Birthday dinner!
Wednesday birthday dinner at a sit-down restaurant — special-occasion celebration meal with BB. Year-end birthday milestone.
Wednesday evening — birthday dinner at a sit-down restaurant with BB. Year-end birthday milestone, the special-occasion celebration that anchors December.
We ordered (birthday dinner spread):
- Starter / appetiser
- Two mains
- A side
- Drinks (likely including a small bottle of wine or specialty cocktail)
- Dessert to close
The birthday dinner format is the elevated sit-down restaurant tier — substantial enough to feel like the special occasion, with the small ceremony that the milestone deserves. The kind of dinner that we’d plan in advance, choose the restaurant carefully, and pace through across the evening rather than rushing.
The restaurant was likely one of our regular date-night spots — somewhere we’d been to before for previous anniversaries, special occasions, or weekend brunches. Phase 2 reopening had restored access to the sit-down restaurant tier with reduced capacity and safe distancing markers, but the food and the experience were back.
The starter was the lighter opener. Probably a small shared appetiser — oysters, sashimi, carpaccio, or a small soup. Cold, fresh, properly chilled, setting the tone for the meal.
Mains were the central event. Both came as restaurant-tier protein plates — one with a quality steak, the other with a substantial seafood option (or possibly two different mains that we’d planned to share). Cooked properly, plated cleanly, with the kind of attention that makes a dinner feel like an occasion.
A side dish added the supporting component — a small portion of seasonal vegetables, truffle mushrooms, or refined potato preparation.
Drinks were the wine or specialty cocktail tier. Birthday dinner is the slot where we’d pull a small bottle of wine or order a celebratory cocktail to share.
Dessert closed the meal — a shared small plate or two small individual desserts. The restaurant might’ve added a small candle or birthday-themed presentation as the small touch.
The birthday marker is the small annual ritual that anchors the December calendar. Phase 2 reopening had given us back the option of doing the proper sit-down birthday dinner, and we cashed it in.
The food was excellent. The moment was better. Year-end milestone, properly marked.
Overall: 4.4 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Strong birthday dinner — would return for the next milestone.
