the queen's head, belton, leicestershire.

Found in the Leicestershire countryside, The Queen's Head is a cosy pub and restaurant that boasts five refurbished rooms. The Belton based establishment pride themselves on using the best ingredients and local producers to create seasonal menus mostly inspired by British and European cuisine. The bar area is dog friendly, whilst the restaurant has a more modern and refined feel for birthday meals, special occasions and date nights alike.

sunday roast at the windmill inn, brascote.

Who doesn't love a Sunday lunch, really? So many combinations, so many traditions. Whether you're a veggie, meat eater, Yorkshire pudding obsessive or insist upon roast potatoes every Sunday... everyone has their favourite way to enjoy a roast.

A local pal and I have since decided to start a little Sunday lunch club. I mean, it's just us and every roast we can eat in Leicestershire. But it's going well so far. One I was particularly fond of recently was The Windmill in Brascote. I'd been recommended the restaurant a few times, so it felt about time to venture out.

tapas treats for chutney ivy, leicester.

Award winning Leicester based restaurant Chutney Ivy has never been afraid to try new things. With traditional Bangladeshi style recipes and cooking methods at the heart of the dishes, the modern menu is always featuring seasonal flavours to inspire their guests. Most recently, Chutney Ivy plan to take on the tapas trend for their newest additions. Embracing the idea of small plates to share (yes, share), the restaurant will showcase their best Indian savouries, just that little bit smaller. 

an instagram masterclass for foodies.

People who love to eat are always the best people. If they love to take a photograph and share it on their Instagram, ever better. I love hearing about new foodie discoveries, scrolling through my Instagram feed and imagining what the dishes taste like. If you've got this far, I imagine you do too. As part of the Highcross #FoodFest this Summer, I was invited to host an Instagram workshop for local foodies. With a supper club vibe, we enjoyed dining at Turtle Bay whilst I'd shared my best tips and tricks on photo editing, hashtags, social sharing and building your audience.

farewell feasts at maiyango, leicester.

After many years, Leicestershire renowned Maiyango is closing its doors for an exciting new foodie venture for 2017. To say a foodie farewell, the St Nicholas based restaurant put on a variety of taster menus, as well as wine pairing, cocktail and gin nights. I went along to sample the dishes they're most proud of, the best of the best, if you will. Apart from work parties, I actually hadn't had the chance to dine from their full menu, so this seemed like a fitting way to round off an institution.

chocolate afternoon tea at cuppas of rothley, leicestershire.

Love chocolate? Love afternoon tea? Live in the Midlands? This place needs to be next on your hitlist. For £13.95 per person, Cuppas of Rothley serves up a chocoholics afternoon tea in a 1940s inspired setting. The vintage style tea room, set in the lovely Leicestershire village, has a handful of charming chairs and tables where diners can enjoy traditional afternoon teas as well as lunch, brunch and light bites. 

middletons steakhouse grill and restaurant, leicester.

A new addition to the Leicester foodie scene, Middletons Steakhouse Grill and Restaurant is the new resident of the old bank by St. Martin's Square. A beautiful historic building just a stone's throw from Leicester Cathedral, the steakhouse prides itself on "Fine Cuts & Fine Drinks." With five other steak restaurants around the UK, the team have revamped the lovely, old Leicester building for their latest venture.

homemade red leicester bread.

It's pretty good being a foodie in Midlands. From countryside farm shops to the vibrant cities, there are so many amazing flavours to whet your appetite. Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire is the home of the pork pie, you can find Colston Bassett Stilton in Nottinghamshire and Bakewell tarts in Derbyshire's Peak District. From beers in Burton-on-Trent to baltis in Birmingham, there's a lot to be said about the food and drink around these parts. So when Haven asked me to share a local delicacy, I was spoilt for choice.

In the end I went with classic Red Leicester; the infamous orange cheese which dates back to the 17th Century. It's found in supermarkets far and wide, but to get the proper hard, crumbly but creamy Red Leicester it needs to be traditional Sparkenhoe. To celebrate this fantastic Leicestershire cheese, I've created a Red Leicester bread - perfect accompanied with some local homemade chutney!

tokyo to go from yo! sushi.

Ever fancied ditching the sushi belt and going al fresco with your favourite Japanese dishes? Perhaps gorging on gyoza in your very own home or getting your noodle fix in the office? For miso on the move and takeaway tempura, Yo! To Go is the answer. Get your most loved Yo! dishes (and a few brand new extras) to takeaway or be delivered to an eligible address. Complete with soy sauce, wasabi, ginger and chopsticks, of course. And hey presto... it's Tokyo To Go!

pesto at the white horse, desford, leicestershire.

Pesto, found in the Leicestershire village of Desford, is an Italian restaurant with a tapas twist. Their plates are billed as piattini, or piattino, meaning small dish in Italian. With around forty dishes at around the £2.95-5.95 mark, the idea is to mix and match your favourites to create a shareable, Mediterranean feast. Not sure whether to choose pasta or pizza? Cannelloni or calamari? Rigatoni or risotto. No fear, you can have it all.

meatcure, leicester.

Meatcure is one of the newer establishments of the brilliant burger restaurants that have come to Leicester. With a well received Market Harborough location, you can imagine the local chatter around the new indie eatery. A few month since the launch back in September, I returned to try the latest burger specials and their famous hardshakes.

meet & eat at the orange tree supper club, leicester.

Meet & Eat at The Orange Tree is a new Leicester based supper club with a difference. Those who are familiar with The Orange Tree will recognise its relaxed vibe and independent charm through mismatched furniture, local art and stacks of board games. With such a laid back atmosphere, you'd be forgiven for thinking the private dining area was that of someone's living room. For that reason it made the perfect location for a Leicester supper club - complete with likeminded foodie folk and locally sourced food.

autumn at las iguanas, leicester.

Live Latin. This is the philosophy of Las Iguanas through and through. Inspired by Latin American culture and cuisine, you may know Las Iguanas brings a largely Mexican and Brazilian influenced menu packed with personality and flavour. With native Latin American Indian, Spanish, Portuguese and African inspiration too.

Now with many restaurants now across the UK. the restaurant haven't lost touch with their roots; still bringing carefully sourced ingredients and authentic recipes to our British tables. To cooincide with their new Autumn offerings, I went along to my Leicester branch to try out the latest menu.

the latest additions at wagamama.

It's no secret I love Japanese food. Time and time again I return to old faithful wagamama for my favourite Ebi Raisukaree; a fragrantly spiced prawn curry which I've tried to recreate at home. I was invited by my local wagamama to come down and try the new menu additions. Weeks ahead, I already had my eye on the toasted sesame mochi for dessert.

britain's best sirloin steak at the parcel yard, leicester.

Part of the The Steamin' Billy brewery,The Parcel Yard in Leicester has been making its name in craft beers and cocktails for some time now. Offering up the likes of Thornbridge, Thwaits, Mordue and their very own 1485 Return of the King, it's a great place, right by the rail station, to meet up before catching your train home.

The Parcel Yard itself takes its name from the building’s former purpose as a sorting office and parcel yard for British Rail. It's a pretty cool and quirky place with high back armchairs, stacked up books and bowler hat lampshades. You'll find the well stocked bar at the front of the establishment, with their candlelit restaurant at the back - take your pick. 

As well as their impressive drinks menu, it's also becoming a foodie destination too, with UK Burger Battle and Praise to the Pork to name just a few events. This week saw the celebration of England's Best Sirloin Steak Winner, launching a menu to show off the Owen Taylor & Sons produce. 

deliveroo leaps to leicester.

Bringing tasty takeaway dishes direct to your door, Deliveroo is taking over our UK cities one delivery at a time. Their mission is to simplify the takeaway, with a well researched host of fantastic quality restaurants ready for any occasion. It's not just for Friday night takeaways over Netflix either. If you're looking for picnic in the park, grub for a gathering or munch over a meeting, they've got you covered.

Luckily for Leicester folk, they've recently set up shop in Leicester too. With Nottingham already established and Derby on the way, Deliveroo is really getting the East Midlands talking about their premium takeaways. So, if you're perusing the Leicester offerings and wondering what to try next, here are a few of my personal favourites to get you started...

summer at bill's restaurant.

Another season brings a fresh and new menu from Bill's. I went along to the thriving Leicester restaurant to see what was new for Summer. Bill's is known for creating twists on classic recipes, with great flavour combinations that was accessible to all tastes. Roll on the Summer menu...

the white hart, loughborough.

A couple of sunny weekends ago, my food blogger pal Alex joined me for a Saturday lunch at The White Hart. One of her (many) locals, Gingey can take all the credit for this little gem. We enjoyed a selection of their tapas menu, whilst planning an exciting new foodie venture we're in the middle of. More on that soon! For now, I'll leave you with a selection of tiny treats which are soon becoming the trendy British answer to tapas.