Last week we found ourselves with an invitation we could not refuse, a night of great food, drinks and bowling at the Meridian Leisure Park in Leicester. Now the Meridian isn't somewhere I usually frequent, as it is a little outside the city centre near Braunstone, but I was really surprised at how many great eateries there was, it's certainly changed since I last went there! I didn't manage to take all that many photos, because to be honest, I was having too much fun, but I did vlog the evening within my weekly vlog, so I'll leave that at the end of the post or you can click here to watch if you prefer.
We started off the evening at Chiquito, a popular South American/Mexican chain. I've eaten here before and wasn't the hugest fan of it, but they do have a brilliant cocktail menu. I made a beeline for the mojito section of the menu (yes, there's a whole section) and decided on the strawberry mojito. It was delicious with the sharp mint tempering the sweet strawberry flavour to make a refreshing summer drink.
Chiquito is such a fun place to go, we had a hoot messing around with the sombreros that are dotted around the room to wear at your leisure. It's a shame there isn't one closer to town, as we'd certainly make the most of happy hour! The only downside was the service. Although we were on a tight schedule, it was a planned event, and it was disappointing to see that there was only one server making the drinks. I sadly had to down my drink in about 2 minutes instead of being able to enjoy it (although that's not advised, we always drink responsibly of course!) and some of our party weren't able to have a drink at all because we had to leave before they got their order.
Next, we headed over to Nandos. Always a winner, we tucked into a selection of starters. We had garlic bread, pitta and salsa which was tasty (as well as houmous, which I didn't get to sample because the nature of sharing platters and a long table meant that that was down the other end of the table). We also had some chicken wings, which is a go-to order for me. There was plain wings on offer, but being the adventurer that I am, I of course went for the infamous Nandos Roulette. With wings of varying levels of heat, I drew the short straw and obviously picked the most spicy, as you'll see in the vlog! LOL it was probs Lemon & Herb...
After our appetites were sufficiently whet, we headed over to Pizza Hut for the main course. Of course, there was the obligatory salad bar, arguably one of the best things about Pizza Hut, because bacon bits... Again, there was a selection of the hugest pizzas I've ever seen! As someone who's eyes are bigger than their appetite, I would have appreciated smaller slices to be able to sample more of the flavours as I only had room for one (albeit huge) slice of one with chicken, pepperoni, sausage and garlic cheesy bites. I don't usually like crusts so never go for stuffed crusts etc. but I really enjoyed this one! Seeing as I'd only eaten one slice, I was the first to make sure I took some home in a takeaway box, so I had another slice to look forward to for lunch the next day.
Next, food babies in tow, we moved on to Hollywood Bowl for a quick game of bowling. This was our final destination of the night as I had to head home for the last train at 10pm, but the rest of the gang went on to Vue to watch the AbFab movie. I was a bit gutted to have missed out, but we did get to finish our game of bowling. I was absolutely terrible at bowling. I don't think I've ever really played with the sides down, and it's amazing how you need a whole different tactic!
Overall, we had a great evening at the Meridian thanks to the lovely girls at Carousel PR. I think overall we did feel quite rushed, and the group was a bit too large. I think it would have been better in a smaller group of just bloggers so we could have gotten more information about the venue from the girls, but other than that, it was a really fun, whistle stop tour of the leisure park. I think it would be the perfect place to spend a weekend or evening relaxing as there is so much to do, and lots of great places to refuel too!
As I mentioned earlier, I did vlog the evening too so you'll find it on the first day of my Weekly Vlog! I'd love it if you gave it a watch, I got up some really fun stuff that week, including going to the launch of the new Bodega Cantina South American restaurant in Leicester and the #BloggerTikiParty in Birmingham!
What's your favourite place to go for a fun evening out?
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