Lunch – samio.co.uk

A Romantic Guide To Manchester

This post is sponsored by Flybe

Romantic may not be the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Manchester but you may be surprised to find several spots that are ideal for the perfect date or spot to woo your Valentine.

I’ve teamed up with Flybe to bring you this post and when they asked me to show you around some of my favourite romantic spots in my hometown, I of course jumped at the chance. If you know me, you’ll know I’m always out exploring my city and discovering new spots. So if you’re thinking about taking a trip here this Valentine’s Day but you’re not sure which places you should visit, then look no further because your girl has got you covered!

The Best Brunch Date

Pot Kettle Black has got to be one of my favourite places to go for breakfast or brunch. The coffee here is great and these people know how to do breakfast just right, plus it’s served all day, so there’s no rush. Whilst the food tastes delicious, presentation is their speciality too, so you’re bound to impress your date with a tasty (and also Instagramable) bit of brunch in this spot. Cosy up in one of the window seats which looks out into the Victorian shopping arcade (Barton Arcade) and start your day just right.

Art Is For Lovers

Manchester art gallery has always been one of my favourite spots and if you ask me, I think it’s a great place to take a date. It’s free entry and with everything from historical paintings to contemporary pieces, there’s something for every art enthusiast to enjoy. I always think there’s something quite romantic about art galleries and you can easily spend an afternoon wandering around this place and taking it all in. They have a coffee shop and a pretty cool gift shop too.

Cocktails With A View

I don’t know why but there’s always something so romantic about having cocktails high up in the sky…that’s if you’re not scared of heights of course. And if you’re not, then I definitely suggest you visit Cloud 23 whilst you’re in Manchester. Situated on the 23rd floor of Manchester’s tallest building (Beetham Tower) you’re able to get the best views of Manchester, and beyond. There may not always be blue skies but I don’t feel this dulls the romance of this lovely spot. You can easily spend a couple of hours here relaxing with a delicious cocktail (or two), watching the world go by.

The Less Obvious Romantic Spot

I realise not everyone wants romance to be in their face obvious and sometimes it’s actually the more bustling places that can turn out to be the most intimate. If you like a large open setting with a varied selection of great food and drink, then look no further than Mackie Mayor. This recently renovated Grade II listed building is one of my favourite spots in Manchester. It’s a great place to go with your date and I suggest taking a seat on the upper tier where you can sit and take in the views of this fabulous venue from above. My favourite thing about this place, aside from the great atmosphere, has to be the pizzas. I highly recommend the margarita pizza from Honest Crust, it’s seriously good!

A Romantic Place To Stay

What could be more perfect than an affordable and romantic hotel situated in my personal favourite part of Manchester, the Northern Quarter. The Cow Hollow Hotel is close to lots of great bars and restaurants but it’s easy to miss it, as it’s tucked away on a corner of Newton Street. I discovered this place after stumbling upon their bar, which I do believe is the cosiest and certainly most romantic spot that I have come across in the Northern Quarter. With great wine, great cocktails, excellent service and beautiful interior throughout, what’s not to love. This intimate little spot hosts a bar (which is open to the public as well as hotel guest) and 16 beautifully furnished hotel rooms perfect for your romantic getaway.

A Romantic Garden

You must visit Refuge when you come to Manchester because this place is just stunning. The huge building holds a number of different areas where you can dine, have drinks and relax. My favourite part of this place has to be the centrepiece, which is the beautiful Winter Garden. I like to call it the most weatherproof garden in Manchester because they have done an excellent job of brining the essence of the outdoors, inside. With it’s atrium ceiling, plush furnishings and large glass windows looking out onto the rest of the venue, you feel as if you’re inside a romantic secret garden. Whether you come here for a coffee during the day or for cocktails in the evening, it certainly makes for a perfect romantic spot.

So there we have it. Those are a few of my favourite romantic spots in Manchester. I love sharing favourite parts of my city and showing you around. Hopefully this could give you some insight of some of what Manchester has to offer and if you are looking to visit, then don’t forget Flybe flies to Manchester from eight UK airports, including Exeter, Southhampton, Aberdeen and Belfast. So what are you waiting for, why not hop on a flight over. Hope to see you soon!

Samio x

Check out my video guide here.

February 13, 2018

Last Saturday I headed to intu Trafford Centre to meet up with my friend, Chloe, for a little pamper morning…

Usually if I’m going to the Trafford Centre, it’s to shop, or to eat (or most of the time, both), but I never previously thought of it as a place to go for beauty treatments until I was kindly invited along to try out some treatments with intu beauty.

The first stop was The Face Doctor. I’m no stranger to the Trafford Centre and would normally say I know my way around the place pretty well, however I was surprised that I had never spotted The Face Doctor before (probably because it’s discreetly tucked away at an end corner by John Lewis). I used the new intu app to help navigate our way there, which is crazy because I never thought I’d need an app to help me get around the Trafford Centre, seeing as I’ve been there a gazillion times but it was actually super handy and it saved us so much time.

The lovely Katy did both of our 15 minute facials and one after the other we were taken into one of the rooms at the back of the store, where we were able to lay down and relax away from the bustle of the shopping centre, whilst we each had our facials.

During the facial, Katy used a number of products which exfoliated and then hydrated my skin. Everything she used smelt amazing and left my skin feeling so soft. Afterwards Chloe and I both left The Face Doctor looking glowing with our skin feeling refreshed.

The 15 minute facial costs just £15, which I personally think is great value and after seeing the results I’ll definitely be going back again in the future. It would be the perfect way to relax after a busy shopping day.

I surprised myself yet again and had to check the intu app a second time, this time to help us navigate our way to the L’Occitane store.

I can’t actually believe that this was my first time stepping in the L’Occitane store, considering the fact that I’m slightly skincare obsessed. Although I’d heard of L’Occitane, I didn’t previously know anything about the brand, but Zandra and Jo from L’Occitane’s Trafford Centre store soon changed that. They were so friendly and enthusiastic about the brand and were able to tell us all about L’Occitane whilst introducing us to some of their favourite products. Chloe and I were both impressed with L’Occitane’s products and I’m sure that this isn’t a store I’ll be walking past without popping in, in future.

Chloe and I each had a hand massage which exfoliated and nourished our hands. It’s crazy how dry your hands can get during the winter period and although I always carry a hand cream round in my bag, the hand massage was just the extra TLC that my hands needed. I think I need a hand massage at L’Occitane every week!

With our skin and hands feeling feeling fabulous, we headed to the Bobbi Brown makeup counter in John Lewis to get our makeup done by makeup artist Pooja. Although I wasn’t completely new to Bobbi Brown, I wasn’t as familiar with their products as I am with some other brands and so it was great to have Pooja intoruce us to Bobbi Brown’s new products and tell us in depth what the brand was all about.

I went in the makeup chair first and although I’m used to getting my makeup done on a regular basis whilst modelling, it felt strange being asked what look I wanted (as on jobs it’s usually the client or makeup artist who decides). I knew I wanted a look that I could carry through to the night (as we were heading out for Chloe’s birthday that evening) and Pooja’s eye makeup was just perfect for that, so I asked her to recreate something similar on me.

Pooja did an amazing winged liner on me and I am obsessed with the sparkle eyeshadow in shade Cement that she used on my lower lids. I opted for a slightly subtler eye makeup look but chose a bold lip. I also thought it would be the perfect time to experiment with a different blusher than I usually go for and so she used the Pot Rouge in Chocolate Cherry, which is a gorgeous deep red colour.

Full list of products that Pooja used to create my look:
To Prep The Skin: Treatment lotion (here), Intensive Skin Serum (here), Hydrating Eye Cream (here), SPF 15 Lip Balm (here).
Corrector & Concealer: Corrector in light peach (here), Concealer in warm natural (here).
Foundation: Foundation stick in warm natural 4.5 (here).
Powder & Bronzer: Powder in soft honey (here), Bronzer in golden light (here).
Blush: Pot Rouge in chocolat cherry (here), pink glow (here).
Lip: lip Colour in crushed plum (here), Lip Pencil in rum raisin (here).
Brows: Brow kit powder (here).
Eyes: Long-Wear Eye Base in medium (here), All Over Shadow in bone (here), Lower Lid Shadow in Cement (here).
Eye Liner: Gel in black (here).
Mascara: Eye Opening Mascara (here).

Next it was Chloe’s turn for makeup and Pooja did the most gorgeous shimmering brown smokey eye on her. It was the perfect choice because it really complimented the colour of Chloe’s green eyes and made them look dazzling.

We both loved how Pooja did our makeup and I now want to fill my makeup collection with lots of gorgeous Bobbi Brown products. Although I refrained from going crazy this time, I couldn’t resist buying at least one product. I bought the the foundation which Pooja had used on me whilst creating my look, which was the Foundation Stick in shade warm natural 4.5. I absolutely love this foundation on my skin because it looks so natural and since using it at home, I’ve found it really quick and easy to apply and blend.

Each mini beauty treatment (and makeup) we had was amazing and what I love about them most is that they are the time of thing that you can easily fit into an hour if you wanted to or just do one or two to refresh after a busy shopping day – or in our case, prep for a night out.

Our day at intu Trafford Centre didn’t quite end there, as we finished off with a tasty three course lunch at Bill’s Restaurant (which can read about here).

I decided to document the day on film, which you can check out in my mini vlog here:

Samio x

A Post-Shopping Lunch Date At Bill’s

I’ve been to Bill’s Restaurant on more than one occasion, my fist encounter being in York a couple of years ago and it was whilst there, that I first tried one of the amazing Bill’s breakfasts. Since then, I’ve been back to Bill’s numerous times for lunch whilst in London but funnily enough, I’d still never been to a Bill’s Restaurant in the place where I actually live, Manchester…until now.

The second Bill’s to come to Manchester opened late last year at intu Trafford Centre. Last Saturday I finally went along to this particular Bill’s with my friend Chloe, who was new to the restaurant.

I always love introducing my friends to eateries that they haven’t tried before. Knowing that Chloe is vegetarian is something that I think about when I take her to somewhere new for food, and although Bill’s doesn’t have the largest selection of meat free dishes, I knew that there were a few meals on the menu that she’d enjoy.

If you’re not familiar with Bill’s Restaurants, a particular aesthetic trademark would be the rustic interior design. I like how Bill’s has a distinct shabby chic style about it and whilst sticking to its barn-like wood features and up-cycled tins, it has an element of glam with chandeliers here and there and the odd plush chair.

We decided to get a bottle of house white to accompany our meal and to start I went for the crispy crumbed halloumi, which I have to say was delicious and Chloe went for the white and rye sourdough.

For the main I went for the beer-battered cod and Chloe went for the halloumi and hummus burger, which looked amazing. I probably should have opted for a slightly smaller starter, as by time it came to our main meals, I was already starting to feel somewhat full. However the beer-battered cod was cooked perfectly and tasted so good, so I managed to get through the most of it, leaving only a few fries.

After cleaning off our mains, Chloe and I were left feeling full and content but with the dessert menu just staring at me (yes it was me, Miss Piggy, eager for dessert), I couldn’t help but not go for the blackberry and caramel Eton Mess.

We decided to share the dessert, which was definitely a smart move (I was already contemplating unbuttoning my jeans by this point). However the Eton Mess was certainly worth every mouthful. It was a truly tasty treat to finish a great three course meal.

Aside from the food being delicious, the service was also excellent. From being greeted at the front of the restaurant on arrival to leaving at the end, we were provided with great service by a bunch of super friendly staff. It was great to see that even whilst we were in there and the place was moderately full (this was around 2pm), that the service was still of a great standard and our courses each arrived in good time. I’ll definitely be heading back to this Bill’s again soon. Maybe next time however I’ll just stick to two course, but then again, who can say no to that fabulous dessert…Mmm Eton Mess!

Samio x

Thanks to the guys at Bill’s Trafford for providing us with this complimentary three course meal.

January 22, 2016

Rustic Home Cooking At Beautiful Café In Hamburg

One of my favourite things to do when exploring a new city, is to find somewhere great to eat and when exploring abroad I always love to try out the local cuisine. Yesterday was no exception and whilst in Hamburg, visiting my fellow model friend Tara, we decided to stop at a near by café for our final meal together before I set off home.

We’d been stopping in the area of Winterhude in Hamburg and decided not to stray too far when looking for a place to lunch, so opted to keep it local. Whilst taking a short stroll we stumbled upon a cute looking café, called Café Milou and decided to venture inside.

Although Tara is pretty good with her German, we were happy to find that the staff spoke English and were super helpful with talking us through the menu.

I went for the Wedding soup (apparently popular around this time in Hamburg, as it’s a tradition soup eaten throughout wedding season) consisting of asparagus and meatballs and Tara opted for eggs and a quiche, as earlier that morning she’d taken part in the Hamburg half marathon, so I’m sure she was in need of the egg/protein overload.

I’d never tried the Wedding soup before and it was actually really tasty, I definitely want to try and make this one at home. I also tried Tara’s rustic spinach quiche and it was so delicious. I went for a rhubarb juice with sparkling water to drink and I found it really nice and refreshing.

The biggest treat though was the chocolate cake that I had after my soup. It had a sort of brownie consistency to it and a richness that tasted amazing. I washed it down with an Americano and felt very content once finished.

The lunch was such a great end to a fabulous trip and it’s made me want to try and recreate my own home cooked spinach quiche, Wedding soup and brownie style chocolate cake to go with it! The lunch at Café Milou was truly delightful, there’s nothing like great home cooking when you’re away from home!