One of my friends suggested that we try a Greek restaurant in Notting Hill, Mazi, and it was a great pick.
Tucked away on a small street off the main road, it's cosy and characterful without being cluttered, which I liked. I was too busy chatting away to snap a photo of the interior, but you can see some on their site.
First, we were presented with shots of something that we suspected was alcoholic but was only a tiny bit so - a pineapple/passionfruit juice concoction with something akin to grappa, if my memory serves me correctly.
As for the food, it's a menu of smaller dishes that you share with the table, so we chose 3 of their jars - taramasalata, squid ink with fried calamari and aubergine cooked in some kind of delicious way I can't quite remember, alongside some delicious bread and olives -
- and also chose two of their "main" dishes, cold souvlaki wrapped in rice paper and octopus risotto, both of which were very good.
We didn't try any of their dessert (opting to finish the evening in a nearby pub with some more vino, cheekily), but it was a lovely meal. I wouldn't hesitate to go there again, and it's somewhere that you would benefit from going with a larger group so you could try lots of different things.
I feel like girls' nights really do make me feel re-energised and puts a bounce in my step - especially since I went 3 years without being able to do this with my closest friends while I was abroad, so I appreciate it all the more.
We are always looking for fun things to do together, so if you have any suggestions of places/activities/attractions, please share!