Mate Date

Ree Ree and her booze ;) (well ok one was mine)

Last night I was invited along by a good friend to Westfield shopping centre in London, for 'Make a Date at Westfield London'.  The concept is that Westfield shopping centre isn't just a place to go shopping for high street and designer goods, it can be a great place to meet with friends, have a bite to eat, cocktails and maybe visit the cinema.  I was offered a free dinner so thought why the heck not!  Food is definitely the way to my heart and I'm a sucker for a freebee.

I'm not usually a Westfield's kinda girl.  (For my foreign readers, Westfield is a huuuuuuuge American style shopping centre in London).  Being a small business owner my choice of purchasing is dictated by where I am the most; The internet and the supermarket.  I have heard only good things from my friends about Westfield's though as it is a convenient place where all the shops in the world are under one roof.  So if I were 'high street clothing' inclined (Holister, H&M, Debenhams ect), then it would probably be my first port of call.  Because I don't usually shop on the high street for my clothing, preferring vintage clothing and vintage repro, I wouldn't have necessarily thought about going to Westfield for a day out.  So it was nice to be pleasantly surprised by the centre.

There are loooaaads of restaurants dotted about, some in the centre but mostly in a separate outside section.  This definitely makes it more attractive to me as you don't have to go into the shopping centre to be able to enjoy an evening out.  The variety of restaurants was excellent ranging from the normal chain restaurants like Nandos and Pizza Express, to more up market chains such as Jamie Oliver's restaurant and Carluccio's.  My friend Ree Ree and I were invited to go to 'The Real Greek'.

We were treated to a glass of prosecco and a slap up meal each.  The meal was part of their summer menu which was two courses for £10 - not bad for a London restaurant.  Ree Ree and I decided to treat ourselves and get a pudding too, and to our delight they also included the puddings on them!  Here is what I had (as you can see I couldn't wait to dig into the pudding!  Such a bad blogger at taking pictures!)

I love hummus and all that sort of 'finger food' so the selection was right up my street........in fact any kind of food would have been my thing!  (I am basically an obese person trapped in a skinny persons body, and contrary to popular belief I do like to eat and lots!). 

After our complimentary meal, Ree and I wandered around the shopping centre just for a nosey.  It was like being in America!  Personally I don't think I would necessarily make a day of it and go shopping there as there are no independent boutiques, which I pretend to prefer.  But if high street shopping is your bag then I can see why it is so successful.  There is a special section of the centre that is specifically designer stores, such as Jimmy Choo, Gucci those sorts of places so if designer brands are more your thing then they cater for that too.  Overall, if I was based in London, it would be a great place to meet friends for a meal and a catch up.  The choice is great with a budget for everyone with the added bonus of being able to pick up an outfit if I so wished.  I oddly felt like spending money when I was in the centre (even though I have no money!) so they are definitely doing the whole shopping experience very well!  Thank you Westfield's for treating Ree Ree and in default treating me!

Do you think that Westfield would be your sort of place?..............just don't go on a Saturday, I have a feeling it will be extremely busy!

Lots of Love
Betty xxx