Big Easy | Restaurant Review

About Big Easy

Big Easy is an American diner located in Covent Garden and Kings Road in London. Big Easy is best known for their lobsters, steak and ribs. To view their website, please click here

Big Easy gets busy very quickly so try and make a booking if you can! Also, Big Easy is known for their daily specials. I've got a link to the daily specials at the end of my blog so definitely go check that out if you wanna pay a visit :)

My Experience

I visited the Big Easy in Covent Garden on Sunday at 7pm. We made a booking for four to celebrate my sister's birthday. The restaurant itself was quite busy at that time so bare that in mind when reading this review!

The Menu and Pricing

I was pleasantly surprised by how good the menu was. There is a large selection of starters to choose from followed by 'Real Pit-Cooked FRESH Bar.B.Q', 'Fresh Seafood', 'Steaks', 'Speciality Sandwiches' and 'Homemade Side Dishes'. 

I decided to go for the 14 oz sirloin steak because I'm a massive fan of steak with fries. My sister, mum and dad decided to go for the lobster fest. 

14 oz sirloin steak and fries = £30.40

Lobster fest = £20 (includes fries and a Slushie Cocktail or Schooner of Ice Cold Craft Lager or Ale. 

As you can see from the prices above, the steak is very expensive but definitely worth it! The lobster fest in my opinion is very cheap for what you get. 

The Food, Drink and Service

I cannot fault the food, drink and service at Big Easy. My steak was so delicious and I really enjoyed the fries. They were very crispy which is how I like it! I really struggled to finish the steak though because the portion size was quite large for me. Perhaps, for a guy eating the steak, it would be the perfect sized steak. My mum had a cocktail which contained a lot of vodka which got her very drunk as she does not usually drink alcohol which was absolutely hilarious. She really enjoyed her drink though and my sister enjoyed her lemonade. My parents and sister really enjoyed their lobster fest. They thought it was a very good sized lobster and the fries were nice. The only problem that occurred during the meal was how difficult it was to get the shell off the lobster. Big Easy provide you with utensils to do it yourself but we needed assistance from the waitress. The waitress we had for our meal was very attentive and polite which we were very grateful for. 

The Atmosphere

This restaurant was right up my street. Great atmosphere, lively and vibrant with great décor and a live band playing downstairs.

Overall

I would 100% recommend this restaurant. I really enjoyed it here and would definitely return again. It is a little on the pricey side but definitely worth it. The staff are attentive, great atmosphere and fantastic food. I would only suggest you avoid this restaurant if you are after a quiet meal because it is more on the lively side. 

If I had to rate this restaurant, I would easily give it 9/10. Book a table if you can to avoid disappointment. Also, Big Easy have daily specials so check it out here to get a good offer! 

Honest Burgers | Restaurant Review

About Honest Burgers

There are 5 Honest Burgers located around London: Brixton, Soho, Camden, Portobello and Kings Cross. There is a small selection of burgers available on their menu as seen in the photo below. To access Honest Burgers, please click here

Drinks Menu

My Experience

The Queue

I went to Honest Burgers on a Thursday evening about 7:30pm in Soho. The wait to get a table was incredibly long. We were initially told the wait would only be around 30 minutes so we went to get drinks at a nearby restaurant/bar. We returned to the restaurant after 30 minutes to be faced with a further 40 minute wait. I understand that timing does depend on how long people take to dine but the accuracy of timings given to us was completely off. They should have a good idea of how long it should take because they know the number of tables they have and the number of people on the waiting list for a table. I believe Honest Burgers should be HONEST with timings instead of worrying that customers will choose a different restaurant that has no waiting time or a shorting waiting time. I would happily wait an hour if they had said it will take approximately an hour for the table but for us to wait DOUBLE the time we were told, I was not a happy bunny! We could have had another drink instead of waiting outside the restaurant along with other unhappy customers!

The Menu and Pricing

For a small restaurant, the menu is was okay. I went for the chicken burger (free range chicken breast, lettuce, tomato and mustard mayonnaise). I specifically asked for no mustard mayonnaise but when the food arrived on our table, it was clear the waitress did not pass the message on to the kitchen staff or the kitchen staff just 'forgot'. Anyway, all burgers come with fries so at £9, it wasn't too extortionate. I also ordered a Sauvignon Blanc with my meal.

The Food, Drink and Service

This was all so disappointing. There was nothing good about the food and drink and I was extremely annoyed at how long we waited for a table to be faced with food that was very poor quality. The presentation of the food was pretty bad and it just did not look appetising at all! To be honest, it just looked like a sloppy mess in front of me. I also want to mention that between the two of us, we were given one knife which was on my plate. This shows a lack of care towards its customers by not offering a knife and fork with the meal. I do not expect to walk into a restaurant to eat with my fingers! Our drinks did not arrive and we had to ASK the waitress for our drinks after our food arrived which again shows how poor the service was. I took a sip of my wine and my gosh, it was one of the most foul tasting wine I have ever had! It left the worst after taste. Also, the wine was served in a little cup, not a glass which did not amuse me at all. I was not impressed whatsoever with anything that this restaurant had to offer. The chips were over cooked that when I tried to get some on my fork, it would just bounce away because of how overly crispy they were. The chicken burger was a disappointment. This is the type of meal that should have been sent back to the kitchen because of how poor quality it was. I just wanted to get out of the restaurant as soon as possible because of how bad my experience was.

The Atmosphere

This was the only good thing about the restaurant. The music choice was appropriate and the volume of it too was also appropriate.

Overall

I had a very poor experience with this restaurant and I will not be returning. Most people seemed to enjoy this restaurant according to trip advisor but I have to say, it was nothing but a disappointment. Perhaps I visited this restaurant at the wrong time or they have just changed the chef. To be honest, McDonalds is a better choice than this... and that is saying something. 

If I had to give a rating for this restaurant, I would give it 4/10. This is below average because of the poor customer service, poor food and drink and because we were not given an honest answer when we asked how long the wait would be. I have been to restaurants where you cannot book and just have to wait like Flat Iron and I would happily wait for a table.

Update 04.04.15

Realised I haven't done an update for a while!

Work has been pretty busy lately which has been quite good. I finish my placement at the end of June which is sad as I've really enjoyed working with people at the company. 

The last update I did, I mentioned I was going to vlog my holiday around Asia. Unfortunately, I have decided I won't be posting this online due to not enjoying the cruise as much as I thought I would. I was really disappointed with the cruise ship although the port of calls were decent. The vlogging was pretty negative and you can tell I wasn't enjoying it therefore it's not fun to watch someone complaining! Also, I felt quite awkward vlogging in public haha. I did write a review on Celebrity Cruises instead though so if you want to have a read, please click here and if you want to see what I wore, please click here. 

I recently rearranged my bedroom. I wasn't happy with how it looked for a long time so I finally did something about it. I bought a new bed, moved the furniture around and rearranged my make-up. I think I'll do a blog post about it soon!! 

Also, some very exciting news! I became an auntie 3 weeks ago and literally adore this baby. I love babies so much and just children in general so I cannot wait to see him grow up!! 

Anyway, not much else to update you with now but stay tuned and you will see some make-up looks, more restaurant reviews and more exciting things on my blog :). Hope you all have a lovely Easter.

The Slug and Lettuce | Restaurant Review

What is Slug and Lettuce?

Well, Slug and Lettuce is a large chain of bars that operate in the UK, with the majority located in London and the South East. The atmosphere is very pub like which is nice as it is very relaxing!

The bars are apparently designed for a more youthful clientele and I definitely got that impression when I set foot in the bar/restaurant.


All Slug and Lettuce outlets serve food throughout the day. The type of food on offer are sandwiches, burgers, pasta and salads. Basically, they offer what all pubs usually offer!

Please click here to access their website.

10oz rib-eye steak (matured for a minimum of 35 days, char-grilled. Served with chips, onion rings, watercress and cherry vine tomato. Price £15.45

My experience

I went to The Slug and Lettuce after work on a Wednesday evening. It was not even my intention to go to The Slug and Lettuce but I wanted to go to a restaurant close to my office so decided to try The Slug and Lettuce in London Bridge. Luckily, we were able to get a table for 2 at around 6:30pm but it was getting busy!

I really enjoyed myself t at The Slug and Lettuce and I can't believe that it was my first time going a few days ago! The atmosphere in the restaurant was really nice and chilled. The waiters and waitresses were polite and attentive and for once, I have nothing to complain about!

I had a difficult time picking what to eat because there were quite a few good options to choose from! Of course, if you read my blog posts, you must know by now that I have some sort of obsession with steak. Therefore, because I love steak, I decided it would be a safe option to choose it! The steak came with chips, onion rings, cherry vine tomatoes and watercress. For £15.45, I thought it was pretty reasonable AND I didn't even end up finishing my steak because I was so full!

The service was great as we only waited about 10 minutes for our food so I was pretty impressed seeing as I have waited a long time at other pubs for my lunch when the pub is pretty much empty!

Would I recommend The Slug and Lettuce?

Absolutely. The Slug and Lettuce are always having promotional offers so if you haven't been before and want to try it, go and check out the offers! Hopefully, you will not be disappointed but I do find restaurant experiences vary according to time and the location of the restaurant.

I really enjoyed my experience and I would definitely return at a later stage!

If I was to rate my experience, I would give it 8/10.

Makeup Geek Eyeshadows & Swatches | Review

Makeup Geek

Makeup Geek website: click here

If you are reading this review from the UK or outside of the US, you may be thinking what is this brand, I've never heard of it. Well, Makeup Geek is very well-known in the US and if you watch beauty videos on youtube, you may have heard of it too! I think Makeup Geek is a great dupe for MAC eyeshadows. 

I am not exactly sure how long Makeup Geek has been around but I'm gunna guess it is around 2 years? They offer a range of different products and the collection is constantly growing!

I bought my eyeshadows just over a month ago, however only just received them. I will go into detail later about my experience with the shipping from the US. 

The Eyeshadows

I ended up buying 18 eyeshadows from Makeup Geek. I have heard so much about Makeup Geek from the beauty gurus I watch on youtube in addition to the instagram makeup posts I see of people using the products. 

I bought two different types of eyeshadows, foiled and normal eyeshadows.

** I don't think the swatches do the eyeshadows any justice. They look so much better in reality.**

Top row: in the spotlight, grandstand and flame thrower
Middle row: mesmerized, country girl and glamorous
Bottom row: prom night, shimma shimma and drama queen

Left to right: in the spotlight, grandstand and flame thrower (all foiled eyeshadows)

Top to bottom: flame thrower, grandstand and in the spotlight

I bought 4 foiled eyeshadows: in the spotlight, grandstand, flame thrower and mesmerized. These are foiled eyeshadows are so pigmented and creamy. Just a tiny swatch and what is shown above is what you get out of it! You only need a tiny bit of product and that will go such a long way. I love these foiled eyeshadows and I think they would be perfect for a special event like a wedding and even for a night out! 

Left to right: mesmerized, country girl, glamorous, prom night, shimma shimma and drama queen

As mentioned earlier, mesmerized is a foiled eyeshadow. Shimma shimma would be the perfect shade for an inner corner highlight. Country girl is a great crease colour and drama queen would be great for the outer corner. 

Top row: peach smoothie, unexpected and frappe
Middle row: creme brulee, cocoa bear and mocha
Bottom row: mermaid, mercury and corrupt

Left to right: peach smoothie, unexpected, frappe, creme brulee and cocoa bear

Peach smoothie, frappe, creme brulee and cocoa bear are great shades for the crease and building colour to get a very blended out look and sculpting the eye. Cocoa bear would also be a very good outer crease colour . Unexpected is a very nice matte lid shade. Peach smoothie would be the perfect crease shade for you if you have a lighter skin tone. It doesn't come out as pigmented on me because of my skin tone.

Left to right: mocha, mermaid, mercury and corrupt

Corrupt is such a pigmented shade and I did experience a little fallout with this. However, I have never come across a matte black that has not had fallout so it was to be expected. Mermaid is such a beautiful shade. Mocha is another great shade for the crease and outer corner.

Note: These eyeshadows will come out differently on different skin tones. E.g. the lighter shades like creme brulee hasn't come out that pigmented on me, however it is really pigmented when applied on someone who has a lighter skin tone.

What I think of Makeup Geek

I am incredibly impressed with these eyeshadows, especially the foiled  eyeshadows! They are very affordable although they are a little difficult to get hold off due to the store being located in the US.

I own a few MAC eyeshadows and I definitely prefer these eyeshadows. They are very similar in size and MAC's eyeshadows are £13 each which I think is very expensive for just a small single eyeshadow.

I will now list the prices of the Makeup Geek eyeshadows. Due to having the products shipped over to the UK from the US, I did have to pay custom charges so I will list the approximate price for if you are shopping from the UK in addition to the US prices.

Makeup Geek Prices:

Foiled eyeshadows: US $9.99 UK £8 (including 20% tax)

Normal eyeshadow pans: US $5.99 UK £4.80 (including 20% tax)

Z Palette (black): US $14.99 UK £12 (including 20% tax)

Z Palette (pink): US $14.99 UK £12 (including 20% tax)

Would I recommend Makeup Geek?

I highly recommend these eyeshadows if you are a makeup artist or just enjoy wearing makeup. They are so affordable and great quality. I definitely prefer these eyeshadows to my MAC eyeshadows and they are a fraction of the price which makes it so much better!

**NOTE: I had trouble having these shipped over from the US because Makeup Geek use Royal Mail and unfortunately, I never received the note from Royal Mail saying that I had to go to the post office to pay my custom charges. I have ordered from the US before (BH Cosmetics) and never had any trouble. I think Royal Mail just made a mistake or the slip got lost in the post. I don't think this happens often so please do not think Makeup Geek aren't reliable because they are. I just had trouble with my order. 

All Star Lanes | Restaurant Review

All Star Lanes

To celebrate my 22nd birthday I decided to go to All Star Lanes! I was really excited to go here because I love American food!

There are 5 All Star Lanes restaurant, 4 in London and 1 in Manchester. I decided to go to the Brick Lane restaurant because it had the best reviews out of the others.

Please click here for the menu.

I Love NY Cocktail - mix of Finlandia vodka, Aperol, passion fruit and apple juice.

All Star Lanes are really generous. You get a birthday card and a free drink worth £7.50 if you are celebrating your birthday. I decided to drink the cocktail I Love NY all night because it was so nice!

The Food

I really struggled to choose what I wanted to have for dinner. In the end, I chose to share the popcorn squid and the bbq chicken with my sister. I really enjoyed the popcorn squid however I was not a fan of the bbq chicken. I thought the flavour was too strong! For my main course, it was between the King Pin Burger (treacle cured bacon cheeseburger, crowned with a mac & cheese croquette) and the 10oz Rib-Eye Steak. I decided to chose the steak although I wish I had gone for the burger because I have never seen or tried a burger which has mac & cheese in it! My brother chose the burger and he was so full after eating it and it only cost £12 (bargin).

I was impressed by the steak, I thought it was cooked perfectly. However, I was not a fan of the cracked pepper & bourbon sauce sauce, although having said that, I've always liked my food pretty plain! The steak and fries set me back £22 which I think is okay for London.

The Service

I really enjoyed the food but I was really disappointed with the service we received. For a group of 16 people, I don't really expect the service to be the same as if you were dining for a table of 4 people, however what we experienced was shocking.

Firstly, my brothers meal did not arrive although the waiters did manage to deal with the situation well. Secondly, we were notified when booking the table that the table would only be available for two hours due to the booking being a Saturday night. On the night, it was not busy yet we felt pressurised to finish our food quickly. They were cleaning the whole table even though it was incredibly obvious that people had not finished their meals. I have worked as a waitress before and I have been trained to never start clearing a table unless everyone has finished their meals. This should apply to every restaurant and I was shocked that they would try to hurry us along to the bar area. My brother decided to leave after dinner therefore he paid for his meal. We decided as a group to sort the bill after drinks.

The area for drinks was really nice and chilled and it was a great atmosphere. I wish I had booked bowling as it looked really fun. We were all having a nice evening catching up over dinner and drinks. However, when it came to sorting the bill at the end of the night, the waitress who was dealing with it was clearly undertrained. She did not know what "debit" meant. Debit was written at the bottom of the receipt under all our orders to indicate that some money had already been paid towards the bill. However, the lady kept saying we owed money even though we kept explaining to her that it had already been paid. We decided to go back and speak to the waiters from earlier who then explained to their colleague it had been paid. This in all took approximately 30 minutes to sort out which resulted in us missing our last direct train home. I thought it was abysmal that it took so long to sort out the bill. As a group of 16 people. we spent hundreds in this restaurant yet they treated us so badly. I'm not going to go as far as saying this completely ruined my night but it definitely impacted it in a negative way. I understand that people do make mistakes but it was after all my birthday meal and they knew that. I feel as though a lack of training led to these mistakes being made.

I feel as though a couple of staff let their team down and the restaurant down. This goes to show how important training is as a few mistakes can lead to people having a bad experience and not wanting to return.

Would I Recommend This Restaurant?

I think it's fair to say that I haven't had the best experience with restaurants when in a large group. I think I would return here but as a much smaller group (max 6). I feel as though the experience would be better and less mistakes would be made. If I was to rate my experience, I would give it 5/10. Without the mistake made, I would easily have given it 8/10. I think All Star Lanes are generous to give a free drink worth £7.50 if its your birthday and a birthday card. It's a nice gesture and not many restaurants do that.

Asian Cruise - What I Wore To Dinner

These are some of the dresses I wore for dinner on the cruise ship. This particular cruise had 3 formal nights and the rest were smart / casual nights.

I took the opportunity to dress up as much as I could and decided to bring my favourite dresses on the cruise along with my favourite shoes! The handbag I wore for most nights was the Mulberry Lily bag which was new! 

You may think I over dressed for the smart / casual nights which I agree but I wanted to wear my favourite dresses which I spent quite a lot on!! 

Anyway, enjoy :)

Smart / Casual
Dress - Debenhams

Formal
Dress - House of Fraser

Formal (Christmas Day)
Dress - Forever Unique

Smart / Casual
Dress - Lipsy
Shoes - Perfect Me

Formal (New Years Eve)
Dress - Lipsy

Smart / Casual
Dress - Boohoo
Shoes - Amour

Smart / Casual
Dress - House of Fraser

Smart / Casual
Dress - TK Maxx
Shoes - Amour

Smart / Casual
Dress - Asos
Shoes - Ella