Activities & Days Out / 3 May, 2017 / My Baba

Date Night At Old Street: Judge & Jury Review

This week we travelled east to Old Street for our date night feature. We started with with pre-dinner drinks (cocktails, obviously). The moved onto the Judge & Jury at the notorious Shoreditch Courthouse now turned hotel.

The outfit: Saturday night style

This week’s look is made up of a Luisa Floral-Print Silk-Georgette Mini Dress (Net-A-Porter), teamed with Chloé Lauren Slider Sandals (Browns Fashion), Iam By Leana Makri (Net-A-Porter) bracelet, and a Leather And Suede Frill Clutch (Karen Millen).

Drinks: Christabel’s Bejewelled Cocktail Masterclass

We discovered this delightful class on the off chance and had to go along and test it out. We were welcomed by hosts Christabel and Jeremy who run the class from their fabulous apartment near Old Street. We arrived and awaited the other guests’ arrival while sipping champagne and pomegranate from little champagne saucers and nibbling on delicious canapés. There were roughly sixteen of us in the class, so it made for a very friendly and intimate evening.

We were taught how to make Christabel’s signature cocktails from scratch, with the help of some homemade syrups and edible glitter. It makes such a lovely evening to do something a little different and pick up some drink-making tips and tricks at the same time! You can now book your place on Not On The High Street or via Christabel’s website.

Dinner: The Courthouse Hotel Judge And Jury Restaurant

The Courthouse Hotel recently opened its Judge & Jury restaurant, fully equipped Shoreditch-style with a resident DJ and old jailhouse quirks – think Darth Vader and Mona Lisa behind bars. We visited the former Old Magistrates Court to trial their new menu in the room where novelist George Orwell was convicted, allegedly for drunkenness.

Starting with an aperitif aptly named “On Trial”, a sweet crème de cassis, Chambord, and mixed fruit concoction, accompanied with bread, olives and vegetable compote – the perfect thing to get your stomach rumbling for a three-course dinner. For starters we tucked into beef tartare folded with sunflower seeds and dressed with a confit quails egg. For main choose from pan-roasted duck, lamb rump, monkfish and baked cod with lentil fricassee options. The restaurant also offers ‘From The Grill’ steak options including lobster, tuna, and cuts of beef. The menu is a great example of comfort food meets fine dining.

The extensive wine list left us unsure what to pair with our food, but thankfully the attentive servers knew exactly which wine would suit each dish. We opted for the sweet German QbA Mosel Riesling, which was the perfect partner for the baked cod and wild mushrooms main course. For dessert, the chocolate marquis with orange and cardamom sauce was the rich and sweet finale to a delicious evening.

We couldn’t resist heading over to the Jailhouse bar afterwards for a nightcap. You can sit in one of the cells where the Kray Twins were kept before sentencing and sample some prison-themed cocktails including The Solitary, Ball & Chain, and Stir Crazy. Although it was a little too chilly upon our visit, the hotel’s roof terrace bar is a ‘must’ this summer for long evenings, lazy afternoons and catch ups over cocktails.

For more London date night inspiration, click here.