wander to wonder: the little yellow door

At the end of last year, I got a somewhat unusual invite to a "fictional flat-share popup" with some fellow bloggers for an evening at The Little Yellow Door. Unfortunately I couldn't make it that day, but they were kind enough to invite me along to another of their Friday Night Dinner Parties, so Tamsin and I bundled up in the rain and went knocking on the, quite literal, little yellow door.

There was a little moment of fear that we would be stranded out in the cold, as there was a mishap with the booking and I had somehow been booked in for the wrong date (not a big deal, but it explains why we probably had a slightly different experience than the other people attending). Nevertheless, they said their apologies and ushered us in, welcoming us with glasses of colourful punch, and treating us to some wine for the meal which was lovely.

The whole concept is something you might not expect in Notting Hill - East London, maybe - in that the pop up is essentially made to look like a lived in room of a flat. And the newest flatmate is the one cooking the food, which meant Luigi, being Italian, made us an Italian feast.

As there are only a set number of seats per table (which are communal, as shown below), Tamsin and I ended up being seated in the corner of the room on very comfy sofas, with our own little table and dishes. I honestly didn't mind this, as it gave us a chance to catch up properly and it all felt a bit romantic! But just bear in mind that if you book and go there, you'll be seated at the long tables with everyone else.

As you can tell from the decor, it's all a mismatch of various bits and pieces, with DVDs piled up and magazines sprawled across the table. I really enjoyed the atmosphere - very relaxed and cosy.

I didn't know what to expect of the food, but safe to say that I was genuinely impressed. It's basically like being cooked very good quality homemade dishes - from the burrata, beef carpaccio, prosciutto and mushroom & asparagus croquettes for starter (I don't even like mushrooms but those fried balls were so good!), to the duck ragu pasta, and the pork belly for main, it was all honestly delicious. I liked the way they presented the dishes too - professional but rustic.

I should mention that the waiters and waitresses were extremely friendly and nice, and were the perfect hosts for a place like this.

For dessert, there were miniature offerings (the panna cotta basically tasted like a shot of Bailey's, no complaints here...) at the bar, which was a little haphazard as we all kind of swarmed there in one sugar-hunting mass, but we got to try it all and they were pretty good.

Once we were sat back down in our comfy corner, things started to get a little more bar/house party-ish. The tables were cleared, people were standing and sitting wherever they could - just like a busy bar on a Friday night.

Although unlike the usual bars, we were spoilt with two impressive and unusual cocktails - Tamsin asked for something with gin and fruit, and got a fishbowl of a cocktail that was as delicious as it was lethal. I asked for something sour, and they came up with a cocktail in a teacup accompanied by a Jammy Dodger (love it), which I think was their signature Earl Grey infused gin & lemon concoction, which was exactly the kind of thing I enjoy.

We had a great evening at The Little Yellow Door, and they told us that they are hoping to open different coloured doors around London - so watch this space! As for this one, I think it's something unique you could try with your friends and probably make new ones while you're there - and the food won't disappoint. You can buy tickets for their events here.