Last week's Date Night was much more exciting than anything that's happened this week so I've decided to make it the subject of a blog post. Angmering Daddy and I don't go out that often because we're not the type of family with grandparents on the doorstep. A few months ago, I noticed a bill board advertising a live show by Dave Gorman, one of our favourite comedians. I looked details up when I got home and found that Dave was doing a series of live shows to test out material for the next season of his TV show, Modern Life is Goodish. We booked straightaway. The next challenge would be to find a babysitter. My lovely step-sister obliged, suggesting that Munchkin joined her five year old daughter for a sleepover.
So Date Night arrived and we took Munchkin over to Lewes to stay with my step-sister. We set up her Ready Bed in little Flower's room and stayed to play with her and make sure she was settled in. After about an hour, Munchkin asked us to go home! It was nice to feel wanted...
Our evening started in Food restaurant in Worthing - somewhere we've wanted to try for ages. The service was good and the food was superb. We used the fact that we had time to kill as an excuse for having three courses. Everything was cooked to perfection. I had the Calamari, Louisiana Street Food, and Banana Creme Brulee. AD had Latino Popcorn, Blackened Prawn and Pork Tenderloin, and Cheesecake. We've been considering going back with Munchkin, but yet again I've been put off by the children's menu. Why do so many restaurants, even those frequented by "foodies", think that children want chips with everything and assume that the parents are happy with that?
Then we moved on to the main event, Dave Gorman at the Connaught Studio. I hadn't been to the Studio before so was unaware it was a separate building. People had to queue outside until the doors opened shortly before the show. It interesting to learn the Studio used to be The Ritz, which had beem a cinema and a ballroom at different points in the 20th Century. Dave Gorman was really funny. The purpose of the live shows is to help him develop scripts. His audiences have been asked not to post details of the content of these shows online since it would spoil the TV series later in the year, and might make some of the special guests nervous.
It was weird not being woken up by a toddler demanding a cuddle or a cup of milk at 6:30 am the following morning. Apparently she was well behaved but was too excited to sleep until around 9pm. Other than decorating her bed with felt-tip and not using the toilet at all, she was the model child. Since Flower had an inset day, we spent the day in Lewes when I went to pick her up. She had great fun in the playground at Malling Recreation Ground before we went to lunch at Prezzo, which thankfully had a much better children's menu than some of the independent restaurants I've been to recently.
In potty training news, I still have two Munchkins. Nursery Munchkin wore pants today and only had one accident. She then came home, refused to go to the bathroom to get ready for bed, and peed her pants. I think the next two days at nursery will be fine, but I'm dreading pant wearing on Friday.
Showing posts with label eating out with children. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eating out with children. Show all posts
Tuesday, 10 June 2014
Tuesday, 15 April 2014
Pubs and Puddles
Another weekend, another lunch date for Munchkin... This time we met up with some former work colleagues. Since our friends are childless, we always have to pick the venue. They live in Brighton and don't drive so we generally pick them up and go somewhere in the Brighton or Lewes area. I stumbled upon a site called Child Friendly Brighton & Hove, which is a godsend for finding Munchkin friendly eateries.
We went to The Half Moon in Plumpton. The food was really good. Munchkin and I both had sausage and mash. We promised to leave some for Daddy to try but it was so nice, we scoffed the lot. The children's menu was £6 for two courses. The children's dessert was anything you like, as long as it was a scoop of ice cream... The children's facilities were good, but not as good as we were expecting after the write up on Child Friendly Brighton & Hove, for example there were no crayons and paper on offer. The play area in the huge garden was great. Munchkin loved the slide and the sand pits. However, the pub let itself down on service and we wouldn't rush back for this reason. Strike 1: Our drinks didn't arrive. It turned out that they'd run out of stout. Rather than telling us, they just forgot our whole drinks order. Strike 2: The wrong menu had been put out and the dish Angmering Daddy wanted wasn't available. Strike 3: I couldn't find the baby change promised on CFBH. The waitress told us they didn't have one so I changed Munchkin on the toilet floor. I later discovered there was a tiny changing table tucked away in one of the toilet cubicles.
Yesterday was a little dramatic. Munchkin has finally worked out what the toilet is for so I bought her some training pants. I've gone for the fabric variety since these are meant to promote quicker potty training. She had a tantrum and refused to get dressed yesterday morning. I gave her the choice of a nappy, disposable training pants or the new pants. She settled on the new ones, but the tantrum didn't subside much. Five minutes later, I found her standing in a puddle. Thankfully she'd been thoughtful enough to stay on the changing mat. Note to self: Training pants hold a small wee, not a torrent. The morning didn't improve much. She had a friend round to play and spent the first half hour avoiding her and the second half hour screaming.
Munchkin has a busy Easter weekend ahead of her. She's going to two Easter egg hunts and may be going on a day trip to Butlins in Bognor and/or a trip to see Thomas the Tank Engine.
We went to The Half Moon in Plumpton. The food was really good. Munchkin and I both had sausage and mash. We promised to leave some for Daddy to try but it was so nice, we scoffed the lot. The children's menu was £6 for two courses. The children's dessert was anything you like, as long as it was a scoop of ice cream... The children's facilities were good, but not as good as we were expecting after the write up on Child Friendly Brighton & Hove, for example there were no crayons and paper on offer. The play area in the huge garden was great. Munchkin loved the slide and the sand pits. However, the pub let itself down on service and we wouldn't rush back for this reason. Strike 1: Our drinks didn't arrive. It turned out that they'd run out of stout. Rather than telling us, they just forgot our whole drinks order. Strike 2: The wrong menu had been put out and the dish Angmering Daddy wanted wasn't available. Strike 3: I couldn't find the baby change promised on CFBH. The waitress told us they didn't have one so I changed Munchkin on the toilet floor. I later discovered there was a tiny changing table tucked away in one of the toilet cubicles.
Yesterday was a little dramatic. Munchkin has finally worked out what the toilet is for so I bought her some training pants. I've gone for the fabric variety since these are meant to promote quicker potty training. She had a tantrum and refused to get dressed yesterday morning. I gave her the choice of a nappy, disposable training pants or the new pants. She settled on the new ones, but the tantrum didn't subside much. Five minutes later, I found her standing in a puddle. Thankfully she'd been thoughtful enough to stay on the changing mat. Note to self: Training pants hold a small wee, not a torrent. The morning didn't improve much. She had a friend round to play and spent the first half hour avoiding her and the second half hour screaming.
Munchkin has a busy Easter weekend ahead of her. She's going to two Easter egg hunts and may be going on a day trip to Butlins in Bognor and/or a trip to see Thomas the Tank Engine.
Tuesday, 8 April 2014
Little Ladies that Lunch
We've been for several meals out with Munchkin and her cousins recently. The first one was a Mothers' Day meal when we were staying in the Midlands, and a total disaster because Munchkin threw up everywhere. Luckily she's now back to her usual self and eating everything in sight.
This weekend, we went out for two meals. On Saturday, we visited my step-dad and went to The Sergison Arms in Haywards Heath. The Serg is a pub that I know well; it was originally called The Sergison Arms, then changed its name to The Dophin after a refurb and image change. It's recently changed its name back to The Sergison. Irrelevant fact = dolphins are in the Sergison family's coat of arms.
The Sergison is owned by Vintage Inns - one of the better pub/restaurant chains in my opinion. There was something for everyone on the menu, which is no mean feat; Angmering Daddy has adventurous food tastes, mine are moderately adventurous, my step-dad's are conservative and very British, whilst Munchkin will have a go at anything put in front of her. It ticks all my boxes for a child friendly hostelry... apart from there being a number of steps for small people to negotiate. High chairs are available, though we don't use one any more, and there's an easily accessible baby change area. The children's menu includes quite a lot of variety, including mini versions of some of the main menu dishes. Munchkin had BBQ Chicken followed by Churros. It was £6.95 for two courses and a drink, which I thought was reasonably good value. She scoffed the lot! I was pleased that the chicken was served with baby potatoes rather than chips. Vintage Inns provide children with a paper activity menu and a jar of crayons. The only drawback with this is that Munchkin drew on Daddy's menu.
On Sunday, we went to an old favourite of mine, Montagues Tex Mex in Worthing, with my step-sisters and their families. It was the first time we'd been there since Munchkin was born. There were nine of us, including Munchkin and her cousin, Flower. As always, the food was brilliant. Montagues offers children under 10 a free two course meal and drink if they are accompanied by an adult who orders a main costing at least £10, so it was free lunch for Munchkin and Flower. Like The Sergison, it has an activity menu and provides crayons, though Munchkin managed not to draw on any grown up menus this time. Munchkin had the Loaded Shells and Flower had the Quarter Back Rack. Both girls had Marshmallow Dream for dessert. Daddy helped Munchkin finish her marshmallows but I'm not sure she needed any help! The staff are friendly and very helpful. There's even a gluten free menu should you need it. Booster chairs are available. Unfortunately there's no baby change table. I changed Muchkin standing up in the ladies' but I wouldn't want to change a young baby in there.
We're going to The Bull in Ditchling this weekend, so I'll add a review if I remember.
This weekend, we went out for two meals. On Saturday, we visited my step-dad and went to The Sergison Arms in Haywards Heath. The Serg is a pub that I know well; it was originally called The Sergison Arms, then changed its name to The Dophin after a refurb and image change. It's recently changed its name back to The Sergison. Irrelevant fact = dolphins are in the Sergison family's coat of arms.
The Sergison is owned by Vintage Inns - one of the better pub/restaurant chains in my opinion. There was something for everyone on the menu, which is no mean feat; Angmering Daddy has adventurous food tastes, mine are moderately adventurous, my step-dad's are conservative and very British, whilst Munchkin will have a go at anything put in front of her. It ticks all my boxes for a child friendly hostelry... apart from there being a number of steps for small people to negotiate. High chairs are available, though we don't use one any more, and there's an easily accessible baby change area. The children's menu includes quite a lot of variety, including mini versions of some of the main menu dishes. Munchkin had BBQ Chicken followed by Churros. It was £6.95 for two courses and a drink, which I thought was reasonably good value. She scoffed the lot! I was pleased that the chicken was served with baby potatoes rather than chips. Vintage Inns provide children with a paper activity menu and a jar of crayons. The only drawback with this is that Munchkin drew on Daddy's menu.
On Sunday, we went to an old favourite of mine, Montagues Tex Mex in Worthing, with my step-sisters and their families. It was the first time we'd been there since Munchkin was born. There were nine of us, including Munchkin and her cousin, Flower. As always, the food was brilliant. Montagues offers children under 10 a free two course meal and drink if they are accompanied by an adult who orders a main costing at least £10, so it was free lunch for Munchkin and Flower. Like The Sergison, it has an activity menu and provides crayons, though Munchkin managed not to draw on any grown up menus this time. Munchkin had the Loaded Shells and Flower had the Quarter Back Rack. Both girls had Marshmallow Dream for dessert. Daddy helped Munchkin finish her marshmallows but I'm not sure she needed any help! The staff are friendly and very helpful. There's even a gluten free menu should you need it. Booster chairs are available. Unfortunately there's no baby change table. I changed Muchkin standing up in the ladies' but I wouldn't want to change a young baby in there.
We're going to The Bull in Ditchling this weekend, so I'll add a review if I remember.
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