August 25 was the wet Saturday afternoon on which the Ladies Wot Brunch took Camden by storm. Between the group, we’d been on holidays, attended weddings and had experienced exciting changes in our lives and so, a girly catch up was required! The venue chosen by our fabulous VVR Adaeze was Gilgamesh, one of The Stables’ most frequented, lush restaurants: fitting for a bunch of pretty princesses like us!
Booking
As a result of our uber organised VVR, booking was a straightforward process. The date was chosen, the restaurant was called, the menu was designed and prepayment was made to ensure that we had a smooth, cashless lunching experience.
Gist!
From designer iPad cases (lush!) to dream wedding destinations, wives and side chicks accompanying their man on the same holiday and hair dilemmas, we discussed it all and then some!
Here are some highlights…
Natural Hair, it’s a choice! A lot of women nowadays have decided to take the chop and revert back to their natural, wonderfully woolly locks. Amongst the African community however, this is not always an easy transition and surprisingly, many people feel that going natural is just a bit strange. The ladies shared stories of perplexed mummies, aunties and grannies asking their daughters why they had cut their hair or when they planned to relax it, which in itself is hilarious! The funniest thing is that natural hair dilemmas are not exclusive to Africans, and our lovely Sally shared her sister’s (who has gorgeous, thick, curly, blonde hair) experiences with us. Apparently, there are pressures all round on both black and white women to wear slick hair. But thank God our women are beautiful, with equally beautiful hair, and whether they choose to wear is short and curly, or long and luscious we love every single style 😉
Wedding photos on Facebook…? The simple answer is NO! How ironic that every single one of us had ooh’d ahh’d and saved many wedding pictures that we had seen on Facebook, yet when it came to the thought of our own wedding albums being posted on the popular social networking site, we were violently against it. The general consensus was that weddings are intimate affairs that should be shared with nearest and dearest and whilst Facebook is a great and easy way to share photographs, the risk of opening private albums for all and sundry to view was a little more than most were prepared to do. I personally join this school of thought. You won’t even sniff my wedding photos on the Book of Face…!
Don’t eat and you get to join the cool kids! We heard a bizarre teenage story about a popular school full of popular adolescents (namely now some of our wonderful adult Ladies Wot Brunch today) who at lunch time had an interesting way to pick who sat on the cool kids’ table. The jocks (popular boys) would only pick the young girls who didn’t eat much to join them. Why? Well, it wasn’t (just) because they were slim, beautiful, young girls. It wasn’t because they were consciously counting calorific content in their chosen meals. No. In fact, it was a lot simpler than that. They chose this particular group of girls to join them so that… they could lap up the remainder of their food for them! Ha! Talk about eating a balanced meal! But it was a well-balanced equation: Slim hot girls, well fed young boys. Everyone’s happy!
The wife, the husband and the lover go on vacay! We were told a true story about a husband, wife and kids who all went on holiday together, you know, as you do. But what the mama of the house didn’t know was that the hubby’s side chick was also on the same plane, in the same holiday resort and even on the same hotel corridor as the remainder of the family. And please believe she received the same rights and attention as the First Lady did. Such stories continue to annoy and disgust us. What I was very happy to hear however, were the acute punishment plans that my chicas have developed if, God forbid, such a situation were to happen to them. Men, especially men dating/married to any of the Ladies Wot Brunch, what is in store for a cheating rat is not, I repeat NOT PRETTY! Biko! Please, for your own sake, don’t do it!
Food
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As to be expected, the food did not disappoint and there was something to please everyone. From the salmon sushi appetizer and stir fry entrée to the monkfish curry with extra chillies for those who liked their food hot and spicy, we were very happy with the flavours, textures and presentation of the well cooked meals. As the set menu changes regularly, it’s definitely worth checking out the latest goodies on offer which promise to tickle your taste buds.
Service
The service on the afternoon was commendable. We had a number of waiters and waitresses assigned to our large table meaning that attention to detail was paid and particular food requests were met. The bar staff was also awesome, mixing up fruitiful, alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails for us to ensure the merry mood at the table was maintained.
Overall
I don’t think I need to recommend the restaurant to anyone. The mere fact that we ended up spending 9 hours there is enough approval (Yes! From lunch to Saturday evening drinks… we were there and welcomed another honorary Brunch Club boy!). It is a great venue, full of great people. Great food, great drinks, a great ambiance, great staff and plenty of inspiration for great conversation make it a great North London hang out. And if you fancy an alternative to Shaka Zulu, the South African restaurant and bar next door, then Gilgamesh is worth a whirl. Go geddit! A huge thank you goes to Adaeze for meticulously organising our wonderful August get together. Mwah!
For Ladies Wot Brunch 