A Most Lovely Indoor/Outdoor Terrace
Once again, my friend and I tried to go to Kenza. Last time, we ended up at Haz. This time, we stumbled upon Devonshire Terrace, which had opened two days before. But we had no idea; all we knew was that we needed to be on the inside/outside terrace, drinking champagne.
And so we sat amongst a (mostly male) City crowd, hanging out whilst the rain fell on the transparent roof high above. The Gherkin loomed in front of us. Ancient brick surrounded us. Sound nice? It most certainly was.
And so we stayed. First for the bottle of champagne, then for the darkening sky, and finally, for the food, which was surprisingly good. Being girls who like lots of small things, we shared. Risotto with broad beans and peas to start (perfectly firm and tasty), the sirloin done medium-rare (but more like black and blue, said my friend, and delicious), creamed spinach with the right amount of nutmeg, nicely done chips, and to finish, the chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream (instead of the recommended honeycomb).
We were surprised by how good - and reasonable - everything was.
"It's very buzzy, it feels like New York", my friend said. "And I love the minimal brasserie feel, which you can easily escape by sitting outside".
On our way out we made an exploratory stop at Kenza. And what did we find? A bunch of hour-old, City couples looking for a dark place to extend the night. As such, we'll return to Devonshire Terrace before we'll visit Kenza, although picking up a henna tattoo on a Monday evening does sound pretty good.
And so we stayed. First for the bottle of champagne, then for the darkening sky, and finally, for the food, which was surprisingly good. Being girls who like lots of small things, we shared. Risotto with broad beans and peas to start (perfectly firm and tasty), the sirloin done medium-rare (but more like black and blue, said my friend, and delicious), creamed spinach with the right amount of nutmeg, nicely done chips, and to finish, the chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream (instead of the recommended honeycomb).
We were surprised by how good - and reasonable - everything was.
"It's very buzzy, it feels like New York", my friend said. "And I love the minimal brasserie feel, which you can easily escape by sitting outside".
On our way out we made an exploratory stop at Kenza. And what did we find? A bunch of hour-old, City couples looking for a dark place to extend the night. As such, we'll return to Devonshire Terrace before we'll visit Kenza, although picking up a henna tattoo on a Monday evening does sound pretty good.
Here Is The Writer : Sarah Western
Sarah Western Balzer is the managing director of HITC Life and is always on the hunt for reader-writers, so if you're one, make yourself known (sarah.western@hereisthecity.com). Sarah's other job is running a business that helps expats with lifestyle relocation, and is always on the hunt for clients, so - you guessed it: www.arrivalslimited.com. Sarah moved to London five years ago from New York but is originally from Florida, and still suntans like it's 1989. She is so grateful to the banker who introduced her to Here Is The City that she married him, and they live in Wapping with their son.
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