2 in 1 blog : The Paddle for brunch

There is nothing I love more than enjoying food in the great outdoors. The weather in the UK this summer has been incredible (let's hope I don't jinx it now) and so on Sunday we decided to head over to The Paddle in Highcliffe before a heading for our own paddle in the sea. Also, it is defiantly worth noting that The Paddle is doggy friendly!! Woohoo or should I say woof woof!

SistersDineOut first experienced brunch at The Paddle back in October 2017, which as you know was a little while before we started blogging, so we have decided to do a double review in one...because, well, why not?

On our first adventure, we opted for 'Harrys' One Pan Breakfast, American Style Pancakes and one of their oaty smoothies with a nice pot of tea.

The pancakes were super fluffy and tasty while the one pan breakfast couldn't be faulted. It's great to see that The Paddle are supporting local produce and using sausages from Chris Watson, which is a family butchers based in Highcliffe. I think it's great when restaurants support their local suppliers and I have to say, I do also appreciate a good sausage, and this was no exception ;)

From a taste perspective, everything was pure perfection. I love the way this place has been decorated to have a laid back 'surfer' feel with cushions and fairy lights galore. You really have the chance to enjoy your brunch without feel pressured by time constraints. Which is really nice in this day and age. One of the things we did note, however, was that service was pretty slow. By the time our tasty breakfast arrived, I was hungry enough to eat a small child...

Thought I'd leave a close up of that tasty sausages just encase ;)

So that was back then, but what about now? Due to the weather being glorious, we decided to sit outside and enjoy our breakfast in the sun. 

This weeks special was French toast, caramelised banana and cinnamon yogurt. I bet you can't even read that without salivating right? It was so good and surprisingly light. My only complaint was that by the time it got to me, my yogurt was really weirdly warm, so it didn't taste great. But I am really fussy and it wasn't that big a deal, more just a personal preference. I would have just liked to have experienced the cold yogurt on the hot toast as a contrast. 

We also opted for The Ultimate Paddle which is a beast of a breakfast! I was so happy to see that 9 months on The Paddle were still supporting a local bit of meat with Chris Watons sausages on offer. 

The breakfast was nice, but we felt it wasn't quiet up to the same standard as the last cooked breakfast we experienced. And I know you could say, 'how do you know, it was 9 months since you last ate there' but I just know. The last time I ate the cooked breakfast at The Paddle I was DESPERATE to go back and this time, I was like, I could take it or leave it. 

This is only the case on the cooked breakfast though. The French Toast was sublime (even with the warm yogurt) 

One thing I will note again was that the service was just painfully slow. We ate brunch around 11.30 ish so it was kind of during a 'lul' and it still took a crazy length of time to get food. And this really does bother me. When I go for brunch, I obviously don't eat anything before I go, and that is completely my choice, but the brunch here really does take a long, long time to get to my belly. 

I feel like I enjoy the food and the environment enough to go back to The Paddle, but I won't be rushing back. I feel bad because it wasn't a bad experience, don't get me wrong, it really wasn't, it was just an average experience. Which is really disappointing because I really don't feel like the first time I went to The Paddle that it was average. 

But if you want brunch that is within around a 5 minute walk from the sea...then this really is a great place to start your day!

                                        All pictures taken & owned by SistersDineOut