Coquine

                Coquine is a stylish bar, restaurant and lounge located in South Kensington, a District of Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in London. The place is vintage decorated, with sophisticated chandeliers covered of woven Persian and well designed chairs. The dark blue tile walls and the low light make the ambient comfortably dark. Every detail from the ceiling to the mirrors has a vintage touch.  This restaurant-lounge has been chosen by me to host my guests in a very special day: my wedding!

                When I was looking for a restaurant I found out that there are very few venues offering a reception, dinner and dancing area combined, unless you book the whole place exclusively for the event. That was not the case as my wedding was shortly planned and for very close friends. As I am always keen for my restaurants experiences I searched deeply about every single detail to ensure the comfort of my guests.  All the preparation for my day made me think how connected special dates are to hospitality. Any kind of celebration tends to gather people in a determined place with food and drinks. In this specific occasion I had more expectations than ever, considering that was a very single date in my life.

                The food served in the restaurant is Lebanese. Halloumi cheese, garlic chicken and lamb steak are some of the menu delights. As we made it in a weekday we could not arrange a good time for a dinner, so the dinner and dinner time would be up to each one, just as they wish. The tables had on wedding favors, a candle, champagne glass and a selection of canapés. The canapés we have chosen was: Prawns cocktail, smoked salmon with cream cheese and hummus with a touch of caviar sauce. A Long table in a reserved room was only for us, what made our experience more exclusive. The wine list was very good with a selection of European, American and Australian wines. I tried the Coquine Cocktail made with champagne and passion fruit, and was delicious. After few drinks, snacks and a toast we all moved to the basement level, where we enjoyed the rest of the night dancing. The decoration down there was even more astonishing with velvety walls and big paintings on them.

                The Coquine is under new management and I think they are doing really great! The restaurant offers a particular service, food, environment and decoration in a lovely area in London. I would not describe my Coquine experience less than excellent, from the friendly service to the lovely food. Not even in my wedding day I gave up to be fussy. I wanted to ensure everything was going as it was supposed to be.  After one of the most special days in my life my view of the hospitality service has increased potentially as I could witness how this business can enhance someone´s experience and make it even more special than it could be.