We had a wonderful dinner at Roxy’s a couple of weeks ago during our weekend in Bournemouth.

As we were in the peak of the summer season, the beaches were pretty busy so we knew that getting a dinner reservation same night at a decent restaurant was going to be something of a mission. Luckily we were able to get one at Roxy’s. With the help of trusty TripAdvisor we were about to have a wonderful night.

The restaurant didn’t look like much from the outside and could easily be missed unless you were looking for it. The 3.95 breakfast deal it had at the front wasn’t doing it any favours either. But never judge a book by its cover! Inside it was nice and cosy with a warm ambience with tasteful eastern european lamps and rustic decor. Right from the get go, the service was attentive and prompt. Service was top notch all night and the owners were Romanian and very friendly.

Traditionally a Romanian restaurant they seemed to have something of a pub menu but trust me the food was pretty fantastic! And well presented. We started with a some cocktails and the complimentary bread and butter was a great start.

We had three courses. For starters we had the Fresh Seafood Salad and the Battered Calamari Rings. The salad was a good size and I was pretty full by the end of it.

For mains I had their specialty, the Transylvannian steak. I’ve never had chicken pate in between steak before but it really worked. The taste of the pate wasn’t overpowering and worked well with the juicy well cooked steak and delicate taste of the ricotta alongside the honey soy sauce. Beware, the portions of the mains were pretty big as the plate is also filled with accompanying sides.

My boyfriend had the Fillet Steak and said it was one of the best steaks he’s eaten in ages as it was cooked to perfection.

With a little encouragement from the owner we shared the Papanasi which is something of a (large) crispy donut with a soft interior. We chose the blackcurrant jam on the advice of the owner since the donut would already be quite sweet. Glad we did this because it also came with icecream! It took about 15 minutes to prepare as it is made to order. We weren’t complaining as we were completely stuffed by this time. I recommend that if you’re already being bad, be more bad and order a glass of the Romanian dessert wine, I can’t recall its name but its the first one under Dessert Wines.
Ok now back to the big donut, it was huge! Its fluffy center was deliciously warm. The icecream, bluberry compote and donut really complimented each other making the dish the perfect end to a great meal. Oh and get the small one if there is only two of you. I can’t imagine how big large would’ve been…

This place is great for couples, groups or even on your own. The ambience is warm and welcoming and best of all great food and service. What more could you ask for? Oh and did I mention that it won’t break the bank either? Joy!

My boyfriend who isn’t easily impressed with things said that this was probably the best meal and service he has had since coming to England 7 months ago. Now that’s a big call because a drag him out to A LOT of decent places in London. Now we HAVE to go to Romania while here in the UK 🙂

Roxy’s Bistro Bar
313 Charminster Road, Bournemouth BH8 9QP, England

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