We went to one restaurant we hadn’t visited in years (Plateau), one new restaurant we’d been wanting to try (The Vine House), one more established restaurant we’d been wanting to try (Kindling) and one restaurant we already love (Amari).

They were all very different and delightful in their own way. Plateau was dark and cozy and included a lovely glass of wine with its set meal. The bustling Vine House served up spot-on bistro cooking and the most gorgeous glass of Grüner Veltliner (not included in the set menu but worth every extra penny). Amari once gain pulled off the combination of a friendly, buzzy, relaxed atmosphere and simply outstanding food (it was worth going out in a gale to get there on Saturday night!). And it was perfect to wrap up with the weekend at Kindling with steak, loads of sides, and a bottle of red wine. We made good choices!

Admittedly, the pool temp was only about 18C/64F, which may have caused me to curse a little as I plunged in, but I stayed the course and treated myself to a hot chocolate afterwards.

They always had t-shirts available to buy and I always meant to get one but somehow never did. I didn’t see any on display during this last visit, so I asked our friendly server Sandra if they had any shirts available somewhere. She said she’d go and find out. My request ultimately led to one of the young cooks having to open a trap door in the ceiling by the bathrooms and clamber into the attic to rummage around, where he found one lone shirt left in my size—and it happened to be black, the color you will find me wearing the most. I was so, so grateful to Sandra and the young cook. I absolutely love my shirt featuring Milo, and I’m glad we got to pay a visit to Milo’s memorial corner outside the restaurant after lunch. Thank you, Ned’s!