Thursday 30 October 2014

Weekend in Southampton - Restaurant Reviews

So last weekend I went to Southampton to visit my friend that goes to university there.
We went to a couple of restaurants including Trago, Loch and Fyne (Winchester) and 7 Bones.

Trago is a bar/restaurant in Southampton. There was no-one to greet us at the door and instead you just find a table and sit down. We went up to the bar to order our food, I ordered the mac n cheese (I was craving it!) with kale and cauliflower. We were prompted that there would be a 45 minute wait and it took over 50 minutes for mine to arrive! If this was London, complaints would be out the door! Everything seemed so chill here. The atmosphere was quite nice, no noisy drunk men or overly loud ladies. The portion size was small and I was a bit disappointed. Whilst the food was average, I felt like I could've eaten another plate! I would give this place a 6/10.


On Saturday, we went to Winchester for the day and stopped at a fish restaurant called 'Loch and Fyne' for lunch. We were greeted by friendly staff instantly and I knew I was going to have a great restaurant experience already. We chose from the set menu which was 2 courses for £10.25. I chose the mackerel and bread for starters then I had mussels with fries for my main. The food was amazing! Although there was a bit of a wait for the waiter to come and take our order it was soon dismissed as he apologised several times for this. I was so full afterwards and my wallet wasn't much lighter which is a bonus! I would give this place a 9/10. I would definitely come here again.


On Sunday we went to 7 Bones. Which is an American diner themed place serving burgers and hotdogs. I ordered a chilli hotdog with fries (again, I know) with a salted caramel milkshake. Firstly, my milkshake came without the caramel on top, I only noticed when another person had ordered it and saw that, I didn't bother complaining as I was already half way through it and I just cba haha. I have to admit, the portion sizes were big so I was very full after it, however, the food wasn't particularly great and the staff seemed very chill, as if they hated being there and they wanted another job. Very unprofessional. I didn't really have a good dining experience and it was very costly. I would give this place a 4/10.


The only good thing with these restaurants in Southampton/Winchester is that they don't add on service charge unlike London haha.

Has anyone had any good/bad dining experiences that they want to share or have even been to any of the three above? :)

Saturday 18 October 2014

GIVEAWAY COMPETITION!

As you may or may not know I run my own little online jewellery store. (Novemberquartz.bigcartel.com) So, I've decided to do a little giveaway on here!

The winner will be able to win one each of the 3 different earrings. (Hamsa hands, wings and key)
All you have to do to win is like/share this post and comment what outfit you would wear the earrings with! (Must be following me on bloglovin') 

Entries close at 10am GMT on 17th November, sorry this is open to UK entries only. I will contact the winner shortly afterwards to arrange delivery. However, if the winner doesn't respond within 7 days after first contact, another winner will be randomly chosen.

Looking forward to reading all your comments, thanks and good luck all!!! :)

Saturday 11 October 2014

The Maze Runner + The Imitation Game Reviews (No Spoilers)

This week I saw two incredible films: The Maze Runner and The Imitation Game.

The Maze Runner is about a group of boys released one by one each month into an unknown location surrounded by a maze. They have made that place their home; where they herd goats, make their own homes + clothes and hunt for their own food. The maze is a series of high, moving concrete walls and it shuts every night and opens up every morning, it is deemed highly dangerous as what is inside remains a mystery. None of them know why they have been placed there nor remember anything about themselves apart from their names. It isn't until a boy named Thomas (Dylan O'Brien') and Teresa (Kaya Scodelario) turn up and they are left a note which says "She is the last one, ever".....

I thought the film was brilliant, the actor was great and the storyline was confusing at times however it adds to the mysterious aura of it which makes you gagging for more! The film is 112 minutes long but I love action packed films because they always go so quickly and you are on the edge of your seat the whole time so when it's finished you are suddenly aware of your surroundings! If you loved The Hunger Games, you will definitely love this. The film also starres Will Poulter who was in the highly recognised film "We're The Millers". I loved him in that so was happy to see how he could portray a character in an action movie. 

As the film was based around these teenagers, it is such an awesome opportunity for them to become the next faces of Hollywood, and I think this was the director's motive. It is great to see two young Brits become increasingly famous in this industry!

I can't wait for the second installment now!

The Imitation Game is about a war hero named Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) who cracked the Enigma Code of the second world war. The MI6 division kept this a government secret for the past 50 years until today. It tells the story of his determination to end the war with Germany and the prejudice that he encountered throughout this.

This film was incredibly good!! When I first heard about this film, I was unsure as I knew nothing about what the Enigma code was or anything about the second world war. So it was definitely a history lesson for me too. It has also been described as similar to 'The King's Speech' which I found very boring so I wasn't sure If I would enjoy this film. However, Benedict Cumberbatch was exceptional, and I can now finally understand why so many people are obsessed with him! He is an amazing actor and he really did justice for his part; he played Alan Turing really well. One of my favourite actresses, Kiera Knightly was also in the film. She helped Alan to crack the code as part of MI6. I always loved the films she is in and this one was no different! Both actors are top class which made this film A+ for me, the acting is believeable and emotional at the same time.

I am not going to post too much information on here, but I can truly say that this film is extraordinary and you can learn the history of the true story behind the Enigma code and the second world war and how heroic and yet tragic the whole story was for Alan Turing. An exceptional piece. This needs to win a Bafta.

The Maze Runner is out in UK cinemas now! The Imitation Game is out in UK cinemas on the 19th November!

Will you be seeing any? :)