I first came upon the Cosy Club on our family holiday to York, and found it so charming and so comfortable looking…cosy if you will. It is the same in the Cosy Club in the Centre:MK, I love the way it is decorated and I enjoyed sitting on the sofa whilst we had a drink. It is also the least chain-like of chain restaurants in my opinion.
Cosy Club (Milton Keynes)
I have visited a few times, and on this occasion we went as a family for brunch. It was busy but not uncomfortably so. Our server was excellent, so bubbly, efficient and kind to my kids.
The kids love pancakes and told me that they were delicious. They ordered pancakes with bacon and maple syrup. The bacon was streaky which can be fatty but in this case it was quite crispy.
I don’t get to eat out quite as often now due to a health condition, so this was a lovely treat. I am very limited in what I can order, but they were very good at discussing my options, and they checked the ingredients various times for me, which was reassuring. My mum ordered the full English breakfast (classic breakfast) and my husband chose the vegetarian breakfast.
My mum did not like her potato hash to start with as it was a little undercooked, but they brought out a new one and she enjoyed it. My husband liked the avocado and pea mint crush on the garden brunch, this is a nice addition to a vegetarian breakfast. The prices are good and they serve breakfast until 12noon. Also, last year I went gluten-free for 5 months and they do an excellent gluten-free breakfast here.
In summary, though you have to pay for parking the decor and the delicious food make it worth it, particular if you plan to do some shopping.
I recently visited this amazing restaurant on the lake (twice), the first was with work and it was so good I just had to go back again, so I went back with a friend. It was every bit as good the second time.
The Italian Sul Lago (Review)
There is plenty of (free) parking and what a location! As soon as you walk through the door you are greeted by flowers all around the entrance walls, it’s a lovely welcome, and then there is a giant blossomed tree in the middle of the room, chandeliers dotted across the ceiling and the best bit…floor to ceiling windows and that beautiful view of Furzton Lake. Milton Keynes is a very pretty City, so green and verdant but we are not really known for our magnificent vistas, there are no mountains or even large hills, there are no beaches or beautiful seas or many old buildings but we do a great job with nature. We have more parks and lakes in Milton Keynes then almost anywhere, and this restaurant is perfectly situated and has taken advantage of the lake views.
If the weather is on your side you can sit outside at one of the tables and enjoy the view…although…I was disappointed that they do not have a bar, so that means you cannot order a drink and sit outside. I felt a bit silly (at first) waiting for my colleagues without a drink, but it was still nice, the weather was warm and the sun was bouncing off the lake, it felt very restful.
Now over to the food, my friend ordered lasagne and garlic dough balls and I ordered a lasagne with a side of garlic bread with cheese. The garlic bread was huge, so big in fact that it could have been my starter (or main meal, come to think of it), and it was delicious, garlic bread is not often that memorable, once you’ve eaten one garlic bread you’ve kind of had them all, but this appeared to be hand-made and cooked in a pizza oven (I believe), and though by the end of the meal I couldn’t finish it all, I really, really wanted to.
The lasagne, oh the lasagne, I ordered it on my first visit and it was so good I had to order it again, and wow it was every bit as good as I remembered. I can honestly say that this is the best lasagne I have ever had, bar none. I have even been to Italy 3 times and I still cannot remember having one this good in the home-land. My only minor (very minor) improvement that I would make, is a slightly bigger or more varied salad. It came with a side of cress, but a wider variety of leaves or even better a side of vegetables would have been perfect, because I am not a big salad fan anyway. I could have ordered a side of broccoli (as it was on the menu), but alas I felt that the side dishes were too expensive. I know that costs have increased but £7 for a side of broccoli is excessive, I think, and not really in keeping with the rest of the menu. The lasagne was only £16, I would have expected £7 broccoli at a place that sold a £25 lasagne.
For dessert I ordered ice cream because I am on a low acid diet, and therefore cannot eat chocolate, I would have loved the chocolate brownie. However, the ice cream (strawberry and cream) was very nice but I think they could have made it look a bit more special though. I had dessert envy because my friend’s dessert looked so appetising. Even a sprig of mint on my ice cream would have made a difference, though I would have loved a biscuit or a wafer with it.
Finally I have experienced mixed levels of service. My first visit service was very good and friendly, even though we were a big group, my most recent visit however the waitress was not personable or warm, which is a shame.
Overall, despite a few very minor aspects that I would change, I had a fantastic time on both visits, and I simply cannot wait to go back. The food and the location are impeccable, this could very well be one of the best restaurants in Milton Keynes.
Over the Easter weekend Buckinghamshire Railway Centre ran their ‘Day out with Thomas‘, which they do about 3 weekends a year. The last time they did this was in September so we have waited a long time for this. The cost was £41 for 2 adults and 1 child over the age of 2, so it wasn’t a cheap day out, but I have to say it was worth it to see the look on my son’s face when he saw Thomas for the first time! He loved it! The journey from Milton Keynes was not too bad, it took 50 minutes (it is near to Aylesbury).
We went on Bank Holiday Monday and arrived at 10:30am, exactly when it opened, which was a good time because there was no queuing for tickets and we didn’t have to queue to ride on the Thomas train (there was a long queue for the rest of the day). So the first thing we did, of course, was to ‘meet’ Thomas and ride on the Thomas train, which Nate loved! I was surprised by how very comfortable old steam trains are, I would love to try it on a longer journey. Be aware that the train ride is very short. The ride goes in one direction for 2 1/2 minutes, goes back and then repeats so the entire journey lasts for 10 minutes in total. It’s a shame that you don’t get to see much of the countryside, as the train turns back as soon as you start to see fields, but we all enjoyed it anyway, the steam and the chugging was all very authentic, plus how often do you get to ride on a real steam train?
After riding on the Thomas train, and spotting Toby on the way, we headed towards the miniature railway, and after about 10 minutes of queuing we had a ride, which we all enjoyed, perhaps even more than Thomas. This was because it was open air, it was a longer journey, it was pretty and was full of little characters all along the journey such as Winnie the Pooh, Noddy, Fireman Sam, Bob the Builder and more we also got to go through a tunnel. We stopped here for a picnic and and Nate watched the trains go round on the model railway.
There were various other activities going on through the day, there was an open top train ride, face painting, a balloon show, colouring activities, a mini cinema on board a train showing Thomas, meet the Fat Controller, some toy train sets to play with and more. There was a restaurant inside selling food, which we didn’t try because it was too busy, there was also a chip van and several picnic areas. We stayed until about 2pm, so there were enough activities for a half-day visit, probably not enough to keep you out all day. Nate was so tuckered out he fell asleep straight away and slept the whole journey home.
The next ‘Day out with Thomas’ is in early July and then again in early September. There is also a ‘Postman Pat’ day in May and a ‘Peppa Pig’ day in June.
Feeding the Kat 