Ladies who Brunch | Brunch at All Bar One Glasgow

If I'm completely honest with you these Glasgow foodie posts are honestly a way for me to keep my taste buds and memories of the fabulous food of that very magical weekend alive, not that I'm using you guys to relive my foodie fantasies or anything... ahem... So today the memory I'm choosing to revel in and get jealous of my past self because of is our trip to the ever stylish All Bar One, St Vincent Street in Glasgow's city centre. 

All Bar One really does have all a bar can offer, with the ability of carrying you through from breakfast to brunch and a slap up supper right through to cocktails and nibbles after work. The stylish surroundings (of which the biggest mirror in the world was my fave) and spacious layout mean day or night All Bar One can be your go to and it was certainly our go to after a rather stressful train journey and hike in the pouring Glasgow rain! 

Our order was taken pretty much straight away and it was lovely despite being breakfast / brunch having table service and not having to go up to the bar to order (does this make me lazy? Probably) We ordered from the breakfast menu, and I suppose I lied a little on the title of this post because it was far too early to be considered brunch... but doesn't it just roll off the tongue better when you say brunch?  Breakfast for me conjures up images of droopy eyed individuals sat with a bowl of sad looking cornflakes and a black coffee... brunch just happens to be breakfasts glamorous later sister. Okay fine! It was breakfast.

I ordered the Eggs Benedict which as opposed to the more traditional bacon came with a gorgeously textured thick ham which wasn't fatty or unfavourably chewy in the slightest (can you tell I have a 'thing' about ham?) The eggs also came served with a sprinkling of mixed seeds which offered a great contrasting crunch to the texture of the eggs and toasted muffin that accompanied, and may I also just say, that egg and hollandaise sauce, oh my goodness that egg and hollandaise sauce! In fact I have never experienced such a sadness linked to food when I finished my breakfast that morning but having said that I really do think it's an experience you all should try for yourselves!

The food was so reasonably priced and a great thing about All Bar One is that usually if you check online prior to visiting you can download a 2 for 1 voucher or something similar that will make your breakfast experience even sweeter....well cheaper at least. So after taking a couple of selfies in the biggest mirror in the world we left All Bar One Glasgow full and content and ready to face the day ahead (the BBC Good Food Show in case you were wondering) 

Well guys, my mouth is now well and truly watering and I'm sitting here as I type resenting my past self and it was literally only a week ago. Now I'm back to life and reality sat on my sofa with my own sad looking bowl of cornflakes, puffy eyes, clutching the worlds biggest black coffee trying to get to grips with the morning ahead.... nothing like the All Bar One experience I tell you, but who knows, maybe in the future my husband will become something of an amazing chef and we'll purchase the second biggest mirror in the world... a girl can dream right?

Hopefully you have enjoyed reading yet another Granite City Girl travels / foodie post and perhaps you'll pop into an All Bar One in your area or in Glasgow particularly. Be sure to leave me some of your favourite foodie joints for breakfast / brunch in the comments below whether your thing is McDonalds or Malmaison tell me what is the best breakfast / brunch you've ever had is (it might even be that bowl of cornflakes we spoke about earlier!) Otherwise ladies and gents you can catch me on Twitter or more from the Granite City Girl blog on Bloglovin.

Until next time folks, I'm in search of the next best brunch.

H.Elizabeth x

Girls Day Out | Cari & Co Victorian Tea Room

Throwing a curveball into the mix today and stepping away from all of the healthy themed posts we have all been loving lately I wanted to share another one of my most recent Granite City outings with you, in the form of another girly day out. Now I must apologise because when I say recent, I'm talking the start of December! Sorry guys the time just seemed to escape from me, especially with Christmas and New Year, but onwards we march into 2015 and with a new Granite City high tea review!

Now I love a good bargain (and cuppa) as much as the next girl / human being out there, in fact saying goodbye to my student discount earlier this year was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do (I still wince paying for full priced items in Topshop) so when I heard this cutesy little tearoom in Aberdeen's West End (posh district) had placed an offer on the 'itison'' website (much like Groupon) I was ON IT and I've got to tell you I think we're on to a winner here! 

Cari & Co Victorian Tearoom

For the cheap and cheerful price of £16 my friend and I were treated to a three course afternoon tea in a very Victorian, vintage setting in Aberdeen's lovely West End, and yes I would even go as far as to say it has been added to my list of hidden Aberdeen gems. The tearoom has to be one of my favourite finds of the year, I always find myself pining over all of the beautiful afternoon tea venues I see fellow bloggers and tweeters posting on the regular and have even started collating a diary list of 'tea venues to visit' in the various UK cities, does anybody else do this? But I must admit, I felt a little victory at finding my very own one in my home city, and I'm so pleased that today I get to share my experience with you.

Our high tea at Cari and Co was served in true vintage fashion with beautiful cake stands, cutesy cutlery and rare antiquities galore we were treated to a sparkling raspberry rose fizzy beverage by what can only be described as one of the loveliest and most attentive women I've ever had the pleasure of meeting, I think she is the owner as she took great pride in the store, a trait which I always find so lovely and inspiring in a business owner! Everything had a unique feel, from the individual sets of tables and chairs right down to the cups and saucers, detective inspector Monk has nothing on this immaculate tearoom, it can only be truly described by one word and that is stylish.

Treated to a starter of ham with onion chutney sandwiches as well as chicken and cranberry (chutney and cranberry are two of my favourite condiments!) which unfortunately we didn't get a picture of since we demolished them so quickly, we were swiftly on to our next course of scones with cream and jam which were divine! Just as a side note, the Great British debacle of cream or jam first, can anybody settle this for me? I believe I alternate every time I am treated to a scone just to see if there really is a difference to no avail.You'd think that after being treated to all of this we'd be well and truly stuffed, and you're right but our treats did not end there, oh no sir! We were then presented with a bowl of sweety yummy in the form of a lavish cupcake and cream filled meringue, both of which were like nothing I have ever tasted in my life! Then of course in true vintage style we commemorated the end of our fine dining experience (and our ability to stuff our faces spectacularly) with a cup of peppermint tea.

Verdict

It must be love, love, love, honestly if I had a car of my own (or a licence for that matter) I would probably be right there stuffing my face every weekend. This is one I'll be keeping up my sleeve for special occassions and birthdays and you know any which way and excuse I can use to stuff my face with cake, scones and delicious teas. For those of you out there who are perhaps not local to Aberdeen this is a gem I highly recommend you come and try, although it may be a little bit out of your way but if like me you're a bona fide tea taster you'll not regret the journey!

As usual I love hearing from you lovely lot so be sure to leave me a comment below, I'm always out and about and I would love to hear if you have any similar spectacular tea rooms in your respective cities, you can come share these with me on Twitter or if you'd like to keep up with the latest Granite City antics and adventures be sure to come find me on Bloglovin

Until next time folks, I'll be pining over tea and scones!

H.Elizabeth xx

What I Wore | Ladies Who Lunch

This week has been quite eventful for days out and a busy social calendar, so I am going to share my Thursday luncheon look with you, what one would wear to a casual afternoon of Brazilian food and fine company.

What I wore on my body

Vest- Black Plain, Forever 21
Blouse- Sheer White, Topshop
Bottoms- Dark Blue Jeggings, Sparkle & Fade, Urban Outfitters (Stretchy as a necessity!)

What I wore on my feet

Flats- Grey & Silver Bow Pumps, New Look (New Addition)

What I wore on my head and face

Hair- Minnie Mouse Bow Bun (See Previous How To Post) 
Ears- Faux pearl earrings (my go to pair)
Face- Benefit Porefessional Pore Minimiser
L'oreal Infallible Make up (Porcelain)
Collection 2000 Pressed Powder (Ivory)
Eyes- Urban Decay's 'Rehab' Cream Shadow
MUA Cream coloured shadow
Max Factor Khol Eyeliner Pencil in Charcoal Black
Clinique High Impact Mascara
Lips- Nivea Moisturising Lip Balm

As I discovered later on in the evening I was happy to be wearing VERY stretchy jeggings as I ate my weight in Brazilian food! Anybody else have a special pair of eating bottoms?!

 As always I appreciate any and all comments from you lovely people and if you want to chat with me a bit more reach me on Twitter and you can keep up to date with me on Bloglovin

H.Elizabeth