Christmas can be such a busy time can’t it? It is so easy to end up spending hardly any time as a couple as you both have different commitments, school events, work events and shopping just takes over.
I do believe though it is important to spend time together as a couple not just buy each other gifts. We tried out Thoresby Hall for a romantic meal for two.
For that reason, I love the idea of the Time Together Smartbox from Buy A Gift. It is £79 and one of a selection of gifts available where the recipient chooses their experience.
With options from £24.99 you can buy a couple a treat or buy yourselves a treat easily whether that be the cinema, a three-course meal, a spa day, afternoon tea or something more adventurous like a ride in a hot air balloon!
When we were invited to try the Smartbox for a date night we couldn’t wait. The experience we chose I will share below. We loved it that much we bought one for my brother and his wife when they recently got married!
About Thoresby Hall
We chose a 3-course meal for two at Thoresby Hall which is not too far from us in Nottinghamshire. Thoresby Hall is a Grade 1 listed house that is stunning from the outside and inside.
It is a hotel and spa with a restaurant. The best part about it though is that it is adults only. This means your couples date night really is that.
We went in the evening so I didn’t get any good photos of the outside but go to their website to take a look! It really is like being in a stately home but not feeling out of place.
There are comfy chairs in the lounge area, fires and luxury throughout. The perfect place for a relaxing couple date night.
The Blue Grill
The Blue Grill is the restaurant that we ate in with the Time Together voucher. The voucher included a full 3-course meal from the menu, the only exception being it was extra for a couple of items.
There was still a great choice though and it didn’t feel at all like you were limited. Drinks are paid for in addition to the voucher.
The Food at Thoresby Hall
The food was presented beautifully and tasted amazing. For my starter, I chose celeriac soup and it was amazing!
Stuart chose scallops and was very impressed with them. As you can see from the photos they looked great too.
For our main courses, we were not disappointed. I ordered an open lasagne and Stuart ordered a burger. Both were lovely and so well presented too.
The service was perfect throughout our main courses. We were left alone to enjoy them after they checked politely that we were happy with our selections.
We chose to order some additional side orders with our food. I ordered some chips with my lasagne and we shared some broccoli and some garlic mushrooms. The side orders we paid for in addition to the voucher we had.
Our meals included a small bread roll and butter which had clearly been freshly baked so, of course, that was so tasty! I could have eaten lots of them as freshly baked bread is just amazing, isn’t it?
For desserts, we were spoilt for choice. All the options sounded amazing so we opted to share the plate of desserts which included small portions of most of the options! We really didn’t expect what arrived to be as stunning as it was.
As you can see above the dessert plate to share was amazing! We were thrilled to share it and despite a big meal, we made space to eat it all! I can assure you that they all tasted exactly as good as they looked. Wow is all I can say, the best dessert plate I have ever seen and tasted.
The Service
We both would highly recommend The Blue Grill. The service was lovely and the staff were all knowledgeable about all the dishes.
We definitely felt spoilt and were not treated any differently to any guests who were staying in the hotel or paying for their meals without the Buy A Gift Time Together Voucher.
It was really easy to use the voucher and the staff immediately knew what it was and how to use it.
The restaurant had a great atmosphere with the tables set out well so it didn’t feel like you could hear everyone’s conversations or that they could hear yours.
The staff knew the history of the building and were more than happy to answer any questions about Thoresby Hall we had.
Why buy a Time Together Smartbox?
This would be a lovely gift for a couple who have everything to spend some quality time together. I love the idea of a gift for your partner of a date night too.
There are so many other options available with the Smartbox so if you are not near Nottinghamshire and don’t fancy driving over to Thoresby Hall you will be sure to find something you enjoy.
Couples time is important when we are busy with planning Christmas so why not take a look and see if it could be the perfect pre-Christmas treat?
Disclaimer: I was given the voucher for this meal in exchange for a review of how we found it. All views however are my own and the fact we then bought the same voucher for my brother and sister in law as a gift says it all!
