What I’ve always loved the most about London is the diversity. With so many restaurants, bars, hotels, cultural attractions and events, Londoners are absolutely spoilt for choice for what to do, see and eat. That’s why I love the idea of the London Lifestyle Awards, a celebration of the people and companies who have contributed to make London what it is. The awards themselves take place on the 3rd of October but I was recently invited for dinner by CEO Jason Gale, at restaurant nominee Smith & Wollensky to find out more about the awards and the categories.
Along with Jason was his Creative Director, Paul Madison and we were joined by fellow lifestyle bloggers JJ from Love London and Rudy from Sassy Fashion Rudy. Smith & Wollensky is a steakhouse imported from across the pond, and just like its US predecessors, the menu features British and Irish cuts of meat as well as USDA prime-aged steaks. The hospitality of the restaurant was evident straightaway as the manager took us on a tour of the beautiful art deco restaurant with its sumptuous leather banquettes, wooden floors and eye-catching art work.
Ending with a tour of the kitchen itself, we got a glimpse of the high quality meat served at the restaurant, whetting our appetite for what was to come.
Back at the table we would first be sampling the restaurant’s seafood platter.
Served with a variety of dipping sauces such as cognac mustard, sherry mignonette and cocktail sauce, the jumbo shellfish platter is nearly entirely locally sourced. The exception being the juicy stone crab which is local to Florida and much more meaty than regular crab.
While we enjoyed the prawns, lobster and oysters, Jason and Paul told us a little more about the London Lifestyle Awards, there are 15 categories including best London bar, pub, health and beauty facility, cultural attraction and fashion retailer. Of course the restaurant category was of most interest to me and the nominees included some of my favourites such as Coya, SushiSamba and Roka Mayfair while bars featured cool choices such as Barts, Radio Rooftop, The Roof Gardens and Aqua Shard. All the nominees were presented in a beautiful book, which I could take away with me and refer to for future bookings and nights out. 
As we finished up the seafood, epic platters of steak were placed on the table alongside with tasty side dishes including truffled mac ‘n cheese, honey roast carrots, creamed spinach and field mushrooms. Around the table things went a little quiet as people tackled the large portions of steak cooked to perfection. 
Desserts are equally monolithic, with this slab of chocolate cake and cute cow biscuit intended for two, I actually think it could have fed a family of six! I was finished by then but my companions found it surprisingly light despite the imposing appearance. 
Also on the table were a coconut layer cake with Malibu Rum syrup, shaved coconut and a drizzle of passion fruit sauce.
This New York style cheesecake, along with the large portion sizes of the dishes, meant that I put Smith & Wollensky firmly on the list of places to take my parents. My dad would absolutely love the creamy cake served with raspberry coulis.
A big thank you to The London Lifestyle Awards for hosting us at Smith & Wollensky, I look forward to finding out the winners!
