Brilliant Restaurant

To kick start my 'curry makes a great date crusade', GDG was treated to a very pleasurable evening at the Brilliant Restaurant in Southall last night, an Indian Restaurant made famous by Mr Gordon Ramsay himself. 

Whilst Southall (where?) may not be renowned as one of London's top culinary hotspots, we had been assured by a fairly reliable source that this would be the finest curry we would ever taste. So, full of anticipation, we made the long trek west, enjoying several highlights along the way such as a fried chicken shop called 'XFC' (looking remarkably similar to Colonel Sanders' well known Kentucky eatery), and an electrical goods shop called 'A Shoka'. Well, it kept us entertained anyway…

Dinner itself was no disappointment. A range of tandoori chicken starters along with generous portions of Kenyan style Tilapia fish was a mouthwatering start. Our mains were the outstanding Methi Chicken, their signature dish, and Chicken Palak, a combination of succulent chicken with freshly chopped spinach in a delicious masala sauce. Perfection. The staff were cheery and attentive, much buoyed by their recent Ramsay-driven fame (the F Word episode featuring Brilliant Restaurant was proudly played on a large flat screen TV). We dined like Marharaja's.

Well, if you name your restaurant 'Brilliant', you sort of have to deliver, don't you...  

The Bad Date Blog

Some more words of wisdom from our unlucky in love Bad Date Blogger, who has a cautionary tale to tell about friends bearing photographs…

A great way to get out there on a few dates is to call on your friends for a set-up or two. Most people I know always love a bit of matchmaking and are more than willing to help you find a date for Friday night - usually some amazing catch that they’ve been hiding away from you for years. But beware, while I’m sure much happiness has been found using this technique, make sure you know exactly what you’re getting into, and more importantly that you tell your friends exactly what you’re looking for.

BAD DATE BLOG PART 3: THE SET-UP

My tale starts with a suggestion of a set-up from my housemate with his friend from work. I happily agreed to a photo exchange, which now seems to be standard practice for set-ups of any kind. I quickly sent off the most recent photo of myself I could find on facebook where I wasn’t drunk/hungover/embarrassing myself. This was easier said than done but thankfully the fancy dress outfit didn’t scare off my potential date and an email with his chosen piccies soon arrived in my inbox. First impressions were not bad – nice smile, tall, full head of hair – pretty much all I’m looking for in a man…. Ok, so maybe not 100% my type but definitely worth a drink.

So a week and a bit later and I was heading off to meet my set-up for a drink in South Ken. I was feeling pretty optimistic, he’d chosen a great bar to meet in, seemed lovely on pre-date texts, and of course, I’d already seen the photos….

I wandered into the pub and started scanning the crowd, but no one was looking familiar apart from the spitting image of my dad’s best friend propping up the bar in the corner. I did a double-take but ignored him as there was no way the 65 year grandfather of three from Oxford would have been downing a pint in London on a Tuesday night.

Thinking I must have arrived a bit early, I grabbed a table and planned to wait for my date to come to me. But 5 or 10 minutes passed and still nothing… until I catch the eye of Gramps at the bar. He stares back. He smiles. He heads over to my table…

copyright Xavier  Bertels 

Unsure what to do I smiled nervously back as he approached wondering what this old man might want. I started to feel uneasy as he pulled out a chair at my table, sat down, and started to speak:

‘Hi ****, I didn’t see you come in – what would you like to drink?’

Damn, he knows my name, definitely my “blind” date then, as I realise the photo evidence I had seen must have been taken more than a few years (and dress sizes) ago. Not exactly what had been advertised by my housemate. Right, only one thing for it -

‘Mine’s a gin and tonic. Large’

Several drinks later I was actually having a good time. My OAP escort was pretty funny and easy to talk to… it was just a crying shame that he looked 30 years older than every other bloke in the pub! Did I have a good evening? Yes. Did sparks eventually fly? Ummm, no.  As lovely as he was I just didn’t fancy him. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a firm believer that personality is much more important than looks but I don’t think love was going to flourish when my first impression was disappointment. I was promised a tasty-looking young chap but ended up with a slightly more ‘distinguished’ gentleman.

It certainly hasn’t put me off set-ups as it was a perfectly pleasant evening but I’ll be wary of friends bearing photos in future. Needless to say I had words with my housemate - false advertising just isn’t cool people.

Written by our lovely, anonymous, bad date blogger!

Curry

It's the wonderful Brick Lane Curry Festival this Sunday, during which over 200 chefs and 50 local restaurants will 'curr-ify' the whole of... yes, you guessed it, Brick Lane. It's got me wondering why, despite the British obsession with this eastern delight, 'going for a curry' does not feature more highly in the rankings of dating options?

I know very few people who don't like curry. In fact, most people I know simply LOVE the stuff. Yet I've never been taken to a curry house on a first date, and I'm not convinced that I'd have been particularly impressed if I had. Sure, I've had many a romantic night in with a take-away, and an evening out at our local Indian is definitely a treat, but for some reason I simply can't imagine being taken there on a first, or even second or third date. 

I wonder why? Is it because we don't consider it exciting enough? (If anyone else is mourning the loss of Westbourne Grove's Urban Turban you'll surely disagree with this one...) Is it because we can't shake off the image of drunken boys and that awful Vindaloo song? Is it simply because, with one on every other corner of London, it just seems a bit too easy?

Whatever the reason, I vote for a change of heart and am hereby promoting the return of the curry house as a dating staple. So how about kicking it all off with a day of exotic gluttony at the Brick Lane Curry Festival, in… yes, Brick Lane.

Miss Mary x

New Dates

Some great new dates on the website over the last week or so… 

Romancing at the V&A (which, by the way, is home to the London Design Festival from 18th - 26th September), Urban Golf (Scottish lovely Dougray Scott spotted at the Kensington branch on opening night - got to be a good sign), a Chiswick date for all you 'westenders' and 'Notting Hill by night' to remind you that there is life after carnival…

Go on, take a look!

Miss Mary x

Little London Observationist

Miss Mary is very proud to feature in this weeks Listen to a Londoner, the weekly Q&A session from one of our favourite blogs, Little London Observationist. Packed full of everything that we love about London, this is a blog about what makes a London life a fabulous life.

Here's a sneaky peek at part of the interview, head to Little London Observationist for the rest!

LLO: Would you consider London a romantic city?

Miss Mary: Absolutely! Although, I believe that any city can be romantic if you approach it with the right attitude. It’s less about the city – more about how you interact with it. That is one of the reasons we started the website, to help people find the great dating spots in London that might otherwise have passed them by. I do think London is special though, and full of quirky romantic places.

LLO: Where’s the best place for a date in your postcode?

Miss Mary: For a first date, I think my local pub, the Lighthouse in Battersea, is pretty perfect! There’s a great garden for the summer and a roaring fire in the winter. The atmosphere is seriously relaxed so you can start off with a glass of wine, and if the date is going well you can settle in and order food. If the date is going really well you can finish off with a romantic stroll around Battersea Park and then reward yourself with a cheeky kiss on Albert Bridge – definitely the most romantic bridge in London!

LLO: Tell us about the best date you’ve ever had in London.

Miss Mary: I’m in the lucky position of having had lots of wonderful dates in London with my boyfriend. It’s hard to pick a favourite but I think I’d have to say when we took a day trip to Greenwich. Taking the boat down the river, you’re really reminded what a fantastic city London is. Then in Greenwich there is so much to do: fascinating museums, beautiful art, colourful markets, romantic walks with spectacular views, not to mention standing on the line where time officially starts! We finished off the date with a delicious meal at the Rivington Grill and then a very tipsy boat ride home in the dark, mesmerised by the lights of London and the romance of it all. It was a perfect day.

The Cineroleum

NEWS FLASH!  Tickets for the 4th & final weekend (9th - 12th September) of The Cineroleum go on sale at 4pm today.

Here at the Great Date Guide we've been telling you all summer about the fabulous Cineroleum, or in their own words: "a derelict petrol station on Clerkenwell Road transformed into a hand-built cinema celebrating the extravagance and ceremony of the picture palace".

This afternoon tickets will go on sale for their final instalment of films, a smorgasboard of cinematic classics ranging from Badlands to the 1949 film noir classic The Third Man. Tickets are £5 each and we reckon that's a small price to pay for one of the most original dates in London this summer.

Tickets are available through the website but be quick, the previous films have all been sell outs…

For more tips on a original things to do in London then check out our website by clicking here.

Happy Thursday - the week's nearly over!

GDG x

What's on in September - Our Guide

Cling on to the last of the Great British Summer with September's finest offerings.

There's something here for everyone, so be a 'yes' man (or woman) and do something a little bit different…

1) Portobello Film Festival (Notting Hill: 2nd - 19th September) Over 500 independent movie premieres and, like every other year in its 5 year history, admission to all events is free. We don't need to be asked twice!

2) Proms in the Park (Hyde Park: 11th September) If you haven't got tickets for the Last Night at The Proms yet, you won't, but don't despair - for £30 you can join the party in Hyde Park. There'll be flag waving a plenty and picnics galore plus fireworks AND Terry Wogan. Who could ask for more?

3) The Thames Festival (The Thames: 11th - 12th September) London's largest free outdoor arts festival is sure to be crammed full of surprises again this year as the river and its surroundings are transformed by street artists, exhibitions, performance, carnival, music and food, amongst others. The magical finale is the illuminated Night Procession, culminating in fireworks from the centre of the river itself.

4) St John's Hill Festival (St John's Hill: 12th September) This is a village fete in the heart of London and shouldn't be missed. There's a Real Ale festival in the local pub, a wine making workshop at GDG favourite Artisan & Vine, face painting, outdoor spray tanning (...?), a human fruit machine (again…?), a BBQ and much much more.

5) Open House London (Londonwide: 18th - 19th September) 'The capital's greatest architectural showcase' allows you to have a bit of a nosey around hundreds of London's buildings including anything from the BT tower to small private homes. And yes, it's free! If architectural explorations are your cup of tea (and, please, your date's), this one's for you.

6) London Design Festival (Multiple venues: 18th - 26th September) Bringing together the world's greatest talents in a 9 day design extravaganza, this is a true celebration of design. The venues and exhibitions are scattered all over London, but a good place to start is the wonderful V&A museum which acts as the hub for the festival's duration.

7) Autumn Equinox on Primrose Hill (Primrose Hill: 23rd September) For a slightly unusual date, join the Druids, robed in white, as they celebrate the Autumn Equinox on Primrose Hill. Slightly spooky stuff if you ask us, but each to their own...

8) Toast Festival (Clapham Common: 24th - 26th September) Combining international polo with the very best food, wine and live music from the Southern Hemisphere, Toast brings you 'everything good about the antipodean way of life.' With one day each dedicated to South Africa, New Zealand and Australia respectively, pick your country and head on down. We particularly like the sound of the South African gumboot dancers…