Top 5 Restaurant Picks For Your Birthday Celebrations
Calling all Libra's, if like me you have a birthday coming up, I thought it would be a good time to share my top five favourite restaurants to visit in London. For good vibes, delicious food and mouthwatering wine, get booking one of the below...
1. Crispin
Crispin, Pavilion Cafe on the Corner, White’s Row, London, E1 7NF
This is one of my absolute favourite places to eat in East London; the food, the service, the atmosphere and the wine is PERFECT! It is a gem found behind Spitalfields. Every week, the menu updates, keeping its most popular "everyday" dishes firmly in place. It is small plates, better to have a group of between 3-4 of you and just order everything because it all tastes so exquisite. It is ART FOR ALL YOUR SENSES, to appreciate the view, the smell, and more than anything the taste. I usually finish the meal with a negroni, wholesome, heated with a hint of spice. You will have a beautiful evening here, and will go back for more. Great thing is, it's in Shoreditch so you can head to the pubs after.
Campania and Jones, 23 Ezra Street, London, E2 7RH
Campania & Jones is a southern Italian restaurant in the heart of east London, just off Columbia Road, serving traditional dishes from the region. On the colder evenings, you can sit inside the rustic, artisanal small rooms of the restaurant, with the fire burning in the back of the restaurant and the tea lights scattered around, the hygge atmosphere is tangible, laughter and yummy utterances fill the room. As well as the rich lamb ragu, the creamy burrata and the sage butter ravioli, your taste buds will be buzzing all night, and you will be dreaming of that food for weeks ahead. Your pals will love you for introducing them to this delightful corner of the city.
3. The Barbary
The Barbary, 16 Neal's Yard, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9DP
A North African treasure found in the magical courtyard of Covent Garden, the iconic, Neals Yard. Their menu reflects the countries from the Atlantic Coast through to the Mediterranean Sea leading to the Middle East. This culinary heritage is about seasonality and availability; food cooked in the purest way, with fire, whether it was grilling on coals or baking in ancient clay ovens in the middle of the village. I had a date here with a gal pal and it was one of my favourite evenings this summer, sitting outside in the candlelit courtyard, with a bottle of delicious Spanish white wine chilling in the icebox and small plates of smokey, warming spiced food being served by a friendly waiter. We devoured Sesame seed Jerusalem bagels with Tabouleh and babaganoush, Yuzu marinated salmon, crispy chicken and flat breads with humous. I totally recommend this restaurant to anyone. I cannot wait to go back in autumn and sit inside around the bar...
Sketch, 9 Conduit Street, London, W1S 2XG
Perfect evening to come with a big group of your pals, definitely an evening to dress up and glow up! The best backdrop to your instagram posts with the pink velvet armchairs, golden table lamps, mosaic tiled floors, David Shrigley artwork over every wall. It is certainly an inspiring setting for any meal. The food is minimalistic, stylised artfully on the plate, full of pastel colours to match the pink landscape. Make sure you have 100% battery on your phone because you will not be able to stop photographing... The food ranges from Lobster Fricassee, Seabass, to spatchcock chicken and steak tartare, melting in the mouth with every bite and then swallowed down with a freshly made spiced cocktail. Before you leave, ensure a visit to the toilets in your own pod, music and a warm glowing light, perfect to spend a couple of minutes digesting.
5. Barrafina
Barrafina, Dean Street, 26-27 Dean Street, W1D 3LL
There are four Barrafinas in London; the original site is on Soho’s Dean Street, there are two in Covent Garden, Adelaide Street and Drury Lane, and a fourth in Coal Drops Yard, King’s Cross.
Each restaurant has an open kitchen, a beautiful marble-topped bar where guests can sit and watch the chefs at work and stylish red leather stools. The a la carte menus comprise authentic regional dishes from around Spain and there is also a daily changing specials menu unique to each restaurant. Finally visited this restaurant in the last week of September and WOW is all I can, it did not disappoint. I ordered nearly everything on the menu to share between myself and two other people. My favourite was the cured monkfish which melted on the tongue, and the chicken stock pine nut croquettes were like warming spiced balls of cheesy crispy heaven. I left their feeling very satisfied and already looking forward to booking my next reservation.