A birthday treat

Wednesday was my little princess' 9th birthday- time really does fly!

We had a fantastic meal out as a family, my sister and her hubby and three children came too. We went to a local pub which is a ten minute drive away. I drive past it everyday on my way to work but I have never been in. It was Fab!

I didn't book a table before we went (I forgot!). There were 8 of us and staff said no problem, give me a moment and I'll set one up for you he got us some drinks for while he did this. A tab was set up so we could just order all drinks and pay when we were ready. When it came to ordering the food the young lad again was very helpful, the children could have a smaller version of any of the adult meals or they could do chicken nuggets. My niece opted for a creamy mushroom pasta, Stephanie and my nephews chose the nuggets. Dylan had a curry and I had slow roasted minted leg of lamb. When the food came out I was shocked- the children's portions were what i would have served as an adult portion. Mine was a whole 1/2 shoulder of lamb- I'd just expected some! The children's meals came with peas, but they wanted carrots broccoli etc too. This was no problem either, the staff just put bowls of different vegetables on the table for children to help themselves from. I didn't photograph any of the food- we just tucked straight in. It was delicious. I didn't clear my plate as much as I wanted to I just couldn't fit it in. We waited a while then the children asked for desserts. Again staff were accommodating of the children- Stephanie wanted chocolate cake which came with a choice of ice cream, custard or cream. When I queried which cream it was the young man said it would be no problem to change the double cream to squirty  cream that she wanted. Again when the portions came out the children's desserts were adult sized and delicious.

 A playful break between courses. We had a corner of the eating area to ourselves so we allowed the children to play calmly by the table as we weren't impacting on anyone elses meals etc. This was encouraged by the staff, who joked along with the children.

That glass dish above is the children's ice cream dessert, almost all eaten.

When we arrived the staff put the cake I had bought with me into the kitchen. Once we had finished eating they brought it out. With all candles lit. We were sat near to the kitchen, but they must have 2 entrances as they came out in a different place so they walked all through the pub with the candles lit. All of the staff joined in singing happy birthday- as did all of the other customers. Stephanie was made up!

After we had paid the bill we went outside. The pub are in the process of setting up a mini zoo. They have some animals, but discussion with the staff informed us that they are intending to get more including; ponies, and monkeys. We saw some of the animals, however there are lots more enclosures we couldn't access as staff were working on the meerkats enclosure ready for their arrival this weekend. We will definitely be going back soon. I could see us easily sitting in the garden enjoying the animals. 

Of course my water baby spotted water before me and jumped straight in. Again staff were fab and we happy for children to play for a few minutes before we bundled them dripping get into the car. In our case home with blowers on full heat and straight in the shower. Good job it is so close to home!