We’re so close to reaching December, it’s actually scary. The month of November always zooms past and before you know it, you’re finding yourself surrounded by Christmas lights and festive snacks. I guess you can either be in denial about Christmas festivities or you can just join in with the fun.
It had been a while since I last went to Duke of York Square, if you don’t include passing through to do a bit of shopping and jetting off. However, when I was invited to join in with DOYSQ for their festive get together, I just couldn’t contain myself. Christmas was officially in full swing, with the beautiful trees going up and the twinkly lights that just send you into a sense of mesmerisation.
We started our festive night at Duke of York Square at Partridges, a lovely family run food store in the heart of Sloane Square. My favourite thing about Partridges is that they have an all American food isle, all year round. So you can kiss those worries about missing out on pumpkin pie the only 11 months of the year goodbye. A real treat for our fellow expat Americans!
Partridges also put out a lovely selection of canapés for us, complete with a glass of bubbles to kick start our night. I tried pumpkin pie for the first time and I could certainly see why the Americans love it so much. As a lover of pecan pie, it was probably one of the best pecan pies I had ever had (all sold in Partridges too). The table was also complete with various quiches and breads with vegetarian and seafood options. The fact were were outside, with the Christmas decorations in sight, we definitely felt extremely festive.
I couldn’t help but go and have a quick sneak peak inside Partridges, to see how festive it looked. Safe to say, it was worth the trip inside. Blow up snow men, tinsel, red beads, baubles and a life size advent calendar – how cool!
We were ready for our next stop in Duke of York Square at L.K. Bennett, where we were served up another glass of bubbles and checked out all the gifting options available.
From super chic handbags with stick on lettering, to snuggly winter wooly hats and scarves. Not mentioning their very own selection of candles too. They certainly would make your homes smell heavenly at Christmas!
Little did I know that I would have one in my goody bag. My home definitely smells of red berries, that’s for sure! Such a lovely gift to give someone or a great stocking filler. Along with my candle, I received a beautiful fluffy blue scarf that I gifted to my sister and she is absolutely in love!
However, it was time to move on once again, to our penultimate stop at my favourite store – Liz Earle. As a skincare fanatic, I was in absolute heaven. Especially with all the Christmas gift packages that I would more than happily have under my Christmas tree!
I was so pleased to know that Liz Earle also released a festive version of my favourite cleanser, in sweet orange and clove. How glorious! You can truly get into the festive spirit in every way possible now – no excuses. 😉
As a part of the fun at Liz Earle, we had a demo and wreath making session with an expert who designs and makes wreaths for a living. What a cool job to have! It’s harder than she made it look, but I have to say I was pretty happy with the end result.
Being the perfectionist I am, I tried so hard to ensure you couldn’t see any of the pins inserted to hold the decorations. Some would say it’s a weakness and other would say it’s a major strength, depends which way you look at it.
We left with Liz Earle gift bags with lots of skincare goodies inside. They sure know how to spoil us, don’t they?
Our final stop was dinner at Gallery Mess, one of Duke of York Square’s restaurants.
Sipping on glasses of red wine, we soaked up the atmosphere and had a proper catch up with the rest of the girls. I hadn’t seen Jaime from Angloyankophile for the longest time, so it was great to hear what she had been up to. I saw Mina, Angie and Emma at their #KiwiSpoon celebrations, but I can never get bored of their company. It was also great to meet Hattie from Hattie West and the lovely Evie who works for Duke of York Square.
It wasn’t long before the food from Gallery Mess’ festive menu starting coming out. Most of the ladies around the table went for the Barbary duck breast with mulled red cabbage, clementine and star anise jus.
Except for Angie and I that went for the alternative dishes on the menu. Angie ordered the stone bass with sage roasted parsnip, salsify and kale.
I went for the broccoli and blue cheese soufflé served with salt baked celeriac, shaved celery and candied walnuts.
The dish was lovely. I thought the blue cheese might have been overpowering, but it was actually really subtle giving it good flavour. Presentation could have been a little better though.
Dessert was a massive hit around the table, even if I was the only person feeling festive enough to order Christmas pudding in November. Ooops!
Such a fun evening at Duke of York Square, with a big thanks to Partridges, L.K.Bennett, Liz Earle and Gallery Mess for hosting us for such a festive night.
Until next time…
