#dateinspirations – firstclasslounge.net

Last Saturday, on our return to London, we went out for our first dinner date as a married couple. I recently visited the Mandeville Hotel so really wanted to check out its restaurant-‘ Reform Social & Grill Restaurant’. For this special occasion, I wore a classic white dress from Coast with some Jones hills and accessorised it with some silver white gold jewellery and my favourite Chanel handbag.

Location:

Reform Social & Grill Restaurant is located at The Mandeville Hotel, just behind the famous shopping street-Oxford Street. It is 5 minutes away from the Bond Street station and is conveniently situated in the center of Mayfair.

Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 8p.m. and arrived just a couple of minutes before. A concierge, took our umbrella (surprise, surprise-it was raining) and showed us where we needed to go. When we entered the restaurant, we were acknowledged straight away and welcomed by a friendly waiter. My new husband mentioned that we just got married a few days before and as a result we were given a great table in the corner of the restaurant that offered us a romantic setting.

Service:

We were served by a few different staff members who were all professional and attentive. One of the staff members-Italian waiter made our experience extra special by being very friendly and his smiley face made us feel comfortable and welcomed straight away. As soon as we sat down, the chief barman-Maciej- brought us a complimentary glass of champagne to celebrate our first outing as a married couple, which was really kind touch and made our evening just a little bit extra special.

The menu:

Reform Social & Grill Restaurant serves a great British cuisine with a twist.

Starters:

To start with I decided to go for some Crispy South Coast Squids that were served with some lemon and garlic mayonnaise and my husband-James chose some Hendricks Gin Salmon with tartare garnish. Both of these dishes were lip-smacking.

Mains:

There was a great choice of mains but we decided to try the selection from Reform Social’s ‘Josper Grill’ menu. I had a Rib-Eye Steak which cooked to perfection and my liking (medium). It was served with a side of some garlic mash and a mushroom. It was simply delectable.

James had some minted lamb cutlets with mint yogurt and some coriander which were also very tasty. In addition, we ordered some green beans which pleasantly complimented our mains.

Desserts:

Some of you might think that it was a weird choice however as soon as I looked at the menu, I decided to order Reform Social’s signature dessert – sweet Yorkshire Puddings selection. Who said that Yorkshire puddings are simply reserved for your Sunday roast? They were simply marvelous and I loved every single bite of these delicious puddings. The sweet selection of puddings was heavenly and included:

Chocolate and Carmel Yorkie;
Sugared Yorkie that was filled with clotted cream and jam ;
Banana and Custard Yorkie.

My husband was less adventurous and chose some vanilla and chocolate ice-creams which were satisfying but boring if you compared them to my dessert.

Overall experience:

We both had a lovely time and very really pleased with the food we chose. Reform Social serves some extraordinary, nicely presented food and is reasonably priced. Service was great, location is perfect so if you are around central London then you should definitely check it out! We finished our evening with some die-for cocktails that were prepared for us by Chief Barman-Maciej.

Website:

For more information and to book visit:

http://www.reformsocialgrill.co.uk/

Hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

As promised last week, I will be sharing with you reviews of my Afternoon Tea experiences throughout the summer. Today, I would like to tell you about my Afternoon Tea at the Buddha-Bar.

Venue and location:

Buddha-Bar is located in the prominent, upmarket area of London Knightsbridge. It is easily accessible by public transport and the nearest tube station is Knightsbridge which is just 2 minutes away.

Buddha-Bar was the winner of Best Restaurant Bar in 2014, 2015 & 2016 at the London Club and Bar Awards. I have visited it once before for cocktails so when I found out that the Buddha Bar was serving Afternoon Tea, I decided to book it and check it out. I was accompanied by my fiancé-James.

Service:

We were served by Annie who was professional and friendly. When we sat down, she explained what was included in our Afternoon Tea experience and asked us whether we would like to start with a glass of champagne.

Atmosphere:

The atmosphere and staff were both welcoming. On our arrival, we were acknowledged straight away by a friendly receptionist. All staff that we had contact with were helpful and had a positive body language.

As soon as you enter, you are surrounded by impressive interiors and you feel like you have just arrived in an oasis of calmness. I was impressed by the floor to ceiling crystallized dragons and the signature Buddha artwork located on the ground floor which was absolutely stunning.

The menu:

Once we sat down at the table, we were welcomed by our waitress-Annie. We had a glass of champagne each and then we received an excessive tea menu. I decided to have a pot of Jasmin tea while James had some Chamomile tea. Our Buddha-Bar afternoon tea included a selection of sweet and savoury Asian inspired, mouth-watering treats. To start with we received 4 savoury treats which were all full of aromatic flavours:

Duck hoisin steam bun sandwich – definitely my number-one savory dish.
Tuna tartar on toasted fennel bread.
Vietnamese vegetables summer rolls.
Crispy wonton cod and prawns.

As soon as we finished them, our waitress cleaned our plates and a couple of minutes later we received a set of 4 sweet treats:

Pistachio macaroons
Chilli chocolate mousse
Passion fruit and mango tart
Green tea cheese cake

All our snacks were beautifully presented and I am sure that a lot of consideration was put into preparing them.

Dress code:

The dress code at the Buddha-Bar is smart casual. I decided to wear my Monsoon Summer fuchsia dress accompanied by some Carvela heels in the same colour and my beloved Pandora jewellery.

Overall experience:

Buddha-Bar offers a great food, atmosphere in a beautiful surroundings. I would definitely visit Buddha-Bar again and I would love to try their lunch, dinner or one of their masterclasses next. You should definitely go there next time you are in Knightsbridge area when you want to unwind and relax.

Price: £53 for 2 people

Website: http://buddhabarlondon.com/

Address: 145 Knightsbridge, London SW1X 7PA, United Kingdom