I think I may have been overdoing it on the blogging recently, but I just came back from a lovely restaurant that I really wanted to tell you about. Plus, it’s very exciting to be able to concentrate on doing more blogging rather than thinking of weddings, diets and everything else!
The Magazine at the Serpentine Sackler Gallery is a work of art in itself! Just check out that cool futuristic exterior:
And the light, airy interior.
Set in Kensington Gardens, it was the perfect way to make the most of the last days of summer. I even got one last wear out of my white dress!
We were meeting close friends of ours, Lauren and Dave who were soon to be parents for the first time. So for once a non-alcoholic cocktail is making an appearance in my blog: a cucumber cooler.
The menu at The Magazine is largely Japanese as chef Oliver Lange or ‘Ollysan’ is European, but passionate about Japanese food and culture.
Though Japanese contains a lot of raw fish, and not the first choice of venue for a pregnant lady, there were plenty of options for Lauren. We started with a platter of sushi:
Including spicy hamachi, Scottish salmon, tempura softshell crab and surf and turf rolls. Unfortunately it took a while to come, we were hungry, it was a late lunch and we’d all just been to the gym… but when it turned up it was worth the wait.
Main courses were also from the sea:
Sea Bass with white bean and smoked clam sauce.
Roasted monkfish with coconut and lemongrass,
Hamachi sashimi ceviche style with mango and scallop crisp, all very artistically presented and fit for the nearby gallery.
We ordered scallops with cauliflower and ginger for Lauren but unfortunately they weren’t cooked enough for her, though the rest of us very much enjoyed them.
Seared tuna, you may know is a favourite of Mr S and I.
And a pregnancy-friendly parsnip soup for Lauren.
To compensate for the wait we’d had, a round of free desserts were given to us.
Poached apricot with a butter financier,
A kind of deconstructed banoffee pie with roasted tea ice cream,
And my favourite: beetroot, blackberry and yogurt which tasted really light and healthy.
All mopped up a deliciously decadent chocolate brownie!
Though the food had been slow (an hour’s wait) everything was very much worth waiting for. Totally tasty dishes, in a very beautiful setting. Ok…I promise no more blogging til Monday now!
