Press Event
I have been a fan of The Cliff at Canford Cliffs for a long time, it was the first place I went to after coming out of the last lockdown in 2021, and I was gutted when I heard that they were closing to have a refurbishment. Fortunately the work has all now been finished and the all new and improved Cliff will be reopening officially this weekend, just in time for Father’s Day!
I was invited along, with my sister, to the pre-launch event on Wednesday evening and to say I was impressed would be an understatement. I hadn’t really been sure how they could improve The Cliff, as I always thought it was a lovely place to go and eat and drink but the new decor just puts it a cut above the rest.
From the art deco interior design to the gorgeous, more spacious garden seating area, The Cliff really have excelled at creating a high class eatery, ready for those long summer evenings. We arrived and were given the grand tour, after a quick stop at the Gin station, where a member of bar staff was on hand to mix and muddle your drink just the way you like it.
It wasn’t just a little face lift the venue has had, there was extensive building work, hence the longer closing time, and I was really interested in the attention to detail that had gone into the new design, even down to the length of time it took the tiler to apply all those gorgeous tiles to the bar!
After our tour, we were encouraged to order whatever we wanted from the bar, which was open for the evening. A member of staff suggested a bottle of Champagne, and who were we to refuse. I can confirm it was gorgeous, and totally fitting for such a special evening.
Taking our seats at our table, we were again advised to over order, so I took them up on this generous offer and selected a couple of dishes to choose from (and photograph of course). I loved the Bar buns, but they were just a little overstuffed for my liking, and I ended up leaving them in favour of the much easier to eat sticky chicken, which was gorgeous.
For mains, I went for the curry and the duck stir fry. I haven’t had a stir fry which didn’t come with noodles before, but it made the dish very light and easy to eat – the duck was the best I have ever eaten, just crispy enough whilst remaining deliciously moist inside. I would have preferred meat with the curry rather than the aubergine, which was a big portion and a little overpowering. The sauce with the sticky rice was just amazing though, I want to go back and eat it all over again right now.
Although we were totally stuffed, I managed to fit in a dessert and I am so pleased I did, the trio of white chocolate cheesecakes were truly magnificent, once I got past the fact that I thought it was a starter of arancini balls when it arrived.
The evening was totally incredible, the staff could not have been more welcoming. They catered for my sister, who has to stick to a gluten free diet as she has coealiac disease (she had some tasty looking dishes like the below for her main), and the food was some of the best I’ve had. I will 100% be back very soon, as I love The Cliff and am sure my dad will be jealous as he feels the same way.
If you are visiting in the next few weeks, make sure to use my discount code THECLIFF22 for 50% off mains when dining during the week – you’re welcome!
This was a press event. I was kindly invited along and enjoyed complimentary food and drink on the evening, however I was under no obligation to write this post and all words and images are my own.
