DATE NIGHT / Jekyll & Hyde Birmingham Review

Let me start by saying this is my second time at Jekyll & Hyde, Birmingham. 

Yeah. It's that good. I needed more. I knew from my first encounter, it wouldn't be my last visit. 

From the candlelit rooms to the helpful gin enthusiast staff, fall down the rabbit hole to experience a magical and vintage evening, plentiful of boozy delights. 

The cosy bar downstairs is a guarantee Brummy hotspot. An inexhaustible collection of gins from around the globe and locally distilled, the cocktail list is endless. I'm a fan of floral flavours to pair with gin, for example, elderflower and lavender. As well as berry infusions. 

My boyfriend ordered Corpse Reviver - Tanqueray gin, Cointreau, dry vermouth with fresh lemon, fresh mist. I would have gone for the Bramble - Plymouth gin with fresh lemon juice, accompanied with Chambord black raspberry liqueur. This time round, now that I am a certified gin connoisseur (lol as if, I'd still happily drink Gordon's) I went for the Aviation - "Aviation gin shaken with Maraschino liqueur and fresh lemon juice with subtle hints of Crème de Violette for a floral and earthy gin sour."

Here it is below... 

I sent this picture to my family Whatsapp group, my aunt cheekily replied, "it looks like dish-water". I guess that's the 'earthy' part to the cocktail? 

Nevertheless, I'm not there for its looks... 

"Let's not judge a cocktail by its colour, but by its taste!... and how drunk it gets you!" 

- K. Chelsie, 2016

Now on to the food.

I'd gladly go to Jekyll & Hyde just for the cocktail chemistry. As they serve food, it's a verified #winninglife moment. 

We ordered "cured mackerel, cauliflower textures, mint" for a starter. Didn't get a snap because we were already hungry from our shopping afternoon at Bull Ring. About to jump to my fashion blogger side right now -  I nearly bought this jumpsuit, so so nearly. I thought the side profile made me look frumpy, plus there wasn't a price tag so I wasn't fussed to queue to find out the cost.

For a main, we both ordered the "confit duck leg, Dauphinoise potatoes, puy lentils, carrot puree". I don't think we've ever chosen the same main course. Normally if we do fancy the same dish, we'd order something else and share what we wanted. This time, duck was all I wanted. And to side the duck, we had duck fat chips. Surprised I didn't start quacking after the meal. Again I was so tempted to eat the chips than picture it for you curious lot, but halfway I remembered.  

The sweetest part of the night was the "chocolate ganache, banana, toffee, vanilla ice cream". A smooth and rich ganache, with not overly sweet toffee. 

In between mouthfuls, we were sipping on three different impeccable locally distilled gins. And even the tonic water was fancy, not your standard Schweppes. 

I honestly felt like I was in a different time period. Antiques surrounding us, and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes silently played.

The benefit of visiting cities in the West Midlands, is that the prices for three course meals aren't too expensive. Very affordable for extravagant date nights! For instance, two years ago we stayed a Nite Nite Birmingham for the weekend. A quirky hotel that didn't break the bank - at all. It's a one of a kind hotel, and very practical as it is bang in the centre of Birmingham.

My ideal day in Brum would be, shop until you drop in Bull Ring, dine at Jekyll & Hyde, snooze at Nite Nite. 

Jekyll & Hyde was our escapism from the gloom. I swear that I would venture out and find more hotspots in the Midlands. I need to stop comparing it to the South and believe that I can find great places here too.