The Chocolate Teapot - North Devon Cafe

I love visiting new cafes and restaurants in my town and supporting independent businesses. Any new cafe which serves hearty portions of cake will grab my attention. After a bit of buzz on Facebook a new cafe called The Chocolate Teapot opened earlier this month.

It was this chocolate dipping platter which caught my eye.

This chocolate sharing platter (£4.95) came with a pot of white chocolate and milk chocolate sauce. The goodies to dip included flapjack, rice-crispy treats, marshmallows, strawberries, chocolate brownie, cinder toffee chunks and a chocolate pencil. 

The platter was lovely, just enough to satisfy my sweet tooth craving, it went down nicely with this hot chocolate which was around £2. 

The hot chocolate consisted of warm milk with liquid chocolate drizzled at the bottom of the glass. It came with a wooden spoon to stir the liquid chocolate with the milk to create a smooth, sweet and creamy drink. 

I also had a prawn sandwich before all the sweet treats (£3.95) while my husband had a toasted sandwich. An observation in terms of service was that it would have been nice to be offered condiments especially with the toasted sandwich. 

The cafe itself has lovely outside seating area which seemed popular with mums and pushchairs. We took Joshua down and sat outside to eat out lunch, he was happy watching the world go by before having his bottle. 

The Chocolate Teapot's menu has a lot of variety and there were some lovely fresh cakes on the counter to choose from. I was impressed they even had gluten free options which a lot of places don't cater for.

I am also eyeing up the Ultimate Hot Chocolate which consists of hot milk and a chocolate cup with Belgian chocolate buttons. You can melt the chocolate in the milk, this kind of DIY is right up my street. The drink also comes with fudge, salted caramel and chocolate as well as a biscuit and marshmallows. 

All in all a lovely place with friendly staff and wide variety of food, drink and delicious cakes.

Sunset cocktail in Devon

My husband and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary on April 13. My mum offered to baby sit Joshua for us so we could go out for a meal. Joshua was born on April 2 and I felt so guilty for leaving him to have supper out but it was only for a couple of hours and he was in great hands. 

We went to a restaurant in North Devon called The Blue and Green which specialises in woodfire pizza and surf and turf which is apt seeing as the restaurant over looks the sea. I kicked off the evening with a non-alcoholic cocktail which was a delicious blend of fruit and fizz. 

To start with we both went for the individually baked Camemberts which were served with ciabatta bread, caramelised onion and salad. The cheese was also spiked with cloves of garlic and rosemary. 

The starter went down a treat because throughout pregnancy I avoided cheeses, including brie and camembert, which were mould-ripened. Isn't funny when you know you can't/shouldn't have a particular food you crave it more. 

For mains Luke had a calzone and I had a sirloin steak with all the trimmings including onion rings, chips, salad, mushroom and creamy sauce, ah, heaven. 

Neither of us could stomach a pudding after the monster meal so we settled the bill and headed to the beach for a stroll. There was the most amazing sunset and there is something calming about breathing in the salty sea air. 

After the walk we decided there was room for pudding so we grabbed a locally made ice-cream on the way home....

Cook Island Free House: Pub Grub: Lasagna, chips and warm waffles

I love going out to eat, in fact, it is bit of a problem, I need to ease up on my habit! Going out for some warming pub grub after work on a dark and blustery night then heading home to curl up on the sofa is my idea of heaven. 

Recently I went to a place in North Devon called Cook Island which is a family friendly pub near Ilfracombe. 

I went with a friend and we had hunter chicken, lasagna and of course pudding! I had warm waffles with chocolate and caramel sauce and icecream, my friend had sticky toffee pudding and custard.

Despite eating there during the Christmas holidays and the pub being packed with large families our food came out promptly.

The food itself was comforting and filling, I mean, you can't really go wrong with a cheesy lasagna, chips and salad. 

Price wise I couldn't grumble, main courses were around the £14 mark while the puddings were around the £6 mark. 

Which do you prefer? A boozy Saturday night out, or a chilled out put supper?

Tea On The Green: Doorstop sandwiches and mega cakes

Sometimes a light bite and copious amounts of tea are just what the doctor ordered. Recently I have been battling a nasty chest infection, I am on antibiotics and am slowly starting to feel better. 

On Sunday I went out for a quick brunch with my husband. We went to Tea On The Green in Westward Ho! North Devon.

First of all, can we just take a moment to appreciate these beautiful cakes.

Each weekend the family-run cafe posts its weekend cake reveal which is a taster of what to expect for the coming week.

See that white, milk and dark chocolate sponge on the bottom right of the picture? That was their New Year cake. I bought a slice to take home, my husband went for a Banoffi Pie.

I had a prawn doorstop sandwich while hubby went for a two-slice cheese melt. Bliss. We also had a pot of tea for two. 

Where are your fav places to go for a quick bite?

PREZZO: Crab cakes, mushrooms and gorgonzola chicken

I have always been a big fan of going out for meals. I would much rather go out to a nice pub or restaurant for supper than on a night out drinking. Now I am pregnant I am avoiding alcohol all together, I know the doctors say you can have alcohol is small amounts, but I am not drinking at all during my pregnancy, that's just my personal choice. 

I went to Prezzo recently with my husband for lunch. I love Prezzo, it is a chain restaurant which does pasta, pizza and grill dishes. I never pay full price in Prezzo, I will always get a voucher for money off the meal.

Usually we both have the mozzarella in carrozza to start with. This is a wedge of deep fried mozzarella cheese in breadcrumbs served with pomodoro sauce. Unfortunately on this visit they had run out, which I thought was a bit odd seeing as we went for lunch at 1pm.

Anyway in the end I ended by choosing the baked mushrooms to start with while Luke had the crab cakes which came with garlic mayo.

My baked mushrooms were stuffed with grana pandano and mozzarella cheese, garlic, onions and breadcrumbs. This was served with a little side salad and garlic mayo. It was delicious and just the right amount for a starter. 

I had a try of Luke's crab cakes which were delicious, the crab meat was chunky. I hate it when places do crab cakes which are smooth, almost like a paste, yuck. These were lovely and just the right size for a starter. 

For main Luke had penne al pollo zafferano which is penne pasta with chicken, red chilli, baby spinach and garlic with a saffron sauce. The saffron is what gives the pasta that rich red creamy colour. Luke always covers his pasta in grated cheese.

I had grilled chicken with gorgonzola which had field mushrooms and leeks in a rich creamy white sauce. You also get a choice of sides, I always go for skinny house fries.

The chicken was butterflied which I really like and the sauce was perfect, not too heavy. I much prefer creamy sauces to tomato based ones. 

By that point we were both so full so couldn't manage pudding although I was eyeing up the chocolate fudge cake. 

Do you have a Prezzo where you live? If so, what do you think?