Trying to find somewhere to eat in London, with the vast number of restaurants on offer down here, can often be tricky! I don’t mean to brag… But we are literally spoilt for choice, living in the UK capital — if you haven’t been to visit London yet, add it to your wanderlist.

Q. So how do you narrow it down to just a handful of places to eat and still find something to suit everyone’s taste and purse?

London has plenty of fast-casual style restaurants and dining establishments… or at least it did pre-March 2020… but that’s not what I want to focus on today.

Today we’re talking fancy. We’re talking fine-dining. Why? Because it’s my birthday this week and I’m turning 35 and I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a special occasion, than eating the very best food and drink on offer with your loved ones.

Rob had booked a table for two for my pre-birthday weekend at a surprise London restaurant. Eek!

I’m not great with surprises… they make me nervous! But, having been whisked out for a romantic dinner together by him earlier in the year (to Adam Handling’s fancy Covent Garden restaurant, Frog) I knew my man had great taste and was confident he’d choose a belter of a menu for us to devour.

As many of you will already know, a great fine-dining experience often comes with a hefty price tag and a long waiting list… COVID-19 has not been kind to the hospitality & events industry. In fact, when we eventually come out on the other side of this pandemic, the casualty list is going to be devastating. The unprecedented closure of bars and restaurants around the world, the new restrictions on number of covers, due to the introduction of social distancing has forced many of our favourite bars and restaurants to adapt quickly in order to survive.

With many of them having to “pivot” their business models (yep! There’s another one of those words for your lockdown bingo sheet) to incorporate Take-out only or Deliveroo/Uber Eats options, it’s been an exhausting 6-months or so, for the poor folks trying to uphold our favourite past time; food & drink with friends.

It’s been 8-years since I moved to London, and I can honestly say, despite eating out a gazillion times over the years at some pretty fancy establishments, I’ve not even put a dent in the list of places I’d still like to visit.

Plying him with questions about what to wear and how far I’d need to walk (again, to determine how high my heels could be, before making any ill-informed footwear decisions that would cause sartorially sufferings later on… I swear, one can go bankrupt buying all that Compeed shizz — p.s. our feet thank you!)

I opted for a bold red sleeveless waistcoat/wrap-style midi dress, kindly gifted from the guys at AQ/AQ a couple of years back. It’s a striking piece and always gets a lovely comment on two when you wear it. It’s power-dressing at its most feminine! Then popped on a pair of red stilettos (and a compeed plaster… I mean, he said we could jump in a cab, but I needed to play it safe! No blisters for me) and some black & gold tassley earrings to finish the look!

We took a train into London, masks at the ready, and made our way towards Waterloo. Still not knowing where we were going, he gave the Black Cab driver directions to Upper St Martin’s Lane, and off we went! I felt strangely nostalgic seeing the streets of London and all its landmarks whizzing past us. It’s so strange seeing London half-empty right now. Will our cities ever recover? Will tourism ever be the same again?! Will anyone take up Pret’s £20 a month subscription offer? Questions on everyone’s lips right now…

After a quick 10 min cab ride, we pulled up in Covent Garden… outside… erm… Stringfellows.

“SURPRISE! I’ve booked you a lap dance!!” He jokes, looking at me for my reaction, with a big grin on his face.

”Brilliant! Just what I’ve always wanted…” I say…filled with a mixture of bemusement and humorous curiosity.

But we walk past the strip club and instead turn immediately left. I look up.

Tredwells. The stylish typography over the door announces. Fancy, I think… I’ve definitely not been here before. That’s reassuring!

But what is Tredwells?

Previously a Marcus Wareing establishment, this beautiful eatery is now owned by Chef Patron Chantelle Nicholson — famed for her plant-based dishes.

We walk through the door and are greeted warmly by the hostess. She takes us to our table and introduces us to our waitress. A young blonde with a familiar yet mischievous effervescence about her. She was great fun!

Tredwells offers diners the option to view the menu and order using the laminated QR code on the table. But as it was my birthday, a special occasion, they gave us paper menus to pour over too. The team are all wearing stylish patterned (and sustainable) cotton face masks, all hand made by one of the Team’s grandmas. So cute!

There’s plenty of choice on the a la carte menu, but we opted for the Taste of Tredwells Menu. Here’s what we had!

TASTE OF TREDWELLS

£50 per person

Please note, as they are working hyper-seasonally, these dishes are subject to change.

• Crispy lamb dumpling, szechuan pepper, cucumber

• Hake, scallop emulsion, brioche, pickled vegetables

• Lamb Shoulder Bavette Steak, chickpea, courgette

• Raspberry, apple & custard

• Chouxnut, plum, elderflower

One of our favourite things to do, if it’s on offer, is to opt for the wine pairing that goes with the tasting menu. So much care and attention goes into finding the right wines for each dish, so it made sense to splash out on a birthday treat and make the experience even more memorable — with the added bonus of being able to take photos of new wine bottle labels, to add to my ever-expanding Vivino collection…

Our favourite wines from the 4 included in the wine pairing (cost £45pp):

• Mine — The red wine served with the steak course: Te Mata Estate Merlot-Cabernet Franc-Cabernet Sauvignon, a New Zealand Bordeaux Blend. On tasting this, I was immediately transported to south west France! I couldn’t believe it when she told us it was a Kiwi wine! Mind. Blown.

• Rob’s favourite was the Austrian white wine — served with the Hake, the Grüner Veltliner Zöbinger Terassen Reserve 2015.
  

Final thoughts…would we eat here again?

Hell yes! Definitely. Tredwells Covent Garden restaurant is an absolute delight! Its low-key sexy, beautifully lit, industrial chic bar & restaurant environment offer classy surrounds for enjoying sumptuous but unpretentious food; the perfect dining experience. The music is Shazamable and the are equally cocktails delectable. Perfect for a fancy dinner or date night with friends.

Total cost for 2 people — Taste of Tredwells menu + wine pairing and a post dessert cocktail = £211 (including service)

FYI they also offer private hire & private dining (UP TO 250 STANDING AND UP TO 150 SEATED. 3 floors of contemporary London dining) for those of you looking for Xmas do options or group functions.

CONTACT

TREDWELLS4A UPPER ST MARTIN'S LANE
LONDON WC2H 9NY

+44 (0)20 3764 0840

Opening Hours (subject to change — please check the restaurant website to confirm)

Monday – Wednesday
Closed

Thursday
5:30pm – 9:30pm

Friday
5:30pm – 9:30pm

Saturday
12pm – 9:30pm

Sunday
12pm – 3:45pm

For groups of more than six, please use the booking form to contact the restaurant directly.

Dress code: as you wish.

Take a peek at Tredwells on Instagram

Photography ~ Lucie Kerley