Disclaimer: This was a PR visit but all opinions are my own.

I was recently invited for a meal at The Giggling Squid in Salisbury. This is a firm favourite in my family but this was the first time I'd visited.

First of all, I want to start by saying it has been newly decorated in there and the interior looks great. I took my mum along with me and we were lucky enough to sit at the most insta-worthy 'bird cage' table.

The food

Let's get straight into the main part - the food.

At the start of the meal, they brought over some prawn crackers which was great because I was really hungry. Then for starters, I had the duck spring rolls, and mum had the salt and pepper squid. Of course, we tried each other's and both were incredible.

For the main course, I had the giant butterfly prawn Pad Thai which was soooo nice. This was my first time trying Thai food and it turns out I am now a huge fan of Pad Thai. Definitely the best noodle dish I've had for sure. Mum had the sea bass on the summer menu which she really enjoyed. I did try it but it had a little too much spice for me (bearing in mind the spiciest thing I can eat is a tikka masala curry).

We also then had dessert even though we may not have had the room for one. I had the chocolate melt in the middle heart and mum had the caramelised mango cake. Again - both incredible.

Related: Cosmo Bournemouth restaurant review

The cocktails

Our first cocktails were from the summer menu. I had the pink and peachy which I was pleasantly surprised with actually. I thought it was just going to taste like pink gin and lemonade but it was really delicious and had such a lovely flavour. Mum had the midsummer mule which was also lovely. Safe to say they both went down well.

For our second cocktails mum had a lychee bellini which she didn't really like too much but she loved my Thai Sabai. Typical. The Thai Sabai was recommended to us by our fantastic waitress as it was her favourite. Apparently, they serve them all over Thailand!

The service

From the moment we arrived at The Giggling Squid we had excellent service. I think we were served by the manager as she didn't have a uniform on like her colleagues. She was really attentive and we could tell they all really cared about what we thought of the experience.

I'd have to give The Giggling Squid in Salisbury a 10/10 overall. There is literally nothing I can fault. The food, drinks, service and decor of the table we sat at were all amazing and I am so happy I have found a new favourite spot in Salisbury.

Related: The ultimate foodie guide to Salisbury

It was also great to try new things as well. You definitely need to try The Giggling Squid in Salisbury if you are local, or one near you!

Disclaimer: This visit was a PR invite but all opinions are my own.

I was recently invited to Cosmo, an all-you-can-eat buffet with cuisines from around the world, along with my friend Kitty. There are a few Cosmo restaurants across the country but I went to the Bournemouth one which I think is pretty new, another one near me is in Southampton.

Depending on which day you go and what time, the price for the all you can eat experience ranges from £19-£21 which in my opinion, is a pretty good price for what you get. They also add a 3% service charge which again is not bad.

The restaurant

My first impressions of the restaurant were good as the walkway from the front door to the front desk was stunning with lots of pretty pink flowers. It was also very busy which is a sign of a good restaurant. Although it was busy, the food was plentifully stocked at all times and it was all still hot.

I get a little apprehensive of buffets when thinking about food that has been sitting there but I could tell that their standards were high when it came to looking after the food that was out.

Another thing that I found really cool was they had robots! It was the first time I'd ever seen them in a restaurant before. These robot device things (whatever they are called) took plates away and they can also sing happy birthday. I am not very good at describing it but it was so cool and you should go and see for yourself!

The food

There was such a large range of food from all over the world. We started on the left-hand side with all the Asian dishes, then got to the European dishes. After that, there were burgers, etc and a carvery.

I mainly had Asian and Italian food. In true buffet style - I piled my plate(s) with a random mix of food. My favourite food was probably the Chinese food and the mac and cheese.

I would say this restaurant is very family-friendly and would be great to go to for kids' celebrations. There is a lot of picky-eater-friendly food, which was good for me too.

For dessert, there was a chocolate fountain, along with many other cakes and an ice cream machine - the chocolate fountain alone is enough to impress me.

I believe the soft drinks like Coke, Fanta, and so on are refillable, but with cocktails and alcoholic drinks, you have to pay per drink.

Related: Best pizza in Salisbury

The service

I couldn't fault the service at all it was brilliant. Even though you are left to your own devices a lot while going up and getting your own food, the staff were still really attentive and asked us how our food was. They were also super speedy at clearing plates away (this is needed when you are going up to get multiple plates).

Overall, I really enjoyed my meal at Cosmo in Bournemouth. The restaurant had a really nice interior, good food, fab service, and robots! It was a great experience and I'd definitely recommend going. All you can eat for around £20? Bargain.

Related: Blacklock Covent Garden review

Would you try Cosmo all you can eat buffet?

One of my favourite accounts to follow on Tiktok and Instagram is @foodguidelondon. It's run by a woman and sometimes her daughter and basically, if they have been to a restaurant in London and have enjoyed it, you will want to go!

One of her favourite restaurants in London is Blacklock, so I had to give this a try, especially because I recently went to London on a Monday and they do special deals on a Monday!

Blacklock is a steak restaurant that does sharing steaks so it's great to go with a group or for date night with just the two of you. I think they have a few restaurants across central London, and we went to the Covent Garden branch.

On Mondays, their steaks are at butcher's prices so the Porterhouse steak that we had would have been £9 per 100g but we got it for £6 per 100g. Our steak was 700g which for two people is about 12oz each.

The steak

If you are vegan, you should probably stop reading now.

We had the Portherhouse steak which is effectively a T-bone steak with mainly a sirloin cut, with a little bit of fillet down the other side of the bone.

They cut the steak for you which is great and the fat down the side was really easy to see and cut off.

For a starter, we tried the Cull Yaw crumpet, I only had a bit because I have a bit of a weird thing about crumpets, but the meat on it was amazing! It was slow-cooked mutton, I wasn't expecting much but it was really tasty.

With our steak as the main, we got the chips, the kale and parmesan salad (tried to get some greens on there) and the garlic and marrow rub for the steak, along with the gravy - which by the way, was the best gravy I've ever had.

Related: Flesh and Buns London review

We had the steak cooked rare as I was sharing and didn't mind as much, I would normally have mine cooked medium-rare but I still really enjoyed it - especially with the accompaniments.

I feel like Blacklock is quite an indulgent restaurant and would be perfect for a celebration, especially if you pay full price on any other day that isn't a Monday.

There were 2 of us and we paid around £50 each for a bottle of prosecco to share, a starter to share, the steak, 3 sides between us, and 2 steak sauces. There was also a 12.5% service charge added too so overall, I didn't think this was too bad. And I love getting money off so I'd definitely try to go on a Monday if you can, but it would be worth going any other day too because the food is 10/10!

The service

The service was also as good as the food. Our waitress was lovely and very knowledgeable. She explained the menu to us very well as we hadn't been before and she filled up our glasses of water and prosecco so often that we barely had to touch them ourselves.

I definitely want to go back on a Sunday to try their roast dinners now!

Related: Gordon Ramsay Bottomless Street Pizza review

Will you be adding Blacklock to your list?

Disclaimer: Some of the restaurants I have tried have been from a PR invite, but all opinions are my own. I have a put an asterisk* next to the ones that were a PR invite.

So a few years ago, I did actually write a blog post about where my favourite places to eat in and around Salisbury were, but I thought I could do it even bigger and better now. A lot of new places have opened since then, and I have also tried a lot of new places since then.

Also, I wrote that at a time when I didn't like Salisbury as much as I do now. When I was at uni I was so anti-Salisbury because I much preferred Bournemouth (where I went to uni) I still do prefer Bournemouth because I love the beach, but I have learned to appreciate my home city more.

If you didn't know, I live kind of near Salisbury but not really that close. I am about a 25-minute drive but because it is my closest city and I live in the middle of the countryside, I just say I'm from Salisbury.

I am making it my mission to try as many new things while I'm in my 20s as possible, that's why I have also written a list of restaurants I want to try in and around Salisbury, as well as showing you my favourite ones.

Anyway, enough about me - let's get onto the foodie info you really want to know! I have split them into categories of chains and independent restaurants in Salisbury. Then I have included some other faves that are worth driving to from Salisbury if you can.

Restaurants in Salisbury

Independent restaurants

Tinga*

Maul's 

Reeve The Baker

Pizza Venti*

Nole Pizza

The Salisbury Orangery

Naked Bagel

Chain restaurants

Cosy Club

Zizzi

Cote Brasserie

Wagamama*

The Giggling Squid*

Restaurants a short drive from Salisbury

Piazza - Amesbury, 17 min drive from Salisbury

Rosebourne - Weyhill, 28 min drive from Salisbury

The Crown Inn - Cholderton, 22 min drive from Salisbury

The Pembroke Arms - Wilton, 13 min drive from Salisbury

Cholderton Farm Shop - Cholderton, 22 min drive from Salisbury

The Malet Arms - Newton Tony, 22 min drive from Salisbury

Places I want to try

The Chapter House - Salisbury

Boston Tea Party - Salisbury

Lalahan - Salisbury

Grillado - Salisbury

Allium - Salisbury

Haunch of Venison - Salisbury

The Wig and Quill - Salisbury

Southern Quarter - Amesbury, 19 min drive from Salisbury

The Greyhound Inn - Stockbridge, 25 min drive from Salisbury

The Hawk Inn - Amport, 33 min drive from Salisbury

Marco Pierre White Steakhouse - High Post, 12 min drive from Salisbury

And there we have my ultimate foodie guide to Salisbury. Once I have tried restaurants from the list above, I will add them to my recommendations if they are worthy.

There are a lot more restaurants in Salisbury that I have heard good things about but I am still quite fussy with food even though I am trying to be better. There are some Indian and Thai restaurants that I have heard good things about if that is your thing!

Related: Greyhound at Corfe Castle review

Have you tried any of these restaurants? Let me know which ones you like the sound of, or if you have some Salisbury recommendations I haven't put on this list.

Visiting Flesh and Buns in Oxford Circus was a very big deal to me so I had to write about it. I am really fussy with food - you may know this if you have read my Being a Fussy Eater blog post. This was the first time I'd tried Japanese food or have been to a Japanese restaurant. 

Full disclaimer, my go-to cuisine is usually Italian but I am on a mission to venture out, especially when I visit London. I live in a place where the only Japanese food you can get is from Wagamama or Sushi in a Tesco meal deal.

Spoiler alert, I loved it here and this has opened me up to trying more new restaurants and trying more Japanese food.

I had seen Flesh and Buns reviewed on TikTok a lot and thought it would be the least scary place to try for Japanese food.

You might be thinking Flesh and Buns is a bit of a weird name, it's because their main thing is bao buns and meat, but they also have lots of small plates, sushi, and Poke Don bowls to choose from too. I am not sure if bao buns are technically Japanese. I believe they originated in China but they may have them in Japan too.

Just from walking into this restaurant, it felt very central London kind of posh vibes already so I knew we were in for a special meal just from walking in. Basically, the decor sets you up for the meal. We also sat right next to the lucky cat wall which I was excited about.

The drinks

To drink, I got their signature cocktail, the Lucky Cat. I had to go for this one even though it was their most expensive cocktail. It came in a lucky cat cup with a sparkler. They definitely use this novelty cocktail to make money and it worked on me! I thought it tasted quite nice but if it was in a different glass and didn't come with a sparkler, who knows if I would have felt the same? I can't even remember what flavour it was, I was too excited by the presentation.

Joe got Sake which he'd been wanting to try for a little while. He really liked it and I wasn't so sure when I gave it a try. It kind of just tasted somewhere between a strong white wine and a weak vodka to me, and I don't really like either of those things, but I'm glad I can say I've tried it.

The food

Now onto the main bit! First of all, we got some Seabass Sashimi to try which was so pretty and it was nothing like anything I have ever tasted before. It was amazing to try and I was so impressed with myself for liking it because I'm so fussy with food.

Second of all, we tried some of the small plates. I really wanted to try the beef fat potatoes as they looked so nice but sadly they had run out. Instead, I went for the corn tempura and Joe had chilli squid. The corn tempura was really nice, again, nothing like I'd had before but it got quite filling towards the end.

It was at this point I had to ask for a knife and fork as it turns out, I'm a bit of a chopper at using chopsticks. But I will keep trying! That was my first time so hopefully, I can become a pro soon.

Related: Gordon Ramsay bottomless street pizza review

For the main course, I had crispy duck leg with bao buns and Joe had the Chicken Teryaki Poke Don bowl. The bao bun and meat mains are quite expensive, it was just under £20 for my duck and you only get 2 buns and there other meat options that were closer to £30, but this is what I wanted to try. 

The Poke Don bowls are way cheaper and are around £12, so you can end up spending a lot here, or you can have a more budget-friendly meal.

And if that wasn't enough food, we both went for a dessert. I had the s'mores which came with a fire for you to roast your marshmallows on, and biscuits with chocolate. This was so messy but so good. I had to use a spoon in the end. Joe had a chocolate brownie with match ice cream that was also presented in a really impressive way.

I can never normally fit in a pudding but the food was so light and not too filling I was able to have one.

The bill

Our bill for basically 4 courses and a drink each came to around £106 for two, including a 12.5% service charge, which I didn't mind paying because we had great service. Because this was in central London, I don't think that price was too bad for all that food. The beauty of this place is, you can get as many or little courses as you want and can end up spending loads, or you can spend less than we did.

There are probably loads of restaurants similar to this around London that cost way less but it was a special meal and we loved trying new things here.

I would definitely recommend it here and can't fault anything.

Related: 7 fun things to do in Shoreditch

Will you be trying Flesh and Buns next time you're in Central London?

Since I have been trying a lot more foodie places lately, I thought why not review some restaurants as blog posts? Although, I only decided to write a blog after the fact and didn't think to get lots of pictures.

The latest place I have been that I thought would be good to review is Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza in Battersea. There are a few locations across London, but we decided to go to the Battersea one as it was the closest to where Joe (my boyfriend) lives.

It is located around Battersea Power Station, near the new tube station and it seems like everything around there is new - I'm not sure though. There are loads of restaurants around there and they have Birdies mini-golf and bar, so we went there beforehand.

The pizza

For Christmas, Joe's mum got us bottomless pizza for two at Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza, so we went there for a kind of Valentine's Day celebration. I love experience presents like this!

Our table was booked for around 6pm and as soon as we got there, we saw people walking around with the pizza. For the bottomless pizza, I believe it is £16pp for 2 hours of pizza, they do have a few sides too but the pizza was SO filling I didn't even look at the sides. Although we did get the garlic pesto dip which I would highly recommend!

As they are bringing round pizza so frequently, pretty much as soon as you sit down and order a drink you can start getting your pizza, on a slice by slice basis. For this reason, we got really full in about the first 20 minutes and couldn't even last the full 2 hours. So my advice would be to take your time.

For a drink, I had the special lemonade cocktail (I forget what it's called now) but it had vodka, limoncello and lemon and it was really tasty and refreshing. To be honest, the cocktails on the menu weren't really my thing, lots had elderflower so great if you like that but I don't really.

Related: Greyhound at Corfe Castle Review

There were five pizza flavours including the special which was nduja. Surprisingly the nduja special was actually my favourite as it wasn't spicy at all, but I found the pepperoni really spicy. The pizza itself was really good and it was a good thing it was really thin because it's more practical for fitting more slices in.

After the pizza though, I was the most full I'd been in ages. Did I have to secretly undo the button on my jeans and hide it with my scarf on my lap? Yes. I would NOT have been able to last the full 2 hours.

The service

The service was generally good although the waiters did forget things a couple of times, I think a few of them were new but that's ok. It was a busy Saturday and the main thing was the pizza - which was brought round VERY promptly.

Also, we were well looked after and were asked multiple times how everything was.

For sport lovers, they had football on in the background. Important information for dates if you want your football-mad partner to talk to you, maybe go on a day they don't have football on. Thank me later.

Overall rating

For the food, service and general ambience, I would give our experience an 8/10. Everything was great but would have given the extra two points for more pizza flavours and if the waiters hadn't forgotten to bring us our water.

I would definitely go there again and it was such a great gift for Christmas!

Related: 7 fun things to do in Shoreditch, London

Did you like this review? I am thinking of doing more as I try new restaurants and experiences.

Ok so I love cocktails and I love prosecco so I thought this would be an exciting post for me to write! I have been loving going out for cocktails lately but it's still good to know how to make some of your own at home. Whether you are having people round, or whether we are in lockdown number 107583.

If you're a prosecco drinker like me and would drink it anyway, then it's very handy to know how to make prosecco cocktails because they are simple but look far more impressive than just an ordinary glass (even though there is nothing ordinary about it). What is it Gino D'Acampo says? Minimum effort maximum satisfaction - and I live my life by that mantra.

Related: 5 cocktail recipes you need to try

Why Prosecco Cocktails?

I always want to try making different cocktails at home but it can be expensive, and just a lot of effort to buy lots of different ingredients. However, if you're going to drink prosecco anyway then you will already have one ingredient in. 

Also, they are just tasty and elegant and let's not lie, it will make you look fancy if you have guests over. Try any of these cocktails with champagne too if you're feeling really boujee.

5 Prosecco Cocktails you need to try

1. Kir Royale

This is a super easy cocktail, it's literally just a glass of prosecco with some creme de cassis (a fancy way of saying blackcurrant liqueur). At home we usually just use Chambord which is more widely available and tastes like a jammy doughnut. I am not going to give any measurements because everyone has different tastes, but its just a small bit of Chambord or your liqueur in your prosecco.

2. Peach Bellini

Again, super easy! It's just a glass of prosecco again with a little bit of peach puree added. You can make your own puree or just buy it.

3. Mimosa 

You may know of this as a Bucks Fizz, it's a glass of prosecco with orange juice. This is breakfasty for me, I probably wouldn't have it in the evening but a lot of people like it. I am thinking more brunch on holiday vibes. (I saw a video saying how we get away with day drinking by calling it brunch, SO TRUE)

Related: A-Z of date ideas

4. French 75

I hadn't actually heard of a French 75 until I read a blog post from Faye at Female Original. It is usually gin and champagne but as I thought I'd swap it for prosecco for this blog post. Faye has a great recipe to make a French 75 with Bobby's Gin.

5. Pink Gin Spritz

OK, I kind of stole this one from Slug and Lettuce, but we have had to recreate cocktails in various lockdowns when we haven't been able to get them out. This cocktail is a bit bigger than the others so I'd use a gin glass rather than a prosecco one for this. It's a double shot of gin, prosecco and then topped up with soda water or lemonade. Basically like a posh, stronger G&T.

And there we have 5 really easy prosecco cocktails you can try making at home. Which one would you love to try the most?

AD: PR Visit - This experience was gifted in exchange for a review but all opinions are my own.

This week I had the pleasure of visiting the Greyhound at Corfe in Dorset with my friend and partner in crime, Maddie. The Greyhound is a stunning old English pub right next to Corfe Castle, which of course meant there were stunning views in their pub garden area. We had originally booked to sit inside but the garden just looked so nice that we requested to sit out there with the sun shining too. There were also some really cute dogs so that was a plus!

Upon arrival we were greeted by the most lovely staff that just couldn't do enough for us, they were very attentive and chatty - I wish I caught their names now but we were served by a lot of people so I safely assume that they are all as friendly as each other.

Maddie and I both ordered the same thing which was nice, nobody got food envy. For a starter, we had the Dorset Crab Tien (when in Rome). It was really nicely presented and tasted amazing too!

After that, we had the beef and chorizo burger for a main accompanied with halloumi fries on the side. It was a mega burger, you definitely won't be leaving hungry if you order it. The halloumi fries were 10/10 although, I did wish there was a few more of them. 

Related: Places you need to visit in Dorset

We only had soft drinks but were very envious looking around at some of the cocktails, maybe next time.

If you are in Dorset or want to go then I'd definitely recommend visiting Corfe and the Greyhound. It's such a picturesque, historical village and did you know it's home to the smallest town hall in England? The Greyhound is such a lovely way to top off a great day out in Corfe.

I would definitely visit the Greyhound again, it's pub garden area is one of my favourites ever and the food and staff are both great.

Where have you been for food lately that you really enjoyed?

Related: A day at Sculpture by the Lakes in Dorset

Cheese is one of my favourite things ever and I would literally have a cheese night every night if I could. But as I want my jeans to still fit me, I will have a cheese night every so often as a treat. Because it's one of my favourite things to do, I will share with you my favourite cheeses to have on a cheese board. I will admit, I am not a huge wine connoisseur but I will work on it.

Disclaimer: I am not working with the companies mentioned, I just really love their products.

High end soft cheeses to include on your board

Brillat Savarin - I only discovered this cheese last year. We had it at Maul's cheese and wine bar in Salisbury and bought one from there as it was so amazing. It was pretty expensive, it was a wheel smaller than a camembert but I think it was around £8. However, if you love brie-like cheeses it is definitely worth it as a treat. It's similar to a brie, but instead of being made with milk it's made with full fat cream, so you will only need to eat a little bit at a time anyway. It tastes amazing with honey!

Tunworth - Tunworth is basically the British version of a camembert. We had it cold and it seemed to me creamier and a little softer than a camembert so I'm not sure how it would work if you wanted to melt it. However, I believe this is £8 again in Waitrose so I'd recommend using a camembert to melt as it's a lot cheaper and you don't want to ruin this cheese. Again, great for a treat if you want a high end cheese and tastes amazing if you like brie and camembert.

Lyburn Garlic and Nettle - A flavoured cheese is a must for a cheese board and this one tastes amazing. You can buy this one from Lyburn Farm in the New Forest, so it is pretty local for me. Definitely use your favourite flavoured cheese on your board, they have some in supermarkets, I've had the chive one from Tesco before which is nice.

Budget friendly soft cheeses to include

Brie - Obviously! My favourite is the round Castello brie that they have in Tesco for about £2 but I do love any brie, use your favourite.

Camembert - I feel like a melted camembert is a centrepiece and if you are having a cheese board with lots of other cheeses you might not need it. It's good to have as the main even though, with a couple other bits to go with.

Port Salut - This is good for anyone who doesn't really like strong cheeses, it kind of reminds me of a babybel. This is around £2 I believe, depending on which supermarket you go to.

Smoked Mozzarella - You should definitely choose a smoked cheese to go on your board and this is definitely a good one. It's quite mild so will be good for anyone who doesn't like their cheese too strong.

Boursin - amazing soft garlic cheese to put on bread or biscuits. Always a staple for me!

High end hard cheeses to include

Kirkham's Lancashire - This is a bit like a cheddar but obviously it's made in Lancashire. You can get this from The Fine Cheese Co for £5.80. It's a little more tangy and earthy than a cheddar so it's good if you like cheddar but want to try something with a more unique taste.

Stoney Cross - This is from Lyburn Farm again. It's a little softer than a cheddar and tastes a little more earthy and tangy. Definitely a good one to try if you want to support a local New Forest farm shop.

Budget friendly hard cheeses to include

Cheddar - Everyone's favourite, every cheese board needs a cheddar and you can get lots of different kinds so it's whatever suits you. I do like a classic cathedral city but a lot of local cheese companies will have some form of cheddar if you wanted to support a local supplier.

Red Leicester - I have to admit, I always forget about Red Leicester cheese, but it tastes amazing and is good if you like mild cheese again.

Stilton - You either love it or hate it but every cheese board needs a blue cheese. I haven't really found the right blue cheese for me yet and I don't really like stilton too much, but it's just the easiest option for a budget blue cheese. Replace this with your favourite blue cheese if it's another. I am still on the hunt to find a blue cheese that I like the taste of.

Manchego - I only tried this for the first time recently and really enjoyed it even though it is quite hard an crumbly and I'm more of a soft cheese girl. It's a bit like parmesan but not as strong and you can eat it on it's own easily. I find parmesan too much to eat by itself but I love it on top of pasta!

Pair your cheeses with your favourite wine and charcuterie. I mainly drink prosecco or rose wine but there are lots of reds that go really well with cheese. I like to put different breads, biscuits and meat with my cheese, so just pick your favourite. The best thing about doing your own cheese board is that you can make it personal to you with all of your favourite things on there.

What's your favourite cheese? Let me know in the comments.

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Related Read: 5 Cocktails to Try at Home

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