next to Bournemouth Gardens and close to the beach, ideal for an after dinner walk. I've only heard good things about Miller & Carter, and had walked past the outside a few times since recently opening, so I was very excited. I am huge meat lover, and steak is one of my favourite dinners, so I knew it would be good, but I didn't appreciate just HOW good. So much so, I've invited one of my best friends Gary to go back with me tomorrow.

We booked for 7.30pm and arrived a little early, kindly greeted by the staff at the front desk, and instantly shown to our table by the window. We had a view across the street for a bit of people watching, one of my secret guilty pleasures! We were slightly below road level though, so had some privacy at the same time. Miller & Carter really have a great location in the new BH2 Leisure area.

When we sat down, I instantly noticed the seats were super comfortable. I have a really bad back, so it's one of my pet peeves when a restaurant has poor furniture and I feel rushed to want to leave because I'm uncomfortable! The ambiance and atmosphere was really lovely, it wasn't not too quiet or too noisy, and although a busy Friday night, it didn't feel crowded. We could easily have a conversation and not hear the people behind or next to us either.

I loved the ability to see the chef's cooking away too, I got an instant friendly vibe of their chemistry working together, and when I started taking a few photos, they joked to me about getting their best angle. A lovely way to stay the evening!

Our waitress Rhianna introduced herself, and didn't rush us making our wine and food choices. She was absolutely fantastic, and a real asset to Miller & Carter.

Drinks
Benji & I love our wine, so we went for a bottle of The Bulletin Zinfandel Rosé which was very reasonably priced. It was selected as 'highly recommended' on the menu and rightly so, it was gorgeous! Sweet, light and easy to drink. I'd definitely order it again. Their wine list had plenty of great choice, and our waitress was very knowledgable on what she recommended ordering too.

Starter
For starters, I had to try the king prawns (£6.95). Being in Bournemouth and living by the sea makes me a huge seafood lover, and these did not disappoint. Cooked in garlic butter and served with toasted ciabatta, this was a perfect starter. Benji went for the baked cheddar mushrooms (£5.75), also in a creamy garlic and cheddar sauce with a piece of garlic ciabatta. I could have eaten a whole bowl of these! Delicious.

Main
The fillet steak was a no brainer for me (£23.50). It's generally my favourite meal to order and it did not disappoint. I asked for it to be medium cooked, and I can confidently admit it was pretty perfect to how I like it. The portion size was generous too. I opted for the peppercorn sauce, whilst the meat was served with parsley butter, seasoned fries, a slice of onion loaf (just like a onion ring, so delicious!) and a balsamic glazed tomato. Miller & Carter also serve it with a lettuce wedge and your choice of seasoning, so I went for garlic mayonnaise and parmesan.

As you can tell, you can really tailor your steak experience, there's even extra options for extra sides however, this was absolutely plenty of food. Benji went for the 50 day aged grain fed ribeye (£19.95), with the beef dripping sauce as recommended by our waitress Rhianna. We later found out this is hugely popular, and I can totally understand why. A perfect combination!

Dessert & After Dinner Cocktails
I have a huge sweet tooth and anyone who knows me understands I love my dessert. I normally give up starter for dessert, but this was a special friday night treat! Generally when I read a menu, there's always one thing which jumps straight out to me, but the Miller & Carter Dessert menu is to die for. There is so much fantastic choice! Therefore, it was inevitable I opted for the tasting plate (£8.95) including a selection of the Chocolate Brownie, Raspberry Crème brûlée, Glazed Passion Fruit Tart and fresh berries. I am not joking when I say I was in pure heaven. Benji went for the Raspberry CCrème brûlée too (£5.25), and it was definitely the best choice. Madagascan vanilla glazed brulee, with fresh raspberries and a raspberry sugar crunch, served with a home baked vanilla biscuit. I am definitely ordering it again next time, it was beautiful. The brownie was a little dry and definitely needed the ice cream, but the Passion Fruit Tart was a perfect palate cleanser. A close second favourite!

As we were keen to try a bit of everything, we also ordered a cocktail each. I had the After Eight-Thirty, a silky, smooth and refreshing Baileys, Crème de Menthe and Crème de Cacao, shaken with cream. Once again, I'd order this again. Baileys is one of my favourites. Benji went for a Vanilla White Russian, an updated classic, Smirnoff Vanilla vodka shaken with Tia Maria, milk and cream. I have to admit, he was very torn for choice between the Chocolate Martini and Espresso Martini too, we'll give our verdict on those next time!

I enjoyed our dinner so much, that I'm already going back less than a week later. For the quality, service and general ambiance, I feel our meal was good value for money. It would make a perfect date night or birthday/anniversary meal. I have absolutely nothing bad to say, it was genuinely a gorgeous dinner and we both thoroughly enjoyed our evening. If you'd like to be in with a chance of winning a £100 gift card to eat at a Miller & Carter near you, head on over to my Instagram, it's only open until next Tuesday! Be sure to follow their Instagram & Facebook too.

Huge thank you to Miller & Carter, big welcome to Bournemouth and I look forward to coming again soon!

*This post is kindly sponsored by Miller & Carter.