My Mum is staying with us for a few days so as well as a few girlie lunches and shopping trips, we have also decided to redecorate mine and Ian’s bedroom. Luckily, it isn’t too major a job but like all rooms in our house the previous owners’ taste was horrific and we have gaudy wallpaper and dark turquoise and metallic painted walls to contend with! And I have the most painful little blister on my hand from spending hours painting today! I’m sure it will all be worth it in a few days when I share my ‘Before and After’ photos.
Today I wanted to share my love for a pub Ian and I keep going back to when we are in Dorset. The Smugglers Inn is a beautiful 13th Century pub which is nestled along the coastline with stunning views across the bay.
It has a large beer garden which is always full of cute dogs and excitable children with lots of seating indoors and outside too. When we were camping last week, we popped in here most days for food or just a drink as it was so near our campsite and just has the most wonderful laid-back atmosphere in the summer months. It is also a Badger Brewery pub which sells some of mine and Ian’s favourite ever ales (we worked our way through all of them throughout our visits!)
My favourite is Golden Glory; a light, golden ale with peach and melon flavours. I read on the back of the bottle that it is ideally matched with my favourite food of all time, ribs, so this ale and I were clearly meant to get be!
We decided to eat here for our anniversary as whilst the food is just simple pub grub, it is really tasty and we haven’t had a bad meal there yet.
I started with a portion of whitebait which was served with lemon and tartare sauce. These always remind me of our holidays in Spain and were so fresh and delicious.
Ian had a bowl of spicy wings with a lovely blue cheese sauce and crudités. These were so good we ordered them again for lunch a few days later!
For our main courses I opted for a rump steak which was glazed with a Blandford Flyer beer and smoky BBQ sauce and served with chips and coleslaw. This was cooked perfectly and I really enjoyed it, especially the glaze on the steak.
Ian had their award-winning steak and ale pie (which I forgot to get a picture of!) but I had a little bite and the filling was delicious.
If you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods, I thoroughly recommend popping in to this lovely pub for a drink or two…we can’t wait to go back!
