One of the things we do enjoy as a family is eating out, one day in the weekend we go on an adventure and love to find somewhere new along the way to eat in. It can be at times a little stressful if I’m not having a particularly zen day but the girls enjoy it and we enjoy food so it’s worth a few frantic jumps across a table to catch a falling glass of milk.
Recently we were kindly invited to have Sunday lunch in the Cork International Hotel and the whole set up was so different to what we normally experience. Shying away from the traditional sit down style experience and far from the old fashioned carvery style the Cork International sits somewhere in the middle. The buffet area is divided into different areas, from a full blown smoothie area to a mouth watering display of deserts, and the best thing is that you (obviously!) choose the food you put on your plate. Now you may think that’s an odd thing to rejoice over but NOTHING annoys me more than the food wastage we experience at almost every other restaurant we go to. More often than not we order one portion between the two girls but there are times that the small ladies want different meals and regardless of how many times you inform them that the girls are only 2 and 4 and therefore we only want small portions (obviously we don’t mind paying full price, the point is the waste!) their plates come out filled with food. We have even told waitresses the number of chips the girls would need and still a plate full of chips suitable for a small family comes out for each of the girls. 
We have also begun to tell the girls that restaurants don’t have chips, more often than not the choice for kids is fish and chips, sausages and chips, chicken goujons and chips etc, all chips and never any vegetables. So it was utterly refreshing to see the chips at the Cork International hidden away out of sight so we could give the girls a decent healthy meal with potatoes and veg. I’m not an overly healthy conscious parent but when it comes to food when we’re out its just nice to mix it up and to let the girls try alternatives to the processed food usually doled out. 
The setting of the dinner was lovely too, the place was full of families of all different shapes, sizes and volumes so there was a really lovely atmosphere and as a parent of small children you could relax. There was a man playing a piano which was lovely and if you saw my snapchat at the time you’ll have seen that the middle lady was not able to sit still with all the dancing that consumed her! 
One other thing that really warrants mentioning was the staff. They were so genuinely friendly, SO good with the girls and really helpful. Honestly, again as a parent, this is hugely helpful when you’re out, it makes it so much more relaxing and enjoyable to eat out with your family whatever age they may be. The whole hotel is really cool, I won’t spoil it but the toilets are worth checking out downstairs, they are very different! There is also a lovely plane themed play area upstairs, it was filled with toys and had rows of actual aeroplane seats for the parents to sit/feed/relax in. 
I’ve had a few friends tell me since seeing my Snapchat that they too went down to try it out and were equally as happy as we were. And if you would like to see for yourself just how good the Cork International Hotel is for Sunday Lunch then head over to my Facebook page where you can win Sunday Lunch for two adults and two children! 
