Our lunch at Dessirier restaurant, Paris

September 25, 2016September 26, 2016Leave a comment

On our last day of our mini-moon in Paris, we decided to have a lunch at one of the best fish and seafood restaurants – Dessirier. The restaurant was firstly opened in 1883 by Louis Dessirier and his small Parisian café became a big oyster bar and the Cadoret family was running it for 5 generations. In 1996 chef Michel Rostang took over ‘Dessirier’ and refurbished it completely with a help of the architects Hélène and Olivier Lempereur, upon Michel Rostang’s 2 passions, cooking and contemporary art. Today the restaurant stands out as one of the best fish and seafood restaurant in Paris and celebrates its 20 years old offering its emblematic dishes, still going with seafood rigorously selected and whole fish to share.

Location:

Dessirier by Michel Rostang is located just a minute away from Porte de Champerret tube station and around 15 minutes walk to the Arc de Triomphe.

Address:

9 Place du Maréchal Juin, 75017 Paris, France

Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 1 p.m. On our arrival, we were greeted by a restaurant Manager-Philippe. He took us to our table and made us feel welcomed and comfortable. Once we sat down, he introduced us to our waiter – Francois who was friendly and attentive.

The menu:

As the restaurant celebrated its 20th anniversary since the famous chef Michel Rostang opened it and renewed it in 1996, we decided to choose our lunch from a special 20th anniversary menu.

Before we received our starters we got a small complimentary creamy pate.

For a starter my husband had some oysters that were fresh and I ordered a marinated salmon with some fennel preserve with gravlax sauce. It was amazing and extremely tasty.

Mains:

For my main I decided to have some fried Colbert that was served with a tartare sauce and grilled rice. James had some cod with garlic mayonnaise. Both dishes were full of flavour and delectable.

Desserts:

It was unquestionable what I would have for my dessert as soon as I saw the strawberries and raspberries fraisier cake served with a scoop of Basil ice cream on the menu. Let me tell you, I eat out a lot but that was THE BEST Fraisier cake I have ever tasted in my life. If you like light and fruity desserts than you would definitely love it.

My husband went for ‘Rum baba’ with nuts and red fruit which he really enjoyed.

It was full-flavoured and great for rum lovers!

Just before we left, I had some coffee latte which was a perfect end to this delicious meal.

Overall experience:

If you like seafood than you should definitely visit Michel Rostang’s Dessirier dishes. We both really enjoyed our lunch at the Dessirier-food was excellent, service was very attentive and surroundings were modern. The area where the restaurant is located was lively and buzzing so great if you want to visit a typical Parisian coffee or bar for a drink afterwards.

For more information and to book visit:

http://www.restaurantdessirier.com/

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Our dinner at Le Petit Pontoise in Paris, France

September 23, 2016September 26, 2016Leave a comment

After a day of sightseeing, on the second day of our mini-moon in Paris, we wanted to have some more traditional French cuisine thus we booked a dinner at Le Petit Pointoise.

I wore one of my white cocktail dresses from COAST with some Karen Millen hills and accessorized it with some silver jewellery and my Furla handbag that I took with me for our trip.

Location:

Le Petit Pontoise is located just 5 minutes’ walk from Notre Dame Cathedral in the center of Paris.

Address:

9, rue de Pontoise, 75 005 PARIS

Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 7 p.m. When we arrived only one other table was taken but within 30 minutes the restaurant was full and buzzing with tourists and some regular dinners.

On our arrival, we were greeted by a friendly waitress-Boom. She took us to our table and made us feel welcomed and comfortable.

Service:

We were mainly served by Boom however there were also a few different staff members who attended our table. They were all friendly and looked after us well.

The menu:

The menu at this gourmet bistro offers an impressive selection of dishes that are all built around traditional French recipes. The Head Chef-François Récapet works at Le Petit Pontoise for more than 14 years and provides his dinners with a high quality, traditional French cuisine with a twist. Some of his traditional recipes are treasured since his childhood in Périgord and all dishes are made with fresh, seasonal products.

Starters:

To start with I decided to have some roasted Camenbert cheese with almond and honey crust. I love melted cheese so it was just what I needed to re-charge after a full day of sightseeing.

My husband had some signature ‘Petit Pontoise’ roasted shrimps. They were cooked to perfection and tender.

Mains:

There was a nice choice of mains but as I love fish I decided to have some Roasted monkfish with prosciutto. It was delectable!

My husband had a Rack of lamb with some garlic crust. Both dishes were of good size and were presented nicely.

Desserts:

I have a very bad sweet tooth and I decided to have one of my favourite desserts-Tiramisu ‘Veronese’. I love, love, love tiramisu and could have it for breakfast, lunch and dessert so I really enjoyed my little treat!

James was slightly more adventurous and he had a fruit salad with Armagnac. He really liked it as it was served with some homebrewed Armagnac.

Overall experience:

We both enjoyed our time at this traditional French gourmet bistro. You should definitely go there if you wish to discover and enjoy some great home-made French cuisine. If you wish to have a good-quality meal in a typical Parisian atmosphere then look no further. I would advise to book it in advance as Le Petit Pontoise is a relatively small, popular restaurant so it tends to be fully booked often (especially during the weekends and the peak tourist season).

For more information and to book visit:

http://www.lepetitpontoise.fr/en/

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Our lunch at La Régalade Restaurant at Hôtel de NELL in Paris

September 21, 2016September 21, 2016Leave a comment

Two weeks ago, on our arrival to Paris we decided to have some lunch at La Régalade Restaurant at Hôtel de NELL in Paris.

I wore one of my Karen Millen dresses with some Jones hills and accessorized it with some silver white gold jewellery and Furla handbag.

Location:

La Régalade Restaurant is located at Hôtel de NELL in Paris. The Hôtel de Nell has designed a variety of spaces to meet the needs of every guest with luxury, discretion and quality. It is located just 15 miutes walk from Gare de North station. It is also 5 minutes away from the Poissonniere station in the center of Paris.

Address:

9 Rue du Conservatoire, 75009 Paris, France

Atmosphere:

We booked our table for 12:30 p.m. and arrived just a couple of minutes before. Some would say that it was a perfect timing as I was able to take some photos before the arrival of all other dinners. As we went there straight after arriving to Paris, a friendly concierge took our suitcases and escorted us to the restaurant that is located opposite of the main reception area at the hotel. In order to get through it you need to walk through modern and spacious lobby and game room which I loved.

What a perfect place to unwind at after a day of sightseeing!

When we entered the restaurant, we were welcomed by a friendly waiter. He offered us to choose our own table as we were the first dinners that arrived. We choose a table next to the bar area as it provided a romantic setting. Within minutes of sitting down the restaurant was full.

Service:

We were served by a few different staff members who were all professional and attentive. One of the staff members- a French waiter of Turkish origin was very friendly and had great customer service skills. He explained our menu in detail and provided his recommendations. Throughout our visit he was attentive and looked after us well.

The menu:

La Régalade Restaurant at Hôtel de NELL serves a great traditional French cuisine with a twist. All ingredients are locally sourced and purchased on a daily basis from the local market.We choose a 3 course lunch from the special menu (37 euros per person). We had a glass of champagne to start with to celebrate our mini-moon trip to Paris.

Starters:

Before our starters arrived, we got some traditional french pattee served with some pickles.

To start with I decided to go for some ‘half cooked’ tuna, eggplant caviar and baby roquette salad.

My husband had a cold tomato soup, served with some fresh goat cheese, olive oil, pine nuts and Espelette chilli pepper. Both of these dishes were extremely tasty.

Mains:

There was a great choice of mains I decided to have some Cod from Brittany, roasted eggplant and candied vegetables.

My husband had some pork belly with a selection of seasonal vegetables.

Both of our mains were cooked to perfection and I think that my cod was one of the best cods that I have ever tasted. I loved it.

Desserts:

Desserts are often my favorite part of any meal. I decided to go for some red fruits, verbena infusion and white cheese sorbet-it was yummy!

My husband had some blanc-manger – a peach, peach sorbet in Bellini emulsion. It was heavenly.

Overall experience:

We both had a lovely time at La Régalade Restaurant at Hôtel de NELL. All food was delicious, beautifully presented and reasonably priced (only 37 Euros for 3 course meal which is very reasonable for Paris!). Service was great, location is perfect so if you are traveling to Paris anytime soon then you should definitely check it out!

For more information and to book visit:

http://www.hoteldenell.com/index.php?cat=14&ID=14&nom=La+R&lang=eng

I hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Our stay at Hotel Balmoral in Paris

September 16, 2016September 16, 2016Leave a comment

As our honeymoon is planned for December, we decided to go for a couple of mini-moons before the trip of our lifetime to Asia.

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To start with, we decided to travel to the most romantic city in the world – Paris. We both love staying in centrally located, boutique hotels so the Balmoral Hotel seemed like a perfect choice for our luxurious mini-moon break.

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Location:

Hotel Balmoral is located just one minute away from the Arc De Triomphe and just around a corner Champs Elysées on a quiet street – Rue du Général Lanrezac between the renowned Avenue Carnot and Avenue MacMahon. We couldn’t have dreamt of more ideal location. It is situated in a characteristic Haussman-style street with blocks that were designed as homogeneous architectural wholes dating back to the 19th century.

A couple of years ago, in 2014 Hotel Balmoral was completely renovated by Michel Jouannet who is internationally recognised for his work on revamping the design of hotels, spas, restaurants as well as some work on residences of his VIP clients. I really enjoyed the chic and beautiful décor created by this interior designer that reflected the Parisian elegance.

Service:

As soon as we entered the hotel, we were welcomed by extremely helpful and smiley Anne-Claire. I have stayed in many hotels but she was definitely one of the friendliest receptionists I’ve ever met and she made us feel at ease – almost like at our own home throughout our stay. Her customer service skills were exceptional. Once we checked in, we walked through a stunning lounge and were taken to our room by a friendly porter who dropped our luggage a couple of minutes later.

Rooms:

Hotel Balmoral has 50 elegant Bedrooms and Suites as well as 2 Prestige Apartments. We stayed at the Prestige room no. 35 on the 3^rd floor.

Our room was spacious, bright and stylish. It was perfectly equipped with Air-Con, flat-screen TV with 50 satellite channels, minibar, hospitality tray with coffee and tea as well as Nespresso coffee machine and safe.

Above our bed, there was a huge, modern painting by a French artist-Arnaud Franc.

The Room had a lot of storage space and we both had a separate wardrobe to store our clothes in.

Our room featured a typical Parisian French window leading to a mini balcony with drapes and sheers to help us to create a romantic atmosphere at the end of the day and reduce any noise from the street. Our king-size bed was extremely comfortable and after a day of sightseeing we felt asleep almost immediately.

Bathroom:

Our bathroom had a modern décor with a grey and white colour scheme. It had a bath and a double washbasin, which I prised as we didn’t need to fight for sink space. I definitely need to redesign my bathroom in London and get a double washbasin fit in. It also had a make-up mirror and heated towel rail. In addition to soft towels we were also provided with some slippers and bath gowns which were made from the Egyptian cotton-perfect for lounging in before and after our sightseeing.

Facilities:

The reception desk is open 24 hours.The hotel has a huge lobby area leading onto the street and to the garden where you can sit down and relax.

Breakfast is offered for a surcharge and provides a selection of cold and warm dishes to choose from.

During the afternoons and evenings, the breakfast room is transformed into a bar serving a selection of hot and cold drinks as well as some wines, champagne, spirits and beer.

Overall experience:

We both really enjoyed our stay at the beautiful, chic boutique Hotel Balmoral. From day one, we could see that the hotel not only had chic, designer interiors but the service was of great quality. Its original features dating back to 19^th century worked perfectly with its contemporary yet elegant décor. Our room had all that we could ask for and provided us with comfort away from our home. The location was perfect and service was faultless so I would definitely recommend this hotel to anyone who plans to travel to Paris.

Website:

For more information and to book visit:

http://www.balmoral-paris-hotel.com/en/

Address:

6 Rue du Général Lanrezac, 75017 Paris, France

Phone: +33 1 43 80 30 50

Hope you enjoyed reading this review!

Pauline

Holiday destinations: Paris, France

September 14, 2016September 16, 2021Leave a comment

Last weekend we went for our mini-moon to the most romantic city in the world – Paris. It is a capital city of France and it has a population of 12 million (2014) which covers 18 percent of the residents of France. In 2015 Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the world’s top tourist destinations.

Travel:

We travelled to Paris by Eurostar as it is the easiest way to travel to Paris from London. It takes under 2.5 hours and trains depart from King’s Cross Station in central London every hour. Prices vary from £29 for a standard single ticket booked in advance to £249 for a business premiere ticket including an access to the Executive Lounge and some complementary drinks and a meal on-board. Our meal was disappointing both during our morning and evening journeys and on our way back the service was extremely slow so I am not sure if it was worth paying £1000 for 2 return tickets…

Attractions:

The Central area of Paris along the Seine River is classified as a UNESCO Heritage Site, and includes many notable monuments. In addition, Paris is the home of many important museums and cultural institutions. There are many places worth seeing however if you are in Paris for a limited time (we were there for 3 days) then you should definitely visit:

The Eiffel Tower – an iron lattice tower on the Champ de Mars that was named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel, whose company designed and built the tower.

The Louvre – the most visited and the largest art museum in the world.

Arc de Triomphe – is one of the most famous monuments in Paris. It stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, at the western end of the Champs-Élysées.

Notre Dame Cathedral – is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité built in the 12th century.

Pont Alexandre III Bridge – is a deck arch bridge that spans the Seine in Paris. It connects the Champs-Élysées quarter with those of the Invalides and Eiffel Tower.
Basilica du Sacre-Coeur de Montmartre – is a Roman Catholic church and minor basilica, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus that opened in 1914.

Furthermore, I would definitely recommend that you either take a walk down the river or alternatively you can take one of many mini-cruises especially if the weather is nice. We were extremely lucky with the weather and we decided to have a romantic walk around the River Seine on our way from The Eiffel Tower back to our hotel which was located just a minute walk from the Arc de Triomphe. In addition, if you love live-shows and cabaret then you should definitely visit Moulin Rouge but be prepared-tickets for a show and dinner are quite expensive and start at 190 Euros per person.

Hope you enjoyed reading this review.

Pauline

Disappointing Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea at The Sanderson Hotel

September 11, 2016September 18, 2016Leave a comment

This week, I would like to tell you about my recent Alice in Wonderland Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea experience. I was invited to attend it at the beginning of my hen night celebrations last month. I was accompanied by my 7 of my best friends.

Venue and location:

Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea takes place in the luxury, 5* Sanderson’s hotel. It is just situated between Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road stations.

Times:

Afternoon Tea is served from 12:30 pm until 4 pm.

Atmosphere:

We were seated in the corner of the restaurant. It was extremely busy, noisy and the service was extremely sluggish so my first impressions weren’t great… I love eating out and I’ve been to hundreds of restaurants before so I was quite surprised by that. We weren’t able to hear any music and to add to our misery their Air-con wasn’t working so it was absolutely boiling inside…

The menu:

Our Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea menu was hidden inside a vintage ‘Alice in Wonderland’ book.

As it was a special occasion, we started our experience with a glass of pink Champagne which was lovely and then ordered a few pots of Sanderson-exclusive teas. I decided to have some iced-tea instead as it was boiling inside and unfortunately I had to wait for it to arrive for almost 45 min as our waiter simply forgot about it. When I reminded him about my order he cheekily asked me: ‘Did you order it?’ To which I answered: ‘Yes, from you…’

Moving on, a while after these initial dissatisfactions, we finally received our stand of sweet and savoury treats. They were definitely the highlight of our experience. They were all presented beautifully and they were all very tasty. I am sure that a lot of thought was put into creating these beautiful selection of luxuries.

Our savoury treats included:

Scottish smoked salmon, quail egg and caviar scotch egg;
Wiltshire ham and smoked Applewood croquet-monsieur;
Cornish crab and herb éclair;
Cucumber and cream cheese sandwich on fresh lime bread.

Our sweet treats included:

The blue caterpillar;
Wonderlands magic marshmallow mushrooms;
Curious carrot meringue;
The White Rabbit’s pocket watch macaroon;
Red velvet ladybird;
Banana bread-and-butterfly;
The Queen of Hearts Oreo cookie soldier;
Alice’s drink me potion;
Scones served with seasonal fruit preserves and Cornish clotted cream.

Dress code:

The dress code at The Sanderson’s hotel is smart casual. I decided to wear my white Coast dress with some Dior sandals.

Overall experience:

Mad Hatter’s Afternoon Tea in Sanderson Hotel offers you a great alternative to a traditional Afternoon Tea. All sweet and savoury treats were amazing and the only let down was the service we received. I would be happy to visit The Sanderson hotel in the future however I hope that they will put their waiting staff through some customer-service training as the service we all received during our visit was simply unacceptable for this beautiful 5* hotel.

Address: The Sanderson, 50 Berners Street, Fitzrovia, London W1

Website: www.sandersonlondon.com

Price: £65 per person excluding service.

Pauline

Kassandra Lauren Gordon ‘Finding Water On Mars’ private fine jewellery viewing.

September 9, 2016September 9, 2016Leave a comment

I attended a fine jewellery private viewing event by Kassandra Lauren Gordon after work on Monday.

Location:

Kassandra Lauren Gordon is currently exhibiting her fourth solo show to showcase her new collection called ‘Finding Water On Mars’ at The Corner Shop in Farrington from the 5^th until the 11^th of September 2016.

Address: The Corner Shop, Craft Central, 21 Clerkenwell Green, London, EC1R 0DX

Designer:

Kassandra Lauren Gordon studied jewellery manufacturing and design in Hatton Gardens and is a registered Fair-trade Goldsmith based in London. Two years after setting up her private handmade jewellery studio in Hackney London, she is now celebrating becoming a partner of ‘Not on a High Street’. She has experience as a domestic violence worker and has worked in the public sector for almost 10 years . Her interaction and day-to-day contact with women in the community have convinced her of the need for women to be more assertive. Many of the pieces from her collection are named after inspirational female scientists.

Collection:

‘Finding Water On Mars’ collection is inspired by the geology of Mars and it explores the idealism of beginning anew on a blank slate.

Kassandra Lauren Gordon’s collection includes pendants, earrings, rings, bangles and chokers. All pieces are made from precious metals and gemstones by hand and many of the pieces available for purchase from her website are made specially to order. It normally takes 2 to 4 weeks from the date your order to receive your handmade pieces.

Who is it for?

Kassandra Lauren Gordon jewellery pieces can be worn by anyone. Gordon wants all her pieces to be full of sentimental value for their owners thus she has a high commitment to customer service. Her collection is chic but, at the same time, elegant. Gordon’s stunning designs cater for anyone who wishes to wear some beautiful, handmade pieces made from precious metals and values uniqueness and high quality. All of her jewellery can be worn faultlessly in professional and casual contexts as it adds some playful glamour.

Prices:

As all of Gordon’s pieces are handmade they are more expensive than usual pieces you would get from a high-street jeweller. Nonetheless, the quality and uniqueness of her designs convinced me that they are worth paying a bit more for.

Please refer to the website for more details.

Website:

http://www.kassandralaurengordon.com/

Please find some photos of her pieces below.

Rings:

Necklaces & Choker:

Earrings:

Bracelets:

Pauline

Image Consultant Suggestions: Leggsington leggings for gym goers

September 7, 2016September 8, 2016Leave a comment

Are you looking for some new leggings? I believe that every woman needs a few pairs of good quality leggings in their wardrobe as they are comfy and affordable. If, like me, you are sick and tired of boring leggings then you should head to Leggsington.

Leggsington is an online shopping destination for diverse designer fashion that was established 5 years ago. The aim of its founders was to fill in a gap in leggings offerings and provide customers with quality, chic and functional leggings for all occasions:

super stretch jersey for the fitness bunnies,
luxe lounge pants in the finest French Terry cottons,
plush velvets,
flattering faux leathers for day or night.

Do you find yourself feeling totally uninspired by your workout clothes? While there is no need to be a fashion muse at the gym, I was looking for some new leggings to wear to my workouts. When considering buying some new clothes for the gym, your goal should always be to mix comfort with function and feel good in it. I wanted to add some ‘fun’ and colour to my regular outfit but I didn’t want to buy anything fancy or expensive so I decided to go for Leggsington’s ‘Corey Black dot’ and ‘Amy’ soft jersey leggings.

They are made from a brushed soft-to-touch jersey fabric (90% Polyester, 10% Elastane). They are also Anti-bacterial and you can wash them in your washing machine so they are perfect for the regular gym goers.

I love how they look and they are extremely comfortable so I will definitely order some more soon.

You can order any leggings directly from Leggsington’s online boutique:

http://www.leggsington.co.uk/

Prices:

£16-28

I hope that you enjoyed reading this review.

Pauline

Amazing Science Afternoon Tea at The Drawing Rooms in The Ampersand hotel

August 31, 2016September 1, 2016Leave a comment

This week, I would like to tell you about the best Afternoon Tea experience I have had so far this year, at The Drawing Rooms in The Ampersand hotel. I was accompanied by my husband-James as it was the anniversary of our engagement.

Venue and location:

The Drawing Rooms restaurant is located in a 5 star contemporary hotel-The Ampersand hotel. It is just situated a couple of minutes’ walk from South Kensington Station and a stone’s throw away from famous museums such as: The Victoria and Albert museum, The Science museum and The Natural History museum.

Times:

Afternoon Tea is served from 2:30 pm until 5:30 pm.

Atmosphere:

We reached The Ampersand Hotel at 2:30. The Afternoon Tea is served in the Drawing Rooms restaurant and it can be found just off the hotel lobby, located on the ground floor. As soon as we arrived, we were welcomed by a smiley waitress who kindly told us that we can choose one of 2 available tables. We choose a table in the corner of the restaurant.

The restaurant is very charming, contemporary and offers a romantic setting to its dinners. I loved its chic and modern décor. There was relaxing music playing in the background. We were served by a few different waiters who were all friendly and exceptionally attentive.

The menu:

Once we were seated, we started assessing our Afternoon Tea options. I was impressed by The Drawing Rooms menu as it offered a range of Afternoon Teas to choose from: Classic, Vegetarian, Gluten Free or Science. As we were in the museum’s district we decided to try their Chef’s special ‘Science Afternoon Tea’.

We started our Afternoon Tea with a glass of Moët Ice Impérial Champagne and ordered some Peppermint and Jasmin teas afterwards.

A few minutes after we finished sipping our delicious Champagne our stand of sweet and savoury treats arrived. I loved how the Head Pastry Chef Mi Kyung Jeong presented all our snacks and they were all extremely tasty.

As part of your experience, we received some additional treats in the research laboratory’s test tubes. They helped us to create our bespoke scones as we were encouraged to experiment and add some chocolate bites while we were creating them.

There was also a wooden box with a couple of hidden treats which we were able to dig out using a brush so we felt like experienced archaeologists.

Our sweet treats included:

Warm selection of plain and white chocolate scones, served with Devonshire clotted cream and homemade strawberry preserve.
Pastries: blood orange and passion fruit jelly on Petri dish;
mint and chocolate planet mousse with space man;
Milky Way macaroon and crescent fondant fancy.

Our savoury treats included:

chicken Caesar salad in parmesan basket;
cray fish, asparagus with some Mary rose sauce on focaccia bread;
bonbon of Portland crab;
goats cheese & sun-dried tomato quiche.

Dress code:

The dress code at The Drawing Rooms in The Ampersand hotel is smart casual. I decided to wear my silver dress with some Jones sandals.

Overall experience:

I loved every minute of our Science Afternoon Tea experience at The Drawing Rooms in The Ampersand hotel. It is an Afternoon Tea with a twist so if you are tired of traditional sandwiches, scones and pastries then you definitely need to experience it. It would be perfect for families with children as it encourages fun and you can talk about science and history to combine fun and education. The Science Afternoon Tea helped me to reconnect with my inner child and I would definitely try to take my nephews to experience it next time they are in London.

Price:

Science Afternoon Tea costs £32.50 per person or £45.50 with a glass of Moet Champagne. It was worth every penny!

Website:

https://www.ampersandhotel.com/eat-and-drink-at-the-ampersand-hotel/the-drawing-rooms

Pauline

Dinner date at Reform Social & Grill Restaurant at The Mandeville hotel

August 24, 2016August 24, 2016Leave a comment

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.