Christmas as the Grape & Olive | Blogger Event

As November comes to a close and we continue to hurtle towards Christmas, I wanted to write a little something about the blogger Christmas event at the Grape & Olive in Swansea. Yes, it took place over two weeks ago, but, between the never-ending madness of my PGCE and an unexpected bout of lurgy, it's taken until now to find five minutes to sit down and write something up.

As someone who lives within easy driving distance of Swansea, I'm a little ashamed to say I'd never been to the Grape & Olive before. I'm even more ashamed to admit that, even though it's located at the top of the tallest building in Wales and therefore in the most visible building in Swansea, I ended up spending twenty minutes wandering through the marina in the dark, heading in the complete opposite direction. Such is the story of my life.

When I finally got my bearings and made it to the top of the tower, I was very impressed. The restaurant is beautiful with a warm, welcoming atmosphere and stunning views to match. Looking down at the twinkling lights of the city, it looked like a fairyland. I can only imagine how amazing the views are during the daytime when you can sip on a glass of wine and look out over the sea.

And then there was the food! We were there to sample food from the festive menus. Naturally, I never miss an opportunity to stuff my face so I tried a little of everything and I am here to tell you, it was delicious.

There were a couple of stand-out favourites for me. My favourite starter was the fig and goat's cheese tart, which was a happy surprise seeing as a usually don't like figs, goat's cheese or tarts. But it was just so full of flavour! I couldn't help but love it!

Of the main courses I tried, the turkey really stood out for me. I spend the whole of December counting down the days until turkey-time anyway, but this was by far the best turkey I've tasted in years. And the roasted potatoes? Magical!

And then it was time for everyone's favourite: dessert! The chocolate orange fondant was the star of the show and it was every bit as scrumptious as it sounds.

Over the Christmas period, the Grape and Olive offer various festive menus to choose from, with three courses costing a little as £25. You can take a look at all of their festive menu options and prices on their website.

Overall, it was a lovely night. I got to eat to my heart's desire and met some lovely new people. I want to take this opportunity to thank Gavin, the new manager, and the lovely Ffion from shembusiness for organising such an enjoyable (and mouth-watering) event and helping me to get well and truly in the Christmas spirit!