I always love a food event or a restaurant launch, but when the email about the launch of Cosy Club in Basingstoke pinged my way, I put it in my calendar straight away! I’m a big fan of the Cosy Club in Guildford, and I was super excited that I could try another one out, and it did not dissapoint.
The Cosy Club ethos is that they celebrate the joys of relaxed dining, drinking and lounging in a fabulous setting, and as they say; “think aristocratic abundance with a dash of local village cricket pavilion pottiness”. The decor is super quirky but fun, and the staff are super attentive and passionate.
I really love everything about the Cosy Club brand, and after a little nose on their site discovered that in partnership with Independent Age, every Wednesday between 10-11am they encourage people that need it to come and have a free tea, a chat, etc. Which is just LOVELY.
I was invited along to the launch which was lovely, but it was super busy and hot and we only managed to try a small selection of tapas, so once they had settled into Festival Place a little bit, Alex and I headed back to sample the full menu, and it was such a treat. We used the review as an excuse for a much needed date night, so we went all out and had 3 courses each. All in the name of a review right? To start we shared a couple of the tapas plates, which are priced at £4.95 each, or 3 for £13.95 and we went for the Tempura King Prawns with a soy & ginger dipping sauce and a coriander, chilli & spring onion salad, and the Halloumi Sticks with chipotle chilli jam. Both were delicious and were great options for starters as they weren’t overly filling but kept us going. I am a sucker for halloumi fries though and could easily eat these all. day. long.
Alex and I can’t resist a burger, however I am veggie, so I love to explore all the amazing veggie burgers that exist now. Cosy Club offer two veggie burger options, the Beyond Meat burger, and the Halloumi burger, it’s always great to have options! I can’t resist halloumi, so thats what I went for. Now, as a veggie, i like to consider myself a slight veggie burger conneseur now, but to be honest the Cosy Club Halloumi burger just didn’t hit the expectations I had, and compared alongside my all time fave, Bills Halloumi burger, it just didn’t have the same level to it. The halloumi in the burger was battered/breadcrumbed (?) halloumi sticks, and just didn’t quite work in the burger the same way a juicy fat slab of grilled halloumi does. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it, and ate every last crumb, but I wasn’t day dreaming about it after, and I probably wouldn’t go for it again. Alex however, loved his burger, especially as it offered the option to double up on the patty, his favourite
After we had filled our boots with savoury starters and mains we thought why not and had to finish with pudding. I went for the Salted Caramel cheesecakes (£6.25) which came with a delicious sauce and popcorn too. My slice was huge, but I managed to inhale the whole thing and it was very nice. Alex went for the decadent melting chocolate bombe (£7.50) which he really enjoyed. Melting bombe type puddings are still having quite a moment and I can see why as they really are quite a special pudding, however £7.50 did seem a little on the pricier side.
We both had a lovely time at Cosy Club, and it is a place that we love to go back to as we know we both love the menu and atmosphere. As a vegetarian they have loads of great options, and a pretty tasty dedicated vegan menu too.
Sophie x