Friday 20th April was the hottest April day in nearly seventy years, so I was more than happy to make my way to The Christchurch Harbour Hotel to celebrate the relaunch of their deck area, and stay out in the sunshine for a couple more hours.
I am a regular visitor to the restaurant so knew what to expect from the inside of the hotel but had not experienced the decking on such a beautiful evening, it was perfect.
The bar is positioned just to the right of the doors that lead from the recently refurbished restaurant, here we were offered a welcome drink. I met up with Bournemouth bloggers who were all making the most of the photo opportunities it really was a bloggers dream.
We chatted to Alex Aitken, Chef Patron of The Jetty, who has been in the business for over thirty years and has made a clear commitment to showcase local produce at its very best. Something as the15milefoodie I completely agree with and one of the reasons I started my blog.
Incidentally Alex's demonstration lunches are well worth going to if you get the chance, delicious and highly entertaining.
Staff came round with some canapés which included tuna, duck and ham hock, followed by the main event, a huge pan of sizzling paella being cooked in front of us and fresh oysters served with lovely vinaigrette followed by a shot of Grey Goose vodka for the brave.
It really was a party atmosphere, well needed after the huge amount of rain we have had recently, in fact it was so warm we felt as if we could of been in Spain.
Paella served in a shell, very cute but a little tricky to eat whilst standing up and juggling with a delicious glass of fizz.
The whole evening was organised to promote a series of events on the terrace throughout the summer months and I for one will be going back on the 1st June to have some more of that paella. Have a look at the promotional leaflets below to see what dates you fancy, you wont be sorry!
Big thanks to Victoria for the Bournemouth Bloggers invite.