Breakfast at Bordeaux Quay, Bristol

Taking kids out for a meal is part of the growing up process - for you as an individual, with your partner moving from being a couple to being a family, and for the children - a rite of passage that starts from the first time you struggle out with the buggy, nappy bag bulging, desperate to prove that 'nothing has changed' and then sit there breastfeeding under a napkin for the entire time while your food goes cold... It's one of those things that just keeps popping up on the agenda and as the little darlings get older, there's more and more to negotiate. Working out where to go so there's something that the children will eat. Taking a stand and going where you want to go, determined to prove that if they are hungry they will eat, and then enduring the embarrassment of the food flicking, the under the table sulking or, if you're really lucky, the complete and highly vocal refusal to eat any of THAT DIS-GUS-TING stuff, Mummy... 

As they get older, you let the children you think you've trained so well to enjoy good quality sophisticated food choose where you go - and end up in Pizza Hut trying not to balk as they pile an obscene amount of sugary sweets onto ice cream at the equally obscene 'help yourself' ice cream factory (if you haven't been there, just don't ask). And even as they get older, more grown up, become more fun, taking the kids out is still something of a minefield. You just NEVER know what's going to happen. Someone told me recently of leaving Honey and Co, revered Middle Eastern cafe, practically in tears because her kids had started flicking orange juice around the place...

For rather complicated reasons, we ended up in the Premier Inn Bristol Haymarket on Saturday night. A 'trailer trash' evening of take out pizza, Top Gear on BBC3 (the only thing on TV that late that we could consider allowing the kids to watch) and, for the Husband and I, wine in 18.7cl (i.e.small) bottles in our family room followed.  After a much better night's sleep than I'd anticipated (ie despite late pizza and sharing a room with the kids), we were refreshed and ready for the finest breakfast Bristol could offer us.

Graced with a beautiful blue sky and sunshine we sauntered down to the docks where, the Husband advised, we would find a great breakfast. I'm afraid I don't have any photos of Bristol on this glorious morning, but take it from me, it was lovely, the morning light reflecting off the stately buildings, very similar to Newcastle and Edinburgh in architectural style. Unfortunately, the establishment the Husband was intent on breakfasting at, the Mud Dock Cycleworks Cafe, was definitely closed when we pitched up, and with no indication of when it might open (if at all) we headed round the corner and spied Bordeaux Quay over the bridge, basking in the morning sunshine...

The name seemed vaguely familiar and we decided to give it a go. Plus Pink, who had refused a banana in the hotel room, had begun a constant grumble about how hungry she was and it was starting to get a little wearing.

Turns out it was a great choice: we got a prime window table in this habourside establishment, and warmed by the sun, we struggled with the menu - in the best possible way. "How many slices of toast would the full English come with?" was Blue's concern. Turns out he wanted enough to be able to have a bacon and sausage sandwich but he wanted more than just the sandwich. As long as the full English came with more than 1 bit of toast, his wildest breakfast dreams could be fulfilled. Pink just didn't want mushrooms, the Husband wouldn't tell me what he was having, in an attempt to force my hand without knowing what I might be missing out on, and I was torn between something sophisticated, possibly involving smoked salmon, or a plate of pork based products...

In the end, we had 2 full English breakfasts (one without mushrooms) for the kids, I had a vegetarian breakfast with bacon (because really, why wouldn't you?), and the Husband had a sausage ciabatta.

I can't vouch for anyone else's meal because no one was sharing, but my breakfast was delicious. 2 lovely organic eggs, grilled tomatoes, hash browns, crispy on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside, lovely big mushrooms and some lovely bacon, plus really really delicious homemade baked beans. The coffee was great too as was the hot chocolate the kids had. Judging by the clean plates, everyone else enjoyed their breakfast too - although I should mention one ting: the Husband's sausage ciabatta came with salad. A fairly standard leafy salad. It was just wrong. So the plates were all clean - APART from the salad. Sorry, Bordeaux Quay, but, please - why?

It wasn't cheap - to take the 4 of us for breakfast was £50.00, give or take, but the Husband and I reflected that actually taking the kids out for breakfast is quite a good option, rather than lunch, which can be rushed, or dinner when if you get it on the wrong day, or too late, they can be tired and grumbly, and not fancy what's on the menu. In fact, breakfast is a very non-threatening meal to take kids out for. They'll be hungry, and really, there's bound to be something they want to eat. As well as the breakfasts we had, Bordeaux Quay offered pancakes, toast, muesli or granola, croissants etc. And provided no one's had a terrible night's sleep, the darlings will be full of perky fun and entertaining conversation (if you're still at the breastfeeding under a napkin - or not under a napkin - stage, believe me, it does happen eventually!). It's possibly the perfect meal to enjoy in public with children.

It was also a lovely treat, and meant we didn't have to fork out for lunch at Bristol Zoo where we spent an enjoyable few hours in the sunshine...