london
Michelin star dining with a baby - Ametsa with Arzak Instruction, London
Saturday, March 12, 2016
Last Sunday I celebrated my first Mothers Day as a Mum! It was a surreal feeling being on 'the other side of the fence' so to speak and I wanted to mark the occasion by pushing the boat out and doing something with our family that normally I might be a bit nervous about with a small baby.
So when a friend who also has a baby suggested catching up over lunch at Ametsa with Arzak Instruction (just round the corner from Mayfair and Knightsbridge) I said yes. It was the perfect way to celebrate Mothers Day weekend - taking little LJ to her first Michelin Star restaurant!!
How to: Michelin star dining with a baby...
- Choose your Michelin Star restaurant carefully. Think accessible for a buggy, not too loud and visually stimulating for the little one. Ametsa with Arzak Instruction is a lovely light restaurant, with lots of mirrors and a very cool ceiling. It ticked all the boxes.
- Go for lunch, not dinner. Generally people are a little more relaxed at lunch time. If your bubba does have an unfortunate meltdown most diners will hopefully laugh it off and not give you a hard time.
- Get your timing right. Baby LJ and I have a pretty good routine going these days, which includes feeds at 11am and 3pm. Our reservation was for 1:30pm, which gave me enough time to give her a nice long feed before leaving the house and just over an hour when we first arrived of peace while she napped between feeds.
- Bring toys. Even when baby LJ woke up we had a good time as I had packed a few goodies in my bag to keep her entertained and she just loved sitting on my lap and gazing around the restaurant.
- Have an escape route planned. If it all goes horribly wrong have your plan B ready. In the lobby just outside Ametsa with Arzak Instruction there was a small, quiet area with couches. This is where I planned to go if LJ needed some feeding and settling away from the hustle and bustle.
- Enjoy, eat and be merry. You just survived a very sophisticated outing with a small child! Big pat on the back.
We went for the £52 lunch tasting menu that comprised of seven delicious courses, my favourites being Lubina con… Apio? (Sea Bass with Celery Illusion) and Canicas de Chocolate y Fruta (Chocolate and Fruit Marbles).
It's been a while since I've had the chance to go out and taste truly good food and the tasting menu was excellent value with a range of courses that complemented each other well. We left, bellies full and everyone very happy.
How did you spend Mothers Day weekend?