I was completely spoiled on my birthday. What started out as a picnic in Hyde park on a gorgeously sunny day turned into a surprise birthday dinner at a restaurant I've wanted to go to since it opened - Fera.
Everything felt so special - the walk in the main entrance of Claridge's, being greeted by top-hatted and tailed doormen, and being guided by the manager through to Fera.
The dim entrance only served to make the room of the restaurant all the more impressive.
High ceilings with stain-glass like motifs, a single huge tree in the centre of the room to reaffirm the "back to nature" theme of the restaurant and gorgeous luxurious large armchairs and booths.
We headed to the bar for some exquisite Summer cocktails made with homemade potions lining the marble table.
And then to the table to study the menu.
Except there was no studying allowed since I opened it and was then swiftly told I was having the tasting menu. No complaints from me!
A special note was propped up on the side of the table from the lovely guys at Fera.
And then the snacks came. First up, stewed rabbit with lovage.
Goat's curd, crisp, pickled shiitake.
Scallops and peas with buttermilk.
Crab, rhubarb, verbena and pork fat.
The best snack, and possible dish of all, tunworth, potato and duck heart.
Aynsome soup, mustard cream, soft herbs and flowers.
My favourite dish of the mains: Cornish lobster, pickled golden beetroot, dittander and sea herbs. So tender and full of interesting textures. And needless to say, absolutely beautiful on the plate.
The tastiest salad ever. Salad, grilled over embers, Isle of Mull, truffle custard, sunflower seeds. I loved the tree trunk bowl it came with, and the matching utensils in order to stir and mix the salad as you wished.
Hake, in caramelised cabbage, potatoes in chicken fat with nasturtium.
Cutlery appreciation.
The next beautiful piece of modern art: Goosnargh duck, beetroot, runner beans & watercress.
The desserts. Pineapple weed with butterscotch and celery.
This, my favourite of the three, a little gem! Hereford strawberries with meadowsweet and linseeds.
And inside, a little surprise of a whole raspberry.
Black saison, cherries and fennel.
Petits fours, Fera style: Carrot and sea buckthorn macarons, Sweet cicely cake, banana and mint chocolate, hazelnut jelly.
An incredibly fresh and different meal and one that I shall remember for a while to come.
Meanwhile....
To go to the bathroom at the restaurant you have to head into the hotel and use their public toilets.
I have to show you the flush in Claridge's toilets.
How cool is that?!! So old! It's on the side wall adjacent to the toilet. I doubt it's been changed for years. I hope it's been cleaned.
Now a bit of posing in fancy powder rooms.
Claridge's is like another world!
Anyway, back to the restaurant.
And at the end, the best touch, they print off the wine you drank, all the dishes you ate, where they come from and you get to take it home. Wonderful memento.
What a perfect finish to the birthday night.
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