I have had such a lovely week in London! My mother was here to visit me and I can’t really think of anything we did, that didn’t put us in the right Christmas spirit. In the following posts I will invite you to join me on a trip to all the great places we went.
Here we are at London’s most beautiful ice rink in Somerset House! An absolute MUST if you are in London! Bonus info: The elegant rooms of the West Wing has been transformed into Fortnum’s Christmas Arcade. The rinkside pop-up shop is the perfect place to find great Christmas gifts and relax in the lodge with hot chocolate, cheese fondue, wine, smoked salmon, caviar and blinis.
Somerset House is a large Neoclassical building situated on the south side of the Strand in London, overlooking the River Thames. The building, originally the site of a Tudor palace, was designed by Sir William Chambers in 1776, and further extended with Victorian wings to the east and west in 1831 and 1856. Today Somerset House is a major art and cultural centre and there is always something going on here, so if you haven’t been here, I would strongly advice you to go
One of my favourite Christmas movies “Love Actually” was filmed right here and the reason why… This is the perfect place for lovers!
We didn’t go skating! Mostly because I’m like Bambi, when someone puts me on an ice rink (and I don’t really think my mother was up for it either, when she saw how many people struggled not to fall. Falling from grace is not really our style even though Frenchie being a former ice-hockey player tried to convince us, that skating is very easy… Hmmmm!)
So instead of skating, we decided to go for dinner and one of my favourite restaurants The Delaunay was just around the corner.
The Delaunay is Chris Corbin and Jeremy King’s 2012 follow-up to another of my favourite places The Wolseley – and just like The Wolseley it looks like it’s been here for decades. Grand European cafés provide the inspiration, and the interior is such a treat – a designed mix of green leather banquette seating, dark wood, brass rails, antique mirrors and a black and white marble floor (I could not be more pleased)
The café and bar area at The Delaunay leads through to the main dining room
Frenchie fully occupied with the beautiful menu card!
Our waiter was really sweet and the service here is excellent!
The menu at The Delaunay offers everything from breakfast to dinner – in my opinion there is something for everyone, and the prices that aren’t greedy given the setting, the quality of the service and the assuredness of the food. We didn’t go crazy and had lovely wine and food at a reasonable price
I went for Wild Mushroom Pierogies with truffled cream. It was delicious!
My mother had the Citrus Cured Salmon Tartare
It’s been ages since I’ve enjoyed a proper Wiener Schnitzel! And this one really reminded me of how much I love it
Served with very crunchy french fries!
I really wanted a dessert, but given the fact, that I have eaten out quite a lot lately, I thought it was better to settle with a cappuccino (I would hate not being able to wear my red Christmas dress because of too many calorie encounters!)
However it is ok to have a closer look at all the yummies. Being a foodie is not always easy!
In the next post, I will show you more places to go to get in the right Christmas spirit in London. Feel free to leave a comment for me. I would love to hear from you
X Louise
Hi Louise
How wonderful to be sharing Christmas moments with your mum in London.
Somerset House Skate really is magic – Fortnums just adds the extra sparkle to it all doesn’t it? I’ll be there Christmas Eve. Like you, skating is not my forte but fortified with mulled wine, I get the liquid courage to get those skates moving! Scarlett x
Haha, Scarlett – that’s a good advice! Maybe I should get a few drinks as well and just like that – I’m a skating princess! It sounds amazing, that you are spending Christmas Eve at this magical place! And yes, everything that Fortnum touches turn to glitter and gold! I wish you the best time there – and a merry Christmas to you, dearest
X Louise