Reaching New Heights 

With this in mind - myself, my husband and my young daughter all descended on this new eatery last Friday evening to see what they had on offer for three very different critics.

 

 

First up before any food touched our lips were our smoothies. These on their own filled us up nicely and Mya was asking for more before she had even finished her cupful.

 

We went for the Sunrise (orange, banana and strawberry), Mango Mama (mango, strawberry, banana, orange and apple juice) and the Ginger Blast (fresh ginger, pineapple, red apple, elderflower cordial and banana).

 

They were all very refreshing and had a kick to them, nicely setting our palates up for our varied dinners.

 

Being three years old, Mya’s dinner came from the child’s menu and was the grilled chicken breast and salad, with sweet potato fries.

 

She really liked the grilled chicken (any mum knows if they eat it all, they like it) and this was definitely a generous size for a kid’s portion.

 

For our starters, I had the chicken potstickers – which were fried chicken dumplings with orange, carrot and a miso glaze and soy-chilli sauce and my husband had orange bbq duck tostada. That was a crisp corn tortilla which had sticky orange pepper bbq duck, shredded salad and fresh red chilli on top. (The red chilli made the salad according to the other half!)

 

The potstickers were deceptively filling and the miso glaze gave it the tangy sensation it needed, whilst the bbq duck tostada was the first experience of this type of meat for Mya as she stole some of it off dad’s plate!

 

So onto the mains for us adults and I opted for the vegetarian option, which was goats’ cheese, pesto and grilled veggie focaccia. This dish included grilled courgette, red pepper, aubergine, rocket and basil pesto. This was an amazingly satisfying dish and the combination of the crunchy bread and the soft fillings complemented each other nicely.

 

My husband’s choice of piri piri grilled half chicken had to be partly left in order to make room for desert but once again, he was a fan of the fiery red chilli. The only negative comment to come out of his mouth was the fact that the chicken was a bit on the dry side.

 

Right, onto desert! Of course Mya had to have the chocolate brownie which came highly recommended by the lovely manager and she loved every mouthful of it. The fact that this was chocolate that came with vanilla ice cream (Mya’s two favourite things) was a win-win situation.

 

I sought out anything which was a crumble and so choose the apple and passion fruit one that was on offer. The combination of the sauce and the hard crumble was very satisfying.

 

My husband had the banana waffle split and in his own words: “I have just died and gone to heaven.” The roasted banana was the best bit for him and gave him inspiration for his own cooking.

 

 

The staff at this restaurant helped make this eating out experience as enjoyable as it was. They made a fuss of Mya, giving her a few giraffe stirrers and a balloon, and really made the atmosphere a friendly one.

 

The constant fresh and aromatic smells from the kitchen will make your mouths water before you have even taken your seats.

 

If you are looking for a filling, tasty and fresh food stop whilst shopping at the outlet village, pay a visit to Giraffe. This place is here to stay.