What Sophie Said

About a month ago now, Andy and I headed off to De Vere Mottram Hall Hotel for a night, on our five year anniversary. We stayed close to home, as it meant we could stay somewhere lovely without adding on lots of travel costs! The hotel is set out on its own, so we thought we’d have lunch in nearby Prestbury before going to check in. Although it’s near home, it’s a relatively small village, so not somewhere I’ve ever thought of popping to explore. I texted my friend Emily for food recommendations, as she used to live in Prestbury, and we jumped on the train just before lunch. We first went to the Legh Arms pub, right in the centre of the village. It’s a beautiful old building, and had a real ‘local’ feel to it. They offer a quite extensive menu at reasonable prices, and although there was some confusion at first as to whether it was table or bar service (it was half and half) we settled in to a nice tall table tucked in by a wall. Knowing we would be ha...

In December, for our work Christmas meal, I had my first trip to Olivers , a restaurant in Woodford. They were offering a festive menu, but as I ate from the normal menu I thought it was more than worth sharing even though we’re now well into January. Olivers is tucked away, just off a fairly main road, and is quite a small place. When we were there, there were multiple Christmas parties in, which meant the place was very full and very noisy. We had a drink at the bar whilst our table was laid. I opted for J2O, as I don’t drink alcohol, and the others had wines and gin and tonics. The bar doesn’t exactly lend itself to standing for a drink, as it means you’re completely blocking the entrance, but we weren’t there for too long. We had a corner table, next to a window, and it was subtly decorated for the season. Jenny decided to jazz it up a little with her homemade decorations, which she has had in the office and was taking home for Christmas… The se...