Ladies who lunch, and shop, at Intu Potteries .......

Instyle on tour.  Sort of.  I had the enormous pleasure of inviting two of my lovely friends to lunch courtesy of Intu Potteries.  Back in the day I remember it as the Potteries Shopping Centre.  That was many moons ago when I actually worked in Hanley.  Things have changed a bit since then and all for the better!

The journey only takes a smidge over half an hour and we arrive and park easily within the centre.  After gaining our bearings,  my friends are equally as keen to check out the shops as I am.  No surprises there then.  With over 80 to choose from we plumped for H&M first, again zero surprise, followed by a hack around Topshop, Next, River Island and Schuh to name but a few.  Along with many shops 'The Hive' offers 6 restaurants and we had been invited to choose one, to enjoy a well earned rest, mid way through our day out. 

We agreed that Bon Pan Asian was something new to us all.  

After joining the queue, yes it is a popular venue, we were asked to pay at the front desk before taking our seats.  This was novel and we were bewildered at the price.  When we were told £25.00 we genuinely thought that would be per person.  No it was for the three of us!  Brilliant value, as we were soon to discover. 

We were efficiently shown to our table, which had a lovely view across to open countryside showing a little a glimpse of the old town.  We spotted a bottle kiln tucked in between some factory buildings. The sun was shining.  We were blessed with a good summery day.  Much to our amazement we realised that the buffet style dining catered for everyones taste.   On offer was a large variety of pizza, salads, Asian curries and Chinese offerings.  Chips, chicken nuggets, noodles, the list goes on.  Not only that but you could eat as much as you desired.  You have the ability to return for more savoury courses and dessert.  The puddings, sweets, ice creams and cakes were mightily impressive.  All this in a large space that could accommodate many diners easily.  

We couldn't resist a cocktail.  It's what lunch with your shopping buddies is all about.  I stepped out of my comfort zone (I am a firm white wine drinker.)   After my cocktail I could happily never step back in to that zone!  My choice was the Long Beach iced tea.  Totally scrummy.  I guess we were proving that fab food choices and cocktails are not just for the evening.  We had a wonderful time at midday. 

Refreshed we continued in browse mode, always with a possibility of a sneaky purchase. 

They do say that a picture speaks a thousand words so here are a few that will show you exactly what I'm talking about. 

*Cocktails were paid for separately and are not part of the initial cost at entry *

Thank you to Claire and Izzy for making the day so much fun.  I think we will be returning to the IntuPotteries soon.

It was refreshing to re visit what is a local shopping centre and being so pleasantly surprised at all the refurbishment and updates that are ongoing.  Together with lunch it was a completely relaxed, stress free, experience.

It received a thumbs up from us all.

Helen XxX

This post is in collaboration with Intu Potteries.
Thank you for inviting us.
AD***