It started off so simply.
“Let’s meet for a
quick drink, I haven’t seen my best-friend since you’ve been back!”
A hop, skip and intensive karaoke session on the streets of
St James later- Alice fell down the rabbit hole of wonderment.
At Dstrkt we began. Having power walked from Holborn to
Piccadilly at peak rush hour times, it only seemed right to reward ourselves
with some delicious treats. We shimmied our way , with caution, down the dimly
lit staircase into the main dining room and took our seats with an
effervescent smugness as the waiter
brought over the holy scripture encased in fine Italian leather- The Wine List.
The Wine List at Dstrkt is one of my favourites. Pages of
foreign wines imported from Italy to the tail end of nowhere often muddles me, so what should be a quick “yes, I’ll
take the Woody Cabernet Sauvignon...” amalgamates into an exhaustive
geographical study of wines from around the world. Dstrkt solves this problem.
Divided into taste brackets, whether you prefer your glass to be fresh &
delicate or rich & powerful, there’s a wine of choice for you!
Much to the amazement of our wonderful garcon, who was
extremely attentive as we nattered away for a solid hour prior to even glancing
at the menu, we were ready to order. Oxtail Sliders, Grilled Octopus and Wild
Sea Bass & Confit Baby Fennel- “portions
at Dstrkt aren’t sizeable- so let’s order one extra dish just incase” was
the justification- really we were just hungry little piglets.
The Oxtail Sliders are a seasonal winner for me. Whenever I
have ordered them the meat has been extremely succulent, the slider bun always
has a winning ratio of crunchy to flavoursome soggy dough and the crunchy
chorizo pieces make me want to swing from the suave light fixtures that hang
above us in the interior.
The skin of
the Wild Sea Bass could’ve been slightly crispier, in my opinion, but that
aside the dish was fabulously
presented and extremely flavoursome.
What was, essentially, the wild card of
our meal, the grilled octopus was lip-licking good! So much so that the extra
juices were mopped up by the new season bread board from Chef Yaneff at Dstrkt!
Stomachs content and brains ever so clouded from vino abuse,
we meandered across the square to The W Hotel for a round of speedy cocktails-
wishful thinking as ever.
The Wyld Bar is, perhaps, my new hangout of choice
these days, particularly on a
Wednesday evening. Having visited when the bar had first opened, it is safe to
say that The Wyld has developed into what can only be fittingly described as “A Smooth Operation.” Greeted by the beautiful host it
promises Breezy interior, brilliant live-acoustic sessions and bountiful
cocktail lists. It is the perfect place for catching up with friends (or for
cocktail sampling in our case.) A rock-tea-ni and a round of Wyld shots (Tequila, Kaffir lime sugar syrup and fresh watermelon..oh
my!) later, our quick drink had turned into a cultured
bar-strut.
Fuelled by The Wyld wind beneath our wings, we bounded
through the sleek black lobby interior, out of the hotel’s opulent doors and
proceeded to destination unknown. When undecided on where to visit in London, I
have but one simple rule- Just head
north. Try it sometime! I’m not sure whether it’s the straight-up “duh!”
factor or an actual geographic subliminal decision making process- but you’ll
always end up somewhere brilliant!
.
Our somewhere brilliant happened to be The Mayfair Bar at The Mayfair Hotel
Feet throbbing from our marathon bar-strut, we retired with
a round of, much recommended, Watermelon Martini’s and soaked in the buzzing
atmosphere of the quintessential London bar.
