Diary of a new Mrs: Birthday Sunday Funday

I am one lucky lady! My husband surprised me with a lovely day in London, which, for anyone who knows us knows how much we like our food, had to include two amazing restaurants.

The day began with Sunday lunch at a favourite of ours; Smiths Wapping. We recently went to the Ongar restaurant for our anniversary on 29th August, when I was pregnant. I couldn't have my favourite starter then as it had crab, and I was avoiding shellfish and certain seafoods (I know, I know, what a waste of time that was!) So, my husband decided to book for my birthday when I could have whatever I wanted!

As I knew our last destination of the day included prosecco, I was unsure of what drink to have with Sunday lunch! A cocktail seemed too heavy and I didn't fancy white wine. I decided to have a glass of my new favourite - a glass of red Cabernet Sauvignon and hubs had a glass of Merlot.

To begin, I chose the tian of crab, prawns and avocado whilst my husband decided to try something he'd never had before; a dish that included crab - a first for him! Both our starter dishes were delicious, and plentiful.

Tian of Avocado, Cornish White Crab and Peeled Prawns

Duo of Tempura Soft Shell Crab & Tiger Prawns with Oriental Salad & Sticky Plum Dressing

Each time we've been to Smiths on a Sunday, we've planned to have a Sunday roast with trimmings; but once we've got there and ordered we've both opted for other dishes. As it is predominantly a seafood restaurant, I have always had a fish dish. This time, we both chose the roast Angus sirloin of beef, accompanied by a large Yorkshire pudding, crunchy roast potatoes and an assortment of vegetables. The beef was perfectly cooked medium, the potatoes were huge, extremely fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside. One thing we noticed and liked was that with other restaurants for Sunday lunch, you usually have to share the dishes of sides; often leaving one of you with only one piece of carrot or broccoli. At Smiths, they provided us both with our own dish of sides.

We both really enjoyed our meal, and, as always, the service was very good.

We declined a dessert, as we knew there would be plenty of sweets at our last destination of the day!

Both feeling full and fancying a walk to work off some of our delicious lunch, we headed down by the river and strolled along chatting and taking in the sights of London. A town we live close to and visit frequently, and each time we see it, we notice different parts and places to put on the bucket list!

Instead of using public transport, we decided to walk to our next destination - Oxford Street. My Fitbit was extremely impressed with my activity today! We walked for over 14km in total!

After a browse in some shops, a purchase of my new winter coat (will blog soon) and some cute ballet shoes; we headed to The Radisson Blu Edwardian Berkshire Hotel. Our reservation was at Scoff and Banter Tearooms for afternoon tea with a bottle of prosecco.

At Scoff and Banter, you are given the option of 4 different mini-courses; Hot Kitchen, Scones, Sandwiches and Desserts. You can each choose two dishes from all sections, along with a tea of your choice.

The hot food is brought out on two separate plates per person. The following three courses are brought out in the traditional afternoon tea style of layered plates on a tiered stand.

(Back) Oysters Rockefeller, (front) Wild mushroom arancini with creamy spicy mayo

Oysters Rockefeller

Lamb cutlet, mint, lemon and Cyprus parsley crust

The Oysters Rockefeller was amazing - it practically melted in my mouth! The arancini was nice but I don't know if I'd choose it again!

(Left) Smoked salmon, crayfish and dill crème fraîche with a toasted bagel, (right) Chicken Caesar with rosemary focaccia

The bagel was amazing - the filling tasted delicious and the salmon was very soft. I've had smoked salmon previously at other venues that was mildly chewy, which almost ruins the taste for me. This salmon was not like that at all, it was extremely enjoyable. The chicken Caesar on focaccia was tasty, it had a small anchovy on which was a bit of an unpleasant surprise for my husband who dislikes most fish!