light up

London at Christmas time is magical. One of my favourite places to go to soak in all the lights and festive cheer is Covent Garden. The last time I featured it was in the summer, and now the whole area has had a little makeover.

We walked around the piazza and the market stalls, and of course couldn't resist picking out a few macarons in Ladurée.

As we will be away for a good chunk of December, it was nice to enjoy the city last weekend and count our lucky stars that we get to live in a place like this.

Cantina Laredo

To cut to the chase, you should go to this restaurant, order as much Guacamole as you can afford and call it a day.

Seriously. Their Guac is the best.

Not that the rest of their food is bad. In fact, it was really quite delicious.

We had both read great reviews about this restaurant, but somehow we'd chosen Jamie's Italian over this place on two separate occasions. I think that it was the slightly bland looking decor that put me off initially, but do not fear, the staff were very friendly and there was a nice atmosphere inside.

It was a Friday night so the place was understandably busy, and we were seated at the bar to wait for a little while. We decided to order some Guacamole to snack on while we waited - little did we know what a show stopper it would be.

Before the taste though, there's the theatrical presentation of the stuff. The lady came, set up a little table by our barstools, and made it infront of our very eyes.

We absolutely devoured this. They put some "secret spices" in there which is obviously something supernatural, because this stuff is so good and so very addictive. I would have been happy eating five bowls of this stuff.

But we did order some proper food. We chose the Del Mar Enchiladas, Pollo Cascabel Taqueria, and tomato and garlic rice on the side.

The servings looks deceivingly on the small side, but they were definitely filling. The Taqueria was so flavourful and perfectly seasoned, and the Enchiladas - wow. That sauce was a kind of seafood bisque-type wonder, and the filling was rich and delicious.

Our ordering was quite tame that evening, since we had already tucked into a few nibbles beforehand, but I can imagine going there with a few friends and sharing lots of different dishes. We were both so impressed with the food, we'll happily hit it up again.

I'm going to make it my mission to try and recreate that Guacamole at home!

Jamie's Italian, Covent Garden

After our nice walk in Covent Garden, we wandered around to see what we felt like for dinner. E was in the mood for italian, so we'd found our winner when Jamie's Italian popped up. I had only ever been once to Jamie's years ago, the one in Kingston, so I was more than happy to try it again.

Having been a Saturday night, naturally the place was packed and we were given a 45 minute wait (although it was more like 30). We happily parked ourselves at the bar and occupied ourselves with a couple of Jamie's Special Mojitos, and fried three cheese gnocchi bites. Decadent enough?

Our fancy pager let us know that our table was ready, and we snagged a good one on the terrace. There are not too many things in life I love more than al fresco dining - no matter where you are, you feel like you are on holiday!

I immediately knew what I wanted.

I went for the Black Angel Spaghetti, while E chose the Turkey Milanese with Posh Chips on the side.

The pasta at Jamie's proves the huge difference that fresh pasta makes to a dish. You could tell that the spaghetti was freshly made, the scallops were delicious and the sauce was spot on.

E's Milanese was fantastic too, as were the chips with truffle and parmesan. We are both big foodies, so we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, outside in the warm courtyard.

We had enough room for dessert (who doesn't?), so we went for the brownie. 

It was very hard work trying to finish off this monster.

I think Jamie's Italian is a great option for a date, as it's not too stuffy or too outrageously priced, but the food is really great. It's also the perfect place for lunch or dinner with friends (we actually went back a couple of days later with some friends for a special celebratory lunch), especially sitting outside in the sun. Check out their site to see which one of their restaurants is closest to you, and hop on over there and enjoy the deliciousness!

Covent Garden

This past weekend, E and I went out on a date night to Covent Garden. It's an area of London that I've always loved, and I think it's only improved over time. The buzz of the people, the street artists, the al fresco restaurants, the market stalls... there's something for everybody.

Here are a few snapshots of this unique corner of the city.