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Heroine In Heels is a top 10 London lifestyle blog aimed at the modern day woman. Covering things to do in London, restaurant reviews, hotels as well as where to go in the world when you want to escape London

Dukes Gourmet Picnic

Monday 24 July 2017

A familiar story goes a little like this "Let's go for dinner" "Ok where?" ...
Now don't get me wrong London has a plethora or restaurants and you can never really run out choice, but sometimes it feels like you end up going to another Mexican another bottomless brunch, and the originality is lacking. So when I heard about Dukes Hotel gourmet picnic in the park my ears pricked up and immediately booked it. Well if there is one thing I love and that is a summer picnic, but something I love more? Champagne, and this ticked both of those boxes. 


Dukes is a gorgeous little hotel in St James, tucked down a side street but whilst it might be slightly secret, it has a great little bar if you are ever in the area. You might actually recognise the name from my Hotel Tour Around London Video from last year. 

Now coming to a picnic after work can be a bit of a fuss, I mean no one wants to lug sausage rolls and salads into their office, for them to sit in a draw for 8 hours, and don't get me started on trying to haul a picnic basket on the tube at rush hour. Well that was half the appeal of Dukes picnic- no need to bring your own. Instead you head over to the hotel, and a butler takes you to St James park where he sets everything up for you, and at the end, you just give him a call and he'll come and clean up. 


I was catching up with some of my favourite bloggers, Angie and Lauren, although I say it like we are only blogging friends, which isn't true, but thats how we met originally. It's funny actually as most of my friends are people I've met through blogging, which I think is a really nice thing, as I know there is so much talk about blogging becoming bitchier but take it from me, just ignore that side and you'll find the good eggs. 


Now forget your soggy sausage rolls, the picnic is instead packed with fresh salmon, chickpea salad, potatoes and the most delicious chorizo scotch eggs. 


Oh and not forgetting the champagne of course. Theres even an ice bucket provided. 


As soon as the sun comes out, St James park can get pretty crowded, however we managed to find a relatively quiet spot in the shade, which was perfect for catching up, and the inevitable shrieks of laughter that come out of three women mouths. 



If this isn't the most refined picnic you've seen in a while, then I don't know what is. 


Those chorizo scotch eggs really were my favourite. Even though they were huge, I ate both halves without question, and really wanted to eat the girls left overs, but thought that might ruin the elegance of the picnic. 





My only critique is that I wish they had included dessert in the picnic. I have such a sweet tooth, and as much as I love strawberries, they aren't a replacement for a indulgent dessert. Maybe some cakes might have been good to add?



It was so lovely to catch up with the girls. Lauren has just come back from what sounded like the most amazing trip to Mexico- you can read all about it on here blog, and Angie is off to a private island in the Caribbean! So make sure you follow her blog for that gem. 




The gourmet picnic is a wonderful treat, and makes for something a lot different than the usual sit down dinner. Now I'm currently looking at my soggy brolly in the corner, but hopefully it'll get warm again, so you can head out with a picnic basket full of goodies. 

Once we had devoured everything, we headed back to Dukes and may have finished off the night with a round of cocktails... or two. Well that counts as dessert right? 

2 comments:

  1. Those Scotch eggs do look amazing! Duke's is great for martinis, if you like them, they make the best ones I've ever had!

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