The Blue Bar is different - but blue is still king.
The décor has had a revamp too, making the space more inviting and better suited for full meals. One thing, however, hasn't changed – and we're glad it hasn't: the blue that gives the bar its name. It's still in the striped awnings, the rippled bar, the terrace chairs and, of course, in the 180-degree ocean view that steals the show.
On the drinks menu, you'll find some surprisingly creative sangrias (€25), like the Pêra Bêbeda – made with red wine, ruby Port, pear and cinnamon syrup – or the Cosmo, a refreshing mix of rosé wine, Smirnoff Red vodka, Triple Sec and cranberry syrup. Prefer something stronger? Classic crowd-pleasers like mojitos, caipirinhas and Cuba Libres are all here (€10), but the spotlight shines on the more daring mixes, like the Porn Star Martini – vanilla vodka, passion fruit juice and purée, M&M sparkling wine, vegan foam and orange (€12) – or the Berry Sour Affair, blending Gordon's Pink gin, Campari, strawberry purée and vegan foam.
If you're going alcohol-free, there are indulgent milkshakes (€6.50) and a good list of mocktails (€6–8). On the shake front, don't miss the Berry Best, with raspberry sorbet, lactose-free milk, grenadine and whipped cream, or the Pistachio & Mint, featuring pistachio ice cream, milk, mint syrup, toasted hazelnuts and whipped cream. As for mocktails, highlights include the Abstinence on the Beach – a zingy blend of orange juice, peach juice and cranberry syrup – and the Mango Mule, with ginger beer, mango juice and lime.
On the food front, the new menu brings fresh flavours to match the view. There's the Blue Sandwich with seared tuna (€16), a crispy lobster taco (€18), and a buttery brioche filled with scrambled eggs and chives (€15). You can also snack on a cheese board (€30) or keep it simple with one of two classic pizzas – margarita or pepperoni (€14).
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Scotsman
an hour ago
- Scotsman
James Cosmo: Scottish actor on 'incredible' incident at Braveheart premiere - and his love of whisky
Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... James Cosmo is known for many great roles, usually in historical epics and fantasy dramas. His standout characters include Jeor Mormont in the HBO series Game of Thrones, Angus MacLeod in Highlander and Campbell in Braveheart, which he has called ' one of the last real epic movies'. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad But more recently, he has turned his love of blended whisky into his own bottling, Storyman, in collaboration with borders distillery Annandale. The name was chosen given how much of a wonderful raconteur Mr Cosmo is, and no more so when talking about his acting roles, as well as Scottish food and drink. In one of his compelling tales, Mr Cosmo told us, on the most recent episode of Scran , of his 'secret' private jet flight from the south of England to Scotland to attend the Braveheart premiere, which took place at Stirling Castle in 1995. Mr Cosmo was not going to go to the premiere as he had other filming commitments. But at the last minute, the actor decided to book a private jet and fly to the event, returning very early the next morning. This night flight culminated in the actor and his wife transporting a human heart. Annandale distillery Speaking of the night, Mr Cosmo said: 'We hired a plane and flew up. We landed, a car picked us up, we went to the premiere and the after party in Stirling Castle. It was unbelievable. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'They had fire eaters and jugglers and all sorts of medieval stuff. It was the most wonderful party. Eventually at three o'clock in the morning, we needed to get back because that same plane was waiting to take off. 'I said goodbye to everyone and I got in the car and we're driving to the airport and the driver had one of these old brick phones, which rang. He says, 'oh, it's for you'. I thought 'oh Jesus what's happened', and it's the police. They said: 'Do you have a plane leaving for London?' I said, 'yeah, we are about 20 minutes away from the airport'. 'They said 'would you mind taking a human heart on the plane for a transplant?' Because in those days, it was very, very time critical. I said, 'no, it's OK'. They said 'just keep on the motorway'. Then within ten minutes this ambulance pulled in front of us and then two motorcycle cops came down [with the heart], so we just got on the plane with it in a big yellow box. 'Annie and I put it between us and we flew down, landed at the airport, and an ambulance and police [were] there, and it went flying off somewhere. I thought it was fate. We really wanted to go [to the premiere] and somebody got a heart that night.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Storyman whisky from Annandale distillery | Annandale distillery While early morning flights of mercy may be a thing of the past, Mr Cosmo is still very passionate about cooking, whisky and his love of Scotch pies. Luckily, there's a good family bakery near Annandale that keeps Mr Cosmo going with these traditional Scottish savouries. ' I'm an aficionado of Scotch pies,' he said. 'I travel to many places to eat them. In fact, there's one wee place in Annan, near the distillery. It's one of those family bakeries and they do all the old traditional things like potato scones, cakes and Scotch pies. So I go to the distillery, have a few drams, then collect the pies from the bakery and have someone drive me home.' The drams he is referring to will be of his own Blend, Storyman, which launched in 2023. The blend was specially created for the Game of Thrones actor by Keith Law, Annandale's master blender, and owner, Professor David Thomson. The blend features a carefully chosen selection of their award-winning single cask, single malt whiskies. These include various vintages and spirit types from a range of Fresh and Refill Ex-Bourbon, and Ex-Burgundy STR casks. The whisky came about after Mr Cosmo met Prof Thomson at the distillery after filming Outlaw King. Looking for something personal to gift to people at the end of a job, Mr Cosmo asked Annandale if they wouldd bottle something special for him, and the team decided to go one better - create his own whisky. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Annandale distillery Mr Cosmo said he wanted a blend as this was his favourite kind of whisky. He said: 'There's a huge number of aficionados who are single malt people, but I would never pretend to be an expert in whisky. 'If I like a whisky, I like a whisky, that's it. I always preferred a blend to a single malt, really. I was brought up in Clydebank, although I moved to London when I was quite young. But being Scottish, it was the thing everyone drank. 'I remember working in a pub in Clydebank. The ship breakers was just down the road and before we opened at five o'clock, about half past four, we would just start pouring halves [of whisky] and half pints of beer - dozens and dozens of them - because nobody ever asked for anything else.' Speaking of creating the whisky with Mr Law, who Cosmo called 'astonishing', he said: 'Keith is one of these people, he's got just such a knowledge of whisky. It's astonishing, he has a wonderful nose. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'There was one day when there were six samples of whisky , then I had to decide which one was going to be the one to bottle. Then we started the first run of it and it has been a fantastic experience just seeing that first bottle there.' Mr Law said: 'The blending process took a great deal of time to get right. It was a process that involved speaking with James, having in-depth conversations to identify the types of whisky James likes to enjoy. What we created is a smooth and complex whisky, with notes of vanilla, honey, citrus and smoke. What we wanted to do is capture the essence of James's whisky memories and make it tangible and that's what we have done with Storyman.'
The Sun
18 hours ago
- The Sun
Shoppers race to Asda for £22 dress that ‘looks like M&S', drapes beautifully and has hidden feature
SHOPPERS are going wild for a "lovely" denim midi dress in Asda that they've hailed as an M&S dupe - and it's cheap too. George is the supermarket's in-house fashion label and regularly delights fashion fans with its stylish buys at bargain prices. And if you're in need of a lightweight denim frock to add to your summer wardrobe, then this is the one for you. The Navy Sleeveless Zip Front Tiered Denim Midi Dress is priced at £22 and is available in sizes eight to 24. It has a gathered waist for cinching you in, a stylish zip front fastening and "drapes beautifully". The dress has also delighted shoppers with its "hidden" pockets and can be a transitional piece for autumn with a top worn underneath. Thrilled shoppers have been raving about the tiered dress which they've hailed as a five-star buy. One said: "The fit is lovely and I love the dark denim colour! Very flattering on and not heavy material at all. Would highly recommend." A second wrote: "This is a lovely dress for the price. Nice material, not hard like true denim. Would recommend. "You can wear on its own or with T-shirt under for cooler weather or thin jumper and boots in winter." "What a lovely dress! Looks like a M&S or Next brand", cried a third. "Love the zip detail. Fits just right over bust without gaping and has ample room below the waist. Has hidden lined pockets! I'm a size 14 and did the best Tesco summer haul - run before new co-ord sells out "The denim is lightweight and the dark colour is so they did this in other shades too." A fourth chimed in: "Love this dress, fits perfectly, drapes beautifully. "Great price, ordered another for myself and one for my recommend." A fifth added: "So ordered this denim dress as I loved the zip front detail and the dark denim. "I absolutely love it, great shape with large pockets." Meanwhile, a sixth said: "I love this dress, it is long, floaty, has pockets, like the zip - did I mention it had pockets?! "Good generous sizing, think I could have even gone down a size. Perfect to wear on its own, or even with a T-shirt, shirt etc underneath, very versatile. Pinafore style." Elsewhere in store, shoppers are going wild for a £20 floral dress in that's "perfect in every way" and has you sorted for holiday or weddings. One gushed: "Just love this dress, great colours, style and fabric. Just perfect." And fashion fans are loving the "prettiest" £35 Tesco dress that's perfect for weddings and comes in an on-trend, classy colour. Is supermarket fashion the new high street? DEPUTY Fashion Editor Abby McHale weighs in: The supermarkets have really upped their game when it comes to their fashion lines. These days, as you head in to do your weekly food shop you can also pick up a selection of purse-friendly, stylish pieces for all the family. Tesco has just announced a 0.7 per cent increase in the quarter thanks to a 'strong growth in clothing' and M&S has earnt the title of the number one destination for womenswear on the high street. Asda's clothing line George has made £1.5 million for the supermarket in 2023, 80 per cent of Sainsbury's clothes sold at full price rather than discounted and Nutmeg at Morrisons sales are also up 2 per cent in the past year. So what is it about supermarket fashion that is becoming so successful? Apart from the clothing actually being affordable, it's good quality too - with many being part of schemes such as the Better Cotton Initiative. A lot of the time they keep to classic pieces that they know will last the customer year after year. Plus because they buy so much stock they can turn around pieces quickly and buy for cheaper because of the volumes.
Time Out
19 hours ago
- Time Out
The Blue Bar is different - but blue is still king.
With a location that's hard to beat, the Blue Bar at Hotel Baía has always been worth the climb (you'll find it on the 5th floor, just across from Praia do Peixe). But since reopening for the 2025 season, it's had something of a glow-up. Gone are the classic cocktails that once ruled the menu – in their place, a new line-up of signature drinks, paired with a more refined food offering. The décor has had a revamp too, making the space more inviting and better suited for full meals. One thing, however, hasn't changed – and we're glad it hasn't: the blue that gives the bar its name. It's still in the striped awnings, the rippled bar, the terrace chairs and, of course, in the 180-degree ocean view that steals the show. On the drinks menu, you'll find some surprisingly creative sangrias (€25), like the Pêra Bêbeda – made with red wine, ruby Port, pear and cinnamon syrup – or the Cosmo, a refreshing mix of rosé wine, Smirnoff Red vodka, Triple Sec and cranberry syrup. Prefer something stronger? Classic crowd-pleasers like mojitos, caipirinhas and Cuba Libres are all here (€10), but the spotlight shines on the more daring mixes, like the Porn Star Martini – vanilla vodka, passion fruit juice and purée, M&M sparkling wine, vegan foam and orange (€12) – or the Berry Sour Affair, blending Gordon's Pink gin, Campari, strawberry purée and vegan foam. If you're going alcohol-free, there are indulgent milkshakes (€6.50) and a good list of mocktails (€6–8). On the shake front, don't miss the Berry Best, with raspberry sorbet, lactose-free milk, grenadine and whipped cream, or the Pistachio & Mint, featuring pistachio ice cream, milk, mint syrup, toasted hazelnuts and whipped cream. As for mocktails, highlights include the Abstinence on the Beach – a zingy blend of orange juice, peach juice and cranberry syrup – and the Mango Mule, with ginger beer, mango juice and lime. On the food front, the new menu brings fresh flavours to match the view. There's the Blue Sandwich with seared tuna (€16), a crispy lobster taco (€18), and a buttery brioche filled with scrambled eggs and chives (€15). You can also snack on a cheese board (€30) or keep it simple with one of two classic pizzas – margarita or pepperoni (€14).
