FOOD PORN AND FACIALS

We constantly hear the phrase “there’s no such a thing as perfect” banded around and don’t get me wrong, most of the time, I am all about it. Going through a Blake Lively stalking session and consequently feeling like Shrek? There’s no such thing as perfect. Tried to make the picture perfect meal but it looks like a dog’s dinner? There’s no such thing as perfect. Spending far too long looking at Harvey Specter/Derek Shepherd/[insert your own choice of insanely fit person here] thinking how oh how did someone win the genetic lottery and be such a babe at the same time? There’s no such thing as perfect. Like, I bet they’ve got really sh*t toes or bad morning breath or something…

But last week, I kinda did have a day that – omg sorry to break the myth gal pals – was like, actually perfect. Food is my everything, pamper time is my everything and family time just warrants all of the thumbs up/love heart emojis in the world, so when I trotted off to One Aldwych with My Mum in tow for some food and facials, I already thought it was going to be a pretty dreamy day but my god was I right.

BRB while I go and collect my Blue Peter badge.

So before I bore you all into a stupor, let’s go and grab a slice of food porn with a side of relaxation, yeah? Ok cool, let’s do it…

One Aldwych isn’t a place that I’d heard too much about before visiting last week and if I’m honest, that makes me quite sad. Maybe it’s just me and my Nando’s munching ways but I honestly feel like everyone needs to know about it. For starters, the Indigo restaurant where we ate is set in One Aldwych, an absolutely gorgeous hotel on the corner of the strand. Right by The Lyceum theatre and Covent Garden, it has the most incredible atmosphere, and pretty dreamy interiors to boot too. But the main reason I’m so happy to spread the word about this little dream boat is because everything in the restaurant is gluten and dairy free, and as a coeliac of 8 years I can assure you that there aren’t many of those bad boys out there.

So, after being spoken through the menu’s by our waiter Levi – who can I just say, was so incredibly lovely and knowledgable that both my Mum and I nearly snuck him in our pocket to take him home #CallThePolice #StalkerAlert – and I knew I was in for trouble because everything looked stunning. Oh, and I’m the most indecisive gal pal that genuinely takes a good hour to decide.

A waiter’s nightmare basically.

Lol.

So yeah, after choosing our starters – and the wine to go alongside it with the help of Levi – we started to tuck into our starters (and two portions of bread each because carbs are my lifeline and when you’re given a mini loaf of rosemary bread you eat the whole damn thing).

I went for the pressed confit rabbit terrine which sounds slightly frightening – bunny Mum’s please don’t hate me – but oh my goodness it was insanely good! Like, seriously good. The terrine itself was really thick but absolutely packed full of flavour, alongside the fresh and sweet pickled summer veg it really was the perfect combination of rich but light and fresh.

I’m kinda dreaming about it now and I’m kinda tempted to jump on the tube to Aldwych to demolish it all over again.

My Mum went for the cured cornish mackerel which she really enjoyed too. It came with a cucumber, avocado and coriander dressing and was a really lovely light alternative.

We kinda did a blogger fail when it came to the main because both of us were like omg that steak though and went for the same thing, so I can only give you a review of one main but seriously, if you’re a steak eater then I actually order you to not eat anything else!! Guys, I’m putting it out there and saying that the Grilled Bavette was the best steak I’ve ever eaten. It was so incredibly soft, so ridiculously tasty and full of flavour – lol, wonder how many times that phrase will pop up – and literally melted in your mouth. The watercress puree was stunningly delicious and the fondant potato nearly made me stand up and scream ALL HAIL CARBS! This was one of my favourite meals out in a long time and as a completely spoilt brat lucky blogger that eats out a lot, that’s really saying something.

Oh, and we also had a beautiful Rioja to compliment that too. I’m not sure I’ve ever said a sentence that made me feel so fancy…

After a little break, a little chit chat (well, a lot of chit chat) we then ordered dessert and this was the round that really gave me all the oh god, I’m gonna be here for the next week tryna decide, why oh why did I not inherit the decisive gene because everything looked so.damn.good! In the end I opted for the Apricot and camomile fool with oat honey crumble and it was such a frickin good decision (if I do say so myself). It was such a lovely light, refreshing but still slightly naughty way to end the meal and I’m so glad I picked this.

My Mum picked an absolutely winner in the form of the Chocolate mousse with cherry sorbet and pistachio meringue and it was absolutely delicious. I tried it – you know, for the sake of review purposes obvs – and it was seriously beautiful. Very chocolatey but not sickeningly rich at all and I bloody loved the pistachio meringue, a seriously good addition. Our lovely waiter Levi surprised us with a dessert wine before our teas and coffees to wash it down with which was so lovely (promise I’m not just saying this because I was 100% tipsy by this point either). Finally we entered our food coma with petit fours and coffee and felt unbelievably fancy.

So yeah, in short – because I’ve used up my ramble quota for the next year – lunch at One Aldwych was absolutely stunning, the atmosphere was lovely, the staff were spot on and we couldn’t have asked for any more. Apart from maybe a facial or something…

After demolishing everything in sight it was time for my facial and oh my frickin sweet baby lord jesus was I excited about this ‘cause gal pals skin pretty much looks like a sahara desert and needs every bit of help it can get. The facial was with Oskia, one of my all time favourite skincare brands – the renaissance gel and restoration oil are dreamier than McDreamy – and right from the beginning I knew that I was going to love it. My wonderful facialist Victoria started by asking what my problem areas were, what I’d like to improve etc. and after establishing that my face was a crusty old piece of cardboard, Victoria decided to focus on exfoliation to even out the skin tone. We started with a deep cleanse – hot towels and the most calming music to boot – followed by a glycolic exfoliation (Oskia usually use physical exfoliants but my face really needed those bad boy glycolic’s and ended with the most nourishing, incredible moisturisation that left me feeling a little bit like Blake lively (until I looked in the mirror and realised that my skin looked sassier than Beyonce but my face was still, well… mine. FML).

But seriously, I’ve had a whole manner of facials in my time and this was absolutely one of my favourites. 1 week on and my skin still looks ridiculously glowing – it must be that chicken korma and the secret superfood nutrients that nobody realises is in it :/ – incredibly plump, and just a lot better than it has done in a very, very long time. I will definitely, definitely be back for more. That goes for the food and wine too because I’m all about those perfect days.