Hello all! Firstly, what do you all think of my new layout? I really fancied a change and wanted something completely different too! I'm still tweaking bits at the moment but hopefully you all like it :)
Today I have part 2 of our little family break away to Butlins! If you missed the first part, just click here to read about our accommodation and the gorgeous view! Included in our break was the Premium Dining plan which meant Breakfast and dinner were included in the price, and we had the opportunity to either it in any of the 2 buffet style restaurants or we would be given vouchers up to a certain value for any of the other restaurants on the site! These include The Diner, Turner's, The Deck Restaurant, South Coast Restaurant, Kaleidscope, Beachcomber Inn, Papa John's & Burger King, as well as a few little cafe's and bars too! We decided to pop over to The Deck for dinner on the first night, we'd heard good things about it before we came so thought a quick and easy buffet style would be better for us as we were all knackered! The staff were lovely and showed us where everything was and explained everything to us in detail, all with a smile on their face too which made us feel a bit more relaxed after a long car journey!
I was actually a little disappointed with the options if i'm honest, there were signs telling you what was available such as Pasta, pizza etc, however there wasn't actually any pasta or pizza to be seen and most of the sections were foodless! We arrived at 5pm so maybe we were a little early but expected a bit more of variety really. Luckily I wasn't very hungry so I grabbed Abbie some sausages, chips and beans which she absolutely loved and I nicked a few of her chips! Ben on the other hand was in heaven with the options and had a bit of everything!
Aside from the lack of options for the main course, I can't fault the variety of fruit and desserts! I loaded Abbie up with watermelon slices and apple which again she loved and Ben treated himself to Jelly and cream, a rice krispie cake and some chocolate cake too! All of which he enjoyed! :)
For breakfast we ate at the Shoreline Restaurant just downstairs from our room, mainly for convenience but also because they had everything we could possibly need and more to ensure we were nice and full up and ready to start our day! Both times we turned up there was a little queue but we were warned about this on one of our welcome leaflets so we didn't mind at all, plus the longest we had to wait was about 90 seconds anyway!
As we were on holiday we decided to treat ourselves to a full english breakfast and it was probably one of the best i've eaten! Such a big choice of food was available, with vegetarian sausages, pork sausages, bacon, fried eggs, scrambled eggs, hash browns baked beans (Heinz), mushrooms and toast! I think we had a serving of everything each! If a full english isn't your cuppa tea, there are lots of other options including pancakes, croissants, pain au chocolates, a wide range of fruits, yoghurts, cereals and a selection of cakes too! Literally everything you could possibly need, and something each member of the family will enjoy (including any fussy eaters too!). What I love as well is you can specially order poached eggs, salmon and other alternatives at no extra cost, the staff are always happy to accommodate anything for you! Talking of staff, they were always so friendly and smiley and were always helping us to pick up everything Abbie dropped, they cleared our plates away within a few minutes. We ended up eating here on 2 mornings it was so yummy!
We headed over to The Diner for the second night to try out their 50's style menu! After being on a diet for 3 months we really wanted to kinda go all out and treat ourselves to some yummy food, the menu is huge and has something for everyone, from giant burgers (and I mean GIANT), hotdogs, pasta, popcorn chicken, BBQ ribs, Nacho's wraps, Salads and lots LOTS more! We had both planned on having desserts as the amazing sundaes kept catching our eyes! However we were so full from our main that we couldn't possibly fit in another bite (next time, next time!).
I am in love with the decor at The Diner, i'm a bit of a retro lover and this was so warm and welcoming, with disco lights floating around the room as well and the occasional song from one of the lovely waitresses too, Abbie loved the whole atmosphere and even had a little boogie with the other kids after her meal!
I chose the Classic Beef Burger which is; A prime 6oz British beef burger topped with crisp lettuce, sliced beef tomato and gherkins! I then decided to add a topper to mine and went for the BBQ sauce and Montery Jack Cheese, mmmm! The burger came with a good amount of fries and some homemade coleslaw too, I can honestly say this was probably the BEST buger I have ever eaten, it was juicy, seasoned well, filling and a generous portion, the chips were only lightly salted which is much much nicer and I was pleasantly surprised by the coleslaw, it tasted so fresh and even tempted me to find out the recipe!
Ben went for the New York Slick Hotdog "A thicker smoky Krakaeur sausage topped with crispy bacon, BBQ sauce and aged cheddar cheese sauce!" Although looking at the picture it doesn't look as appetising as the burger, Ben said it was easily the best hotdog he'd eaten too, the photo doesn't actually do it any justice when it comes to size, it was a good 3/4 foot long! Again this was served in a yummy Brioche bun with a bed of crispy fries! So so delicious!
After dinner we had a nice long walk around and couldn't resist the freshly made doughnuts at one of the outdoor stalls! I haven't had these since I lived in Essex about 14 years ago so I was excited to have them again! They were so naughty but so delicious, I could've easily gone back for another 10! Haha.
For our final night we decided to pop over to Papa Johns! We haven't ever tried their pizzas so thought this was be a great time to try it! I just want to apologize for the crappy pictures now, it was pretty dark in the restaurant and I had to use the flash (bleugh!), but you can see the food clearly still! I chose a medium Chicken BBQ pizza, and was a little surprised how small it was but that just made it easier to eat the whole thing ;) muaha. Service was a little slower here but it was crazy busy so to be expected, we waited a good 20 minutes for our food, but when it arrived it was definitely worth the wait! Everything tasted yummy, the pizzas were soft and fresh and both Ben & I enjoyed a whole pizza to ourselves!
Although there wasn't a kids menu online or on the Butlins website, inside the restuarant there is a little one for them to have a look through! None of it really appealed to us for Abbie so we ordered her the Chicken with asparagus and sun blushed tomatoes pasta from the main menu and she literally ate 3/4 of it! But it was absolutely delicious anyway and I'd happily order that again for her or for myself! I liked how they used different pasta's too as opposed to the usual wheat penne!
Overall we were really impressed with the food options here, aside from the first night the food was fab quality and so delicious! Something for everyone, even the fussy eaters! Next time I think we will have to have desserts too ;)
x
