Cardiff Archives - Munchies and Munchkins

*AD. This meal was gifted for the purpose of a review*

You’ll have probably noticed that I don’t write many restaurant reviews. I often find that the amount of work that becomes tied up with what is considered a free meal out doesn’t always feel like a valuable use of my time and also sometimes I just want to sit down and enjoy a meal without taking any photos. This isn’t meant to sound ungrateful, I massively appreciate the perks that blogging offers but it’s just how it is at times. Sometimes however things come about at the right time and when we were invited to visit both Grey’s at Hilton and an exciting Dinosaur day out in Cardiff for the girls, I immediately said yes.

My mother and I took both girls up for a day out in the Capital, travelling up on the train and making the day a bit of an adventure, they had a ball. I haven’t really done much in terms of blog related stuff with the girls for a while and Izzy especially found it pretty exciting that we were so well looked after and even more so that we got to see the dinosaurs before the general public.

I have visited Grey’s previously with some blogger friends and enjoyed but that was just for a quick glass of prosecco. This time we were invited to try their midweek lunch deal and I was keen to see what they had to offer. Grey’s is a small but perfectly formed modern restaurant based on the ground floor of The Hilton hotel. We visited last summer ( 2018 ) – due to the fact that I have taken some time off from blogging the review is more than a little delayed but if you follow me on social media you will have seen my many stories and images at the time we visited.

Some of the dishes we enjoyed are no longer on offer but I am seeing lots of good things on social media so I would encourage you to go see what they currently have on the menu. Based on our experience and the 4.5 stars they have on trip advisor I can’t imagine you will be disappointed. I especially like that the current menu has a whole section just for eggs – eggs are underrated.

Dining out with a child with allergies is always tricky and often you are made to feel a little awkward, I’m pleased to say this wasn’t the case at Grey’s. They dealt with Chloe’s allergies with ease and made sure she had options. Whenever I review I like to watch how the staff treat other diners, because after all when they know you are reviewing I am sure most sensible establishments make sure you have very little to complain over. The restaurant wasn’t overly busy on our midweek lunch visit but there was one other large party and a few smaller tables dining at the same time and I was happy to note that everyone was treated well – promptly and politely. The restaurant has a cool, relaxed vibe and was clean and a pleasure to dine in. But onto the food…

My mother and I started off with light salads, my mother really enjoyed the mackerel and mine was delicious too. Fresh, crispy salad is always what I want come the summer months and the creamy mozzarella was a treat. The girls had crudités and houmous which they both loved.

Onto the mains, both girls really liked their dishes. Izzy had fish and chips and Chloe had a roasted chicken bun with chips – adapted for her due to her gluten allergy. Chloe was incredibly happy that she could have chips – this may seem minor to some but for a 5 year old girl who is told on most occasions that a jacket potato or boiled potato is the only menu option she was thrilled. As you can see!

The meals were plentiful and Chloe’s chicken was delicious, there was so much in the bun that we all had a little try!

My mother and I opted for a roast chicken dish ( my mum) and chorizo and pea risotto ( me). We were both impressed with the flavour, quantity and aesthetic appeal of our dishes and both plates were empty pretty quickly!

For dessert the girls had an ice cream while we enjoyed a coffee. The coffee was excellent and I am a little fussy with coffee so a big thumbs up there.

Overall we were all more than happy with our lunch, from the food to the service and atmosphere. Next up I’d love to try their bottomless brunch which at £27 for two courses and free flowing prosecco for 90 minutes sounds a bit special, anyone tried it?

And in case you were wondering the Dinosaur day out was pretty cool too!

Thanks to Grey’s for inviting us and looking after us. As stated above our meals were complimentary for the purpose of this review.

Afternoon tea for me always makes me think of Alice In Wonderland and the Mad Hatters party. Mounds of cakes, tea cups and smiles.

Today was all of the above. We spent a very enjoyable two hours at the Park Plaza Cardiff sampling their new Easter afternoon tea.

First up let me tell you what’s included:

We made a rather big and possibly silly decision to take a 3 year old for afternoon tea at a posh hotel BUT it was all good. Not only did Izzy think it was pretty amazing that she got a whole stand of food just for her..and that we weren’t limiting her intake of cakes or jam but she behaved impeccably.

Apart from sticking her fingers into the cream.. and the jam and to scoop the marshmallows out of her hot choc of course but hey she is only 3 after all. Her hot chocolate which they gave her in place of tea/coffee was amazing..full of marshmallows which she loved and it even looked like it and a smile on the side 🙂

In fact I heard two elderly ladies discussing that polite, pretty little girl and how good she was and I did that little smile when you know you shouldn’t be listening but you are so proud you can’t help it.

Izzy doesn’t often get one on one attention these days with a demanding little sis who hasn’t got very good health right now so it was nice to spend a day just enjoying her and her funny little personality. Nice to not hear me telling her to watch her crumbs because Chloe is allergic and to just listen to her random chatter.

Anyway back to the food. Ah the food. This was our second visit to Park Plaza – our first for afternoon tea and I was wowed. I’ve had a fair few afternoon teas and this is high up there amongst the best.

Each tea is prepared fresh to order so you can expect a short wait but you can start enjoying your tea/coffee or champagne in the meantime.

I love that the tea is served in a proper tea pot with a tea strainer and they instruct you on how long to leave it before removing depending on what strength you like. My tea was perfect. I had four cups!

We had four varieties of sandwiches – we opted out of the salmon and instead had an extra ham with a delicious mustard.
Each sandwich was fresh, without that slightly crisp texture bread can get when left out for more than 10 minutes. There we several different types of breads and they also cater for allergies and we were asked before being served if we had any special requirements – a major plus in my book.

The scones and hot cross buns were clearly freshly baked and the jam, clotted cream and butter were lovely additions. In fact the hot cross bun was one of my favourite parts.

A nothing thing I really enjoyed which I didn’t expect to was the lemon jelly topped with meringue. I imagine the meringue would be too sweet for my taste and the jelly too sharp but it was neither of those things. The meringue was caramelly ( I made that word up ) and the jelly had subtle lemon flavour but was not at all sharp. In fact it was incredible. Just the right size too. Delicious.

The cupcakes and macarons looked and tasted amazing.. I shared some of Izzys but there was no way we could finish all of ours too so they thoughtfully provided boxes for us to package it up to take home. Looking forward to enjoying them with a cuppa this afternoon.

The Easter afternoon tea is only available for the month of April so I would highly recommended making a booking soon. It was busy there yesterday so definitely check for availability in advance. Also the staff are incredibly friendly and seem to enjoy serving children so don’t be afraid to take your little ones with you.

*We were provided with our afternoon tea free of charge for the purpose of this review.

Eating Out In Cardiff – Grey’s At The Hilton

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Easter Afternoon Tea At Park Plaza Cardiff

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