My motto has always been ‘you only live once’ and not only should every celebration be important but you should elevate the every day. Be the most over-dressed person in the room, book those flights and order that second (or third or fourth) glass of champagne.
Which is why I really liked the idea of Waterford’s Live.Love.Toast campaign which is all about celebrating every moment in life, making the most of our relationships and toasting those occasions along the way. Waterford have just launched their Live.Love.Toast website which features inspirational lifestyle, food and fashion ideas and encourages readers to share their own experiences with a section devoted to readers celebrations and parties.
Waterford Crystal is a brand with a long heritage, first established in 1783 with the vision of creating the finest crystal for drinking glasses and ornaments for the home. Now two hundred years later, they have an incredibly prestigious reputation and have formed several high-end partnerships with leading fashion and interior designers.
My friend Traze’s birthday had only been two weeks ago and we had the perfect reason to celebrate by enjoying drinks from these stylish glasses from Waterford’s Rebel Purple collection. The Rebel collection epitomises the modernisation of Waterford’s style with a rock and roll design that represents punk music and fashion in a finely crafted and elegant glass.
After enjoying some drinks at home we would be celebrating with a night out together with really good food and plenty of champagne. 
We headed to the restaurant of choice, Michelin-starred Peruvian, LIMA Fitzrovia who serve my favourite champagne Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut by the bottle. 
In the last few years a spate of Peruvian restaurants have opened in London igniting a love for ceviche, cancha corn and of course Pisco Sours. I’ve totally fallen in love with this cuisine and it’s actually one of the main reasons why I booked a trip to Peru next year.
But LIMA in Fitzrovia is the only one of these Peruvian restaurants to be awarded a much sought after Michelin star and I can see why it’s so well deserved. With our glasses filled with champagne we started the meal with this delicious corn bread with a yogurt dip that Mr Silver and I had previously sampled at LIMA Floral Street. We quickly devoured this and ordered another to soak up all the drinks that we were enjoying…
We started with one of LIMA’s signature starters octopus olivo which was made up of braised octopus, purple corn and botija olive. These olives are grown on the coast of South Peru and are a great example of how the chefs at LIMA use authentic ingredients to capture the true flavour of Peru. I totally loved this dish and not only was everything cooked perfectly but it was beautifully plated.
Our next starter was a vibrant ceviche combining sea bass, avocado, and yellow Tiger’s milk with cancha corn. Tiger’s milk is the marinade used to cure the fish; made with lime and chilli it imbued the fish with the most amazing citrus flavour. Traditionally, one is supposed to drink the delicious tiger’s milk after finishing the dish, the legend being that the juices give you superhuman vigour and sexual prowess.
Our final starter was Tuna Nikkei which was a gorgeous combination of yellow fin tuna, procoto pepper, samphire and organic radish. The red and yellow tones simply glowed on the plate.
To give you a bit more information about the restaurant itself, LIMA was established by internationally acclaimed chef, Virgilio Martinez and his partners in order to showcase the fine cuisine of the capital of Peru. Virgilio himself owns Central in Lima, ranked fourth in San Pellegrino’s 50 Best Restaurants in the World and number one in Latin America. Trust me I’ll be trying to get a booking there when we make our trip over next year. The head chef, Robert Ortiz hails from Peru too and has worked in some of London’s top restaurant before collaborating with Virgilio to open LIMA.
Our first main course was red mullet escabeche with yellow chilli, onion, black quinoa and crispy rice paper. At LIMA sauce, dressing and flavouring never overpower the light and delicate flavours of the fish and everything works in harmony with each ingredient enhancing the main protein. I also loved the bright blue plates and the contrasting yellow sauce which made me think of the sun in the sky. Overall decor at LIMA is very simple, relaxed and casual with a few Aztec touches, there is no Michelin-starred formality here, the food is the star. 
Our final dish was a juicy lobster chupe which is a sort of stew or chowder with plantain majado, aji limo, sea asparagus and fava beans; once again a great showcase of ingredients imported from Peru.
After finishing up our food, we skipped dessert and headed into town to meet Aftab and Tahira for more fun and celebrations…
How do you celebrate events in life? Do you like to elevate every day experiences? Be sure to check out the Live.Love.Toast website and let me know what you think.
LIMA Fitzrovia
31 Rathbone Place
Fitzrovia
London
W1T 1JH
020 3002 2640
This is a sponsored post but I visited LIMA independently.
