Do you ever find yourself facing the prospect of dinner time and feeling totally unable to deal with it?
I do, pretty often.
Last Friday was one of those evenings - the heat in the kitchen made me feel like I was melting, I had nothing in that anybody wanted to eat, and everybody was just feeling a bit glum.
So we took ourselves out for dinner as a bit of a treat. Before children Jon and I used to love going out to eat and would treat ourselves once a week, but nowadays it's difficult to find a restaurant that suits all of our tastes whilst still being family friendly and affordable.
But I have finally found somewhere that is right up our street!
Bistrot Pierre is a French restaurant that offers fantastic quality food with options for all tastes (including those on gluten free diets, which I am always pleased to see) and our local Torquay branch is set in such a beautiful location right on the sea front with stunning views across the bay - I actually heard quite a few people gasp when they walked in and took in the views, it really is that impressive!
Jon & I have previously enjoyed date nights there but we'd never thought of taking the kids before. I guess I worry that my 3 boys under 4 will be a little too rowdy for most nice restaurants but I really needn't have worried...
Bistrot Pierre are very family friendly, infact they have just introduced their childrens activity packs - a special kids menu which also doubles up as an activity booklet featuring lots to keep the children entertained while you wait for your dinner, along with a pack of crayons of course!
The activity booklet worked so well at entertaining the boys while we waited, even 15 month old Sailor enjoyed flicking through it - I had actually promised my 4 year old son that he could play a game on my phone after we'd ordered to keep him entertained but he was so engrossed in the activity pack that he didn't want to!
He was really interested in learning the French vocabulary in the booklet with a bit of help from Daddy, and was very keen to enter the colouring contest which gives the chance for little ones to win a meal for their family.
There's more about the new activity pack in this video here:
The kids menu itself was really refreshing as it contained much more interesting options than the usual chicken nuggets and pizza - it listed meals such as Roast chicken with vegetables, Macaroni Cheese and Mini burgers in buns.
My children all decided they fancied the Fish Goujons which were served with pomme frites, and a little bowl of vegetable sticks and cherry tomatoes - I usually have to do quite a lot of coaxing when we're out to get the boys to eat their dinners as they're so distracted by everything going on around them but on this occasion I didn't have to pester them at all, all three of them ate every bite entirely of their own accord - which to be honest left me rather amazed!
Jon & I ordered from the Pre-Theater menu which offers 2 courses for £14.95 - for starters Jon chose the Pate and I went with the Ricotta and Basil Ravioli which was absolutely delicious. We didn't order any starters for the boys as we were given a basket of delicious crusty bread for the table, which they munched their way through while we ate our starters.
For our main courses, Jon chose the Morue Gratinee - Baked fillet of cod with lemon, herb and garlic crust and I went for the Poulet Printanier which was Chicken breast pan fried with asparagus, mushrooms and peas with truffle oil and tarragon. Our main courses were served with new potatoes and a selection of vegetables.
I really enjoyed the chicken - the sauce was really tasty and the veg so fresh, Jon also let me have a little taste of his cod and it was just divine - something I would probably go for myself when we next visit.
The mains were a really good size but somehow we all managed to leave room for dessert - Jon chose the Frangipane, and I went for the Delice Au Chocolat which was AMAZING. Tyne went for the chocolate torte while the babies both had ice cream - every bite was polished off with lots of approving noises!
We thoroughly enjoyed our food, and the service was friendly and efficient - even though our boys were rather loud at times and did manage to make quite an epic mess on the floor (more fries down there than in their tummies I think!) we were never made to feel like a pain at all, the staff had lots of time for the children and were all just lovely.
If you're looking for a delicious dinner that offers fantastic quality French food at affordable prices, and a menu that will keep the children entertained and well fed I highly recommend visiting Bistrot Pierre.
To take a look at the menu or locate your nearest branch, just visit www.bistrotpierre.co.uk
*With thanks to Bistrot Pierre for collaborating with us on this post, all opinions are my own
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