Tag Archives: 21 Tips for Living Life without Regret

How to get the most out of that special meal, the best restaurant tips from toptable

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Eating out is always a treat, whether it be for a celebration such as a birthday or anniversary, a hot date or even just a catch-up with an old friend or family member. Special meals can be made even more memorable if you bag a hard to get reservation at an exclusive restaurant, secure the best table or even get more for your money by receiving money off your meal.

 

Lucy Taylor, head of restaurant relations at toptable, the leading consumer destination site for restaurant reservations in the UK, shares her top tips on how to ensure that you make the most of your dining experience:

 

Eat at a less popular time to bag a table: If you have always wanted to eat at that exclusive restaurant but have never been able to get a reservation why not to make a booking at a time that is less in demand such as dinner before 6pm, brunch or lunch.

 

The time of day and week that you go out can also have an impact on how much you spend with some restaurants offering mid-week or ‘early-bird’ special offers. Look out for toptable’s special 1,000 point booking slots at top restaurants that allows users to earn bonus points for booking at selected restaurants and times. Book two 1,000 point tables and receive a £10 dining cheque, which can be used at most restaurants on toptable

 

Don’t be afraid to make a special request: If you want to impress during your meal and make it a memorable experience, don’t be afraid to put in a special request upon booking. Are you celebrating? Tell the restaurant. Do you want that table by the window? Well why not go ahead and ask. It is however, important to arrive on time and be polite and well-mannered at all times as first impressions do count.

 

Special Offers: Look out for special offers and money off vouchers, these allow your money to stretch further when eating out. The toptable mobile site and app available for iPhone, iPad and Android, allows you to see a list of all restaurants that have special offers available within close vicinity of your current location.

 

Try something you wouldn’t try at home: When dining out, try dishes that you wouldn’t be able to make yourself at home. Instead of a pasta dish why try delicacies such as sashimi or monkfish and try deserts such as chocolate fondant or crème brulee to ensure a truly memorable experience.

 

Always read the reviews: If you are venturing somewhere a bit more lavish for that special meal, always ensure that you read up on the restaurant first to ensure that you are happy with your choice, that it works for your budget and that you like the menu it offers.

 

Diner reviews can often be deciding where to eat. toptable.co.uk features reviews that are written by people that have actually visited and eaten at the restaurants. These reviews can be filtered by categories such as ‘good for kids’ ‘good for romance’, ‘good for special occasions’ and help to ensure that you pick the right restaurant to suit what you are looking for.

 

 

21 Tips for Living Life without Regret

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‘Living Life without Regret’

21 Tips for Living Life without Regret by Hilbre Johnson of Transform Life Coaching (www.transformlifecoaching.co), who recently lost a close friend to cancer.

1. Be proactive. Go after life, don’t wait for it to come and find you – it never will.

2. Start and finish each day by saying ‘thank you’. Many people didn’t make it through your day – life is a precious gift.

3. Show compassion. Kindness is free and it makes the world a better place. Always do for others as you would like them to do for you.

4. Set your intention for the day and know what you want to get out of it. If you don’t have any idea of where you are going, how can you get there?

5. Keep active and eat healthily. A flexible and strong body is a young body.

6. Keep learning. A stimulated mind is a young mind.

7. Challenge yourself. Always keep moving out of your comfort zone – it is the only way we grow.

8. Practice mindfulness. It makes each moment a far richer experience when your senses are fully alert.

9. Forget worrying about the future, just plan for it so you can enjoy it when you get there.

10. Make time for those you care about.

11. Always tell those you love how you feel about them. You never want to say ‘if only I had told them…’

12. Make an occasion out of even the smallest and most simple things.

13. It really doesn’t matter what others think. We only realise this as we get older having wasted so much energy on trying to impress them. Who cares!

14. Slow down. We all rush along blindly heading where ever it is we are going and miss all the scenery along the way. Life isn’t just about getting to your destination, it is also about enjoying the journey.

15. Spend more time with nature – we can learn so much by quietly observing how perfectly she goes about her daily activities.

16. When it comes down to it, life is all about the simple things.

17. Make conscious changes, if you don’t life has a way of making them for you and they won’t always be what you want.

18. Find your life purpose.

19. Love unconditionally.

20. Travel more. See more.

21. Life is short and you want to say at the end of it – I lived and loved like there were no tomorrows…

These tips are thanks to Sony Pictures Home Entertainment and the DVD release of Restless, starring Mia Wasikowska (Jane Eyre, Alice in Wonderland) and newcomer Henry Hopper (Dennis Hopper’s son), out on 13th Feb.

Directed by Gus Van Sant, Oscar®-nominated director of Milk and Good Will Hunting, the film follows Annabel Cotton, a beautiful and charming terminal cancer patient with a deep felt love of life and the natural world. Enoch Brae is a young man who has dropped out of the business of living, after an accident claimed the life of his parents. When these two outsiders chance to meet at a funeral, they find an unexpected common ground in their unique experiences of the world.