Mother's Day: Daffodils, Italian Food and OOTD

Luckily this year, I broke up from university in time to come home for Mother's Day. Today, my family (and another family we are close friends with) celebrated with a three course meal in the Italian restaurant 500: Cinquecento in Archway/Upper Holloway. The restaurant is pretty much a hidden gem on the north end of Holloway Road, so I thought it was worth sharing and raving about on here.

These were the gifts me and my sister gave to my mum: a box of Charbonnel & Walker pink Marc de Champagne truffles and we hand-picked some daffodils from the back garden.

So for lunch we all headed to 500: Cinquecento, which from the front looks a bit deceiving with its blacked-out windows, but inside it was nicely decorated and the food was lovely!

The service was also great too, and we started the meal off with a celebratory glass of prosecco. Whilst waiting for our starters, a bread board was brought out with a selection of Italian breads. My favourite on there was the Pizza Bianca which is typically found all over Italy (and someday I hope to find the perfect recipe and make it for myself) and it was perfectly drizzled with a bit of olive oil and seasoned with some herbs. For my starter, I opted for the gnocchi with pork ragu which was served with parmesan and was amazing! For those of you who don't know, gnocchi is a soft pasta made from potato, and it simply tastes of Italy. My sister went for the tageteille with garlic pesto, which she described as being quite oily, and she wishes that she went for the gnocchi.

For my main course I went for the stone bass, which was served with spinach and walnuts. I really enjoyed this healthy main, and I felt that it didn't need any carbs in it, after having the gnocchi, since it was quite filling. One of the specials today was rib-eye steak, served with sautéed potatoes, rocket and parmesan and this was what my sister chose.

Finally, for dessert I chose my favourite dessert ever, tiramisu. And this homemade one did not disappoint. The recipe saw that it was quite rich and went quite heavy on the cream. My sister went for the spicy dark chocolate mouse, which was served with a scoop of lemon sorbet on a bed of breadcrumbs. Having tried the mouse myself, it did live up to its spicy name and being quite sensitive to spice I don't think I could have finished the pot if I'd have had chosen it. Nevertheless the presentation was brilliant for all the plates, and it just seems that my sister didn't chose that well, as everyone else loved their food! I'd really recommend this restaurant as it really was a pleasant surprise to find it, and the meal really was the taste of Italy!

Unfortunately, my mum didn't like the picture of her, but I thought I'd attach a quick OOTD to show what I wore to lunch.

Vest: Topshop, Lace Shirt: Forever 21, Necklace: H&M, Earrings: Blue Zirconia Swarovski studs by Estelle (my first pair as I finally got my ears pierced this week - woo)

I hope all mothers enjoyed their day today, what did you do to celebrate?