Birthday celebration

Yesterday was Carl's birthday. I organised a meal to celebrate.

I would have preferred to have the meal on the actual day, but a lot of restaurants aren't open on Mondays because of post-pandemic staffing problems (indeed, many of them are only opening on four days a week).

I bookmarked likely restaurant reviews during Covid days, and tonight's choice was one of them. It's Bastible, at Leonard's Corner on the South Circular Road. It was our first time there and it turned out to be really special. Their web site is quite basic and was out of date when it came to checking out their menu. What they describe as a Set Menu turned out to be a Tasting Menu, consisting of eight courses no less. It's nouvelle cuisine, but despite small portions was actually quite filling. The courses arrive at the table nicely spread out. Our booking was for 8:40 and we didn't finish until 11:45 or so.

It's very much a special occasion place, but we''d recommend it unhesitatingly on those terms.