A couple of weeks ago Charl (Ginger Girl Says) and I went to Shrewsbury to meet up with Kirsty Leanne and Unwritten Chloe for a day of fun, photos and food. The last time I was here was back in January, when Jake and I briefly swung by for an Afternoon Tea. It’s about an hour down the road from us in Stoke, so easy to get to via beautiful country roads. It’s a beautiful drive in the summer.
After running through Rapeseed fields and street style shoots, we took our hungry bellies to Dough and Oil, a venue highly recommended by Kirsty and Chloe. As Charl and I approached, the pastel spool tables and colourful chairs made me squeal in frustration that I had left an outfit at home that would have been perfect for this Instagrammable location.
Through the doors, the bright décor welcomed us alongside the smell of freshly baked pizza. Upstairs in Dough and Oil is not too dissimilar a vibe to Hanley’s Klay Pizzeria. We headed on downstairs to meet Chloe and Kirsty, and were met with a totally new setting, equally as snappable.
Downstairs is dimly lit with neon lights and lamps illuminating the corners of the rooms. Lazy sofas and armchairs you can sink into surround low tables, with tall houseplants bringing an urban jungle feel to the basement. Beside our table was an old box TV, complete with a Saga megadrive where you can play retro 90s games like Sonic the Hedgehog as well as a foosball table. The moody dive bar vibe is definitely my kinda jam – especially when the drinks are flowing.
It didn’t take much mulling over the menu before I decided on a salted caramel milkshake and The Strawberry Cake pancakes. Kirsty also ordered the pancakes, with Charl and Chloe going for a Margo pizza (that’s your straight-up margarita).
The pancake stack that arrived on my table was so think and fluffy. The American style pancakes were topped with strawberry white chocolate, fresh strawberries, mascarpone cream and candied hazelnuts. That’s right – now, wipe the drool off your screen. In hindsight, I would have asked for no hazelnuts, but the fact they were candied made them pretty tasty.
As yummy as my pancakes were, I had definite food envy over the pizzas being served. There’s no doubt I’ll be back to try one of those crispy based babes soon.
The difference in settings between upstairs and downstairs takes you from day to night with ease. You could easily spend all day in there, and it certainly doesn’t feel like you’re in Shrewsbury. That being said, I quite often say ‘X venue in Staffordshire feels like you’re somewhere much cooler, like Manchester or Brighton’, but perhaps the fact of the matter is that these places are cool. Dough and Oil was Shrewsbury’s first city-style venue, popping up back in 2017. Now, there are so many quirky venues! I walked past tonnes and I have vowed to go back and spend a whole day there bar-hopping. There’s definitely more than meets the eye to the little town, and the old architecture of all of the buildings is absolutely stunning.
BRB guys – just planning my next trip to Shrewsbury. If you have any food/drink venue suggestions then definitely hit me up with them!