This post is not sponsored. I was gifted a three course dinner for myself and a plus one, at the Riverside Inn. All thoughts and opinions are my own. All of the photos in this blog post were taken by James Reilly (thanks babe!).
Christmas is about spending time with friends, family, giving presents and most importantly, the food. It’s one of the big parts of the day and everyone’s work has their very own Christmas party with a massive meal that no one can eat, or you go round to your boyfriend’s house for an early Christmas dinner and things like that. Christmas seems to revolve around food. Not that I’m complaining! Food is incredible! In fact, I love going round to the local restaurants and finding the best Christmas dinner, and the Riverside did not disappoint!
James and I headed on over to The Riverside in Tuckton to try their festive menu. Before we got in, there was reindeer just stood in the car park. Now, the reindeer are not there all the time, but it was a lovely touch, and got me into the festive spirit.
What was super nice about this menu was that it wasn’t your standard festive menu. Yes, it did have the classics on their, but it also had other meals that aren’t particularly festive, so if you have over done it with the roast turkey, other options include a steak and a burger.
They also offer festive cocktails.
James went for the Festive espresso martini and I went for the festive Pornstar Martini. My cocktail was delicious! You can’t go wrong with a pornstar martini, especially if it’s a festive one!
There were so many options for starters. I wanted to try them all, however I settled on tomato soup (which had vegetable crisps in, which is something that I have never thought about doing before, and I am pretty sure that I couldn’t live without from now on!) and James went for the seared scallops with crisp pancetta and minted pea puree. The soup was incredible. It was lovely and thick and like I previously said, the addition of the vegetable crisps made it incredible. James let me try a little bit of his scallops (which is something that I have never tried before) and they were delicious. I would very much have them again. I’m pretty certain James enjoyed them too as he seemed to (almost) lick his plate clean!
For the mains…
I obviously went for the classic roast turkey, (however, I nearly went for the burger, but as it is Christmas, you just have to have the turkey am I right?). James went with the pork belly and for cheek. According to James the pork was scrumptious. The turkey was also superb. When having a Christmas dinner out, I have always come to expect that the turkey will be dry, however, I was pleasantly surprised with this meal. Also, the pigs in blankets were divine. I can’t believe I was so generous and shared mine with James!
I was getting super full at this point, so for dessert I opted for a creme brûlée. This was super creamy and delicious, and James went for the chocolate brownie (which he was super pleased with the fact that he didn’t have to share that with me as I don’t like chocolate). The chocolate brownie disappeared within a couple moments of the dessert arriving to the table, so I am assuming he enjoyed it. The creme brûlée was delicious!
James and I had such a lovely time at the Riverside.
The food was delicious and the staff were so attentive and lovely. It was also lovely to see everyone, as per usual.
Thank you so much to The Riverside Inn and the Bournemouth Bloggers for the invite. The meal was delicious, and I am sure James and I will be back there again! Also thank you to James for taking all of the pictures.
