Lifestyle

Sparkles Lifestyle: Giraffe Restaurant Review

Last week, on my birthday, we were very kindly given a complimentary meal at Giraffe restaurant in Exeter for review purposes.
I had experienced Giraffe only once before – it was the same branch, and I had gone along for a quick bite after work. I had one course only and opted for the Thai Green Curry, I really didn’t enjoy it and felt rather ill afterwards. I ended up feeling a bit off put and never tried Giraffe again.
However, that was the first time I’d EVER had Thai Green Curry and having since eating it from other places I came to realise that it may well have been the dish itself that I disliked rather than the actual restaurant as I have never enjoyed it from anywhere and always feel a bit unwell if I try to eat it! 
So with that in mind, I thought it may be good to give Giraffe another try.
We were invited to start with some cocktails – I opted for the Berry Bellini, and Jon (being the driver!) had a Wavebreaker mocktail.
Both of them were really lovely, and the presentation was outstanding – we both particularly loved the unusual jug with a handle that Jon’s Wavebreaker came in!

For starter, we opted for a Bruschetta Board –  These were triangles of crisp, warm bruschetta topped with melting mozarella cheese and marinara sauce. Half were topped with pesto, and the other topped with artichoke, black olive and red pepper salsa.
They were absolutely gorgeous, and surprisingly my favourites were the artichoke and olive topped ones – quite strange considering I usually can’t stand olives but these were really scrummy!
Considering this is only £5.85 I think its a real bargain for a decent amount of top quality food!

Then it was time for the main courses…I chose the Chilli Beef Enchiladas (£10.95)
The corn tortillas are filled with beef chilli and herby rice, wrapped and topped with tomato salsa, melting cheese, a creamy adobe sauce and toasted seeds. It comes served with a side salad.
I thoroughly enjoyed my main – I’m the kind of person who usually sees what the other person ordered and wants that, but this time I was happy with my choice and really enjoyed it! I didn’t even notice the seeds in the dish until close to the end, and it made me feel that perhaps I hadn’t been doing as much harm to my diet as I thought as surely seeds are very healthy?!!!


Jon chose the Jambalaya risotto with chicken, chorizo and prawn (£11.95)
This spicy, sticky and creamy risotto is full of aubergine, peppers and courgettes and the chicken and chorizo pieces were really tasty. I’m not a fan of prawns but Jon said they were chunky and fresh, and absolutely delicious. The dish had just the right amount of kick to it. Really lovely.



After our mains we were pretty full and debated not bothering with dessert, but once we looked at the menu we just HAD to make room!
I chose the Chocolate Mousse Crunch (£3.95) – very rich but light chocolate mousse, with lots of gooey cream and crushed amaretti biscuits – absolute heaven in a bowl!!! Oh my goodness, I adored it!!
 The perfect end to the meal and I cannot believe the price is only £3.95 – how cheap for a decadent dessert?!

Jon went for the Key Lime Pie (£3.95) – a smooth and creamy cheesecake topped with zesty, sweet lime marmalade and grated lime. So tangy and refreshing and again….so cheap!!!

I found this meal to be one of the most delicious and enjoyable I have had in a long time, the restaurant itself was lovely and cosy while still being trendy – the atmosphere was informal and relaxed, and the staff made us feel so welcome.
Considering that this meal would have cost us £36.65 I don’t think you can ask for much more! I have paid more than that recently for a 2 course meal in a local pub which was much less enjoyable than this, so I certainly would not grumble at the price and I will absolutely be returning to Giraffe again in the very near future!!!
I am so glad we gave it a try as I think I’ve found a new favourite place! I had a sneak peek at the kids menu while I was there and was very impressed….I am looking forward to being able to visit with Tyne when he’s a little older!
You can locate your nearest Giraffe restaurant at www.giraffe.net
Have you ever tried a Giraffe restaurant? If so, what were your thoughts? As always , I’d love to hear from you!

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