After lots of damp and foggy weather over the Christmas period, it was lovely to wake to a bright, sunny day yesterday. I had tickets to take grandsons Freddie (9) and Ben (7) to The Nutcracker at the London Coliseum. I took Freddie last January but Ben would join us this year. (There’s a minimum age of 6 to buy tickets for kids.) The outing is as much for me as them, for I fondly remember being taken to The Nutcracker every Christmas as a child; later I took my own kids and now it’s so lovely that my eldest grandsons have reached an age when I can treat myself as well as them to this magical Christmas ballet.

We had tickets for the 2.30 matinee (which I bought last July!) and the original plan had been to eat at Balthazar again, as Freddie and I did last January. However, the day before the outing, when my son Jonathan – their dad – said he’d be working in the office that day, I said, ‘Why don’t you meet us for the meal?’ I just assumed that a table for three could easily be turned into a table for four. Apparently not. So, I racked my brain to come up with some other place we might eat, and hit on Brasserie Blanc. It’s long been a favourite, although I hadn’t been to the Southbank branch in a while, and is conveniently located very close to Waterloo Station for our journey home.

It was a day of change, but all worked out well. The plan to have an early lunch at home and then head into London changed too when I learnt that many trains were being cancelled due a defective rail track, so I decided to set off early. ‘We’ll eat a snack lunch in the Covent Garden Paul Bakery,’ I told the boys (they’re big fans of our local Richmond branch). Covent Garden was the first Paul in UK, opening in 2000, and once a favourite meeting place with my parents back in the early noughties, so there were a lot of memories attached to it. However, we arrived to find it had closed down! It must have been recently as it’s not long ago I was last there. I was a bit taken aback and quite sad, but then I remembered there was a Caffè Nero further down the road, so we headed there. I think Nero is the best of the big coffee chains and inside we found a table with large, comfy armchairs and settled in with croissants filled with cheese and ham, cold drinks for the boys and a good flat white for me.

We had a little time to fill in afterwards and Freddie wanted to go to Benjamin Pollack’s Toyshop, a wonderful old-fashioned and very tiny toyshop in the Covent Garden Piazza that’s found at the top of a narrow winding staircase. It’s like stepping back in time. Freddie had chosen one of their toy theatres for his Christmas present.

Then it was time to head to The Coliseum. And here was our third change, for while we’d very much enjoyed The Nutcracker last January, the production this year was much more lavish and exciting. The Guardian agrees: the ‘new production … vastly improves on its previous version’; the Telegraph: ‘in terms of design and concept, it’s in a different league’.

We arrived at the theatre early but the boys were keen to go straight to our seats. Ben had never been to a theatre like this before and wanted to see ‘inside’. They weren’t disappointed and a gorgeous curtain across the stage was an exciting welcome.

We enjoyed the ballet a lot and emerged into a dark St Martin’s Lane and made our way back into Covent Garden for a little more wandering before heading down to the Thames, across Hungerford Bridge, past the Royal Festival Hall and along Belvedere Road to Brasserie Blanc. Although no longer owned by famous chef Raymond Blanc, the restaurants are still heavily influenced by him, and I think that shows. And it’s French. Sometimes, when it comes to food and wine, there’s really nothing like the French …

We were 5 minutes early and were asked to wait in a comfortable seating area as the previous people at our table were paying. People were being turned away; they were fully booked. I was thankful that my late booking the day before had worked! The friendly guy welcoming people kept us informed and a few minutes later we were led to our table. Kids’ menus and some crayons were laid out ready for the two boys – I hadn’t booked a ‘kids’ menu’  but they just taken on board that the party waiting for the table had two children with them. It was a very good menu: £9.50 for 2 courses; £12.50 for 3.

Service throughout was great: friendly and efficient. Jonathan and I chose from the pre-theatre set menu that’s available until 6.30pm: 2 courses for £19.50; 3 for £24.50. We ordered a glass of white Viognier Esprit (£8.25) for Jonathan and a glass of Cremant de Loire (£8.75) for me to start with. The boys had juice (organic Pip Fruity Water, £2.60 each).

The kids’ menu offered just one starter but the Mozzarella Sticks with crunchy cucumber & carrot sticks, homemade tomato dip, was great, and so nicely presented.

I chose a starter of Pottted Hot Smoked Salmon, garlic crouton, pickled cucumber to start, which was delicious, as was Jonathan’s Jerusalem artichoke Risotto, toasted hazelnuts, chive oil.

   

The boys had different mains. Ben chose Macaroni Cheese, Cheddar cheese sauce, steamed carrots & peas, while Freddie chose Crispy Chicken Goujons, French fries, steamed carrots & peas, mayonnaise. Both were enjoyed by the boys. There were also choices of beef burger, trout or sausages and mash.

   

Jonathan and I both chose Steak Frites Express, garlic & herb butter, French fries, mixed leaf salad (£2 supplement). It wasn’t a big piece of steak but tasty and enjoyable and very reminiscent of driving through France and stopping at some roadside restaurant and enjoying a good French meal. We ordered glasses of red Bordeaux wine to go with it (£10.75 each).

There was a choice of 4 desserts for the boys but they both chose – unsurprisingly! – Chocolate & Vanilla Madeleines with chocolate dipping sauce. Given that I usually only give them one madeleine each at home, there was great excitement that they’d been given five each! They were slightly smaller than the ones I make or buy but still a good portion. And I think it may count as the best and most exciting kids’ menu dessert I’ve come across.

I chose Blackberry Cranachan for my dessert, which was delicious, and Jonathan had Spiced Bread & Butter Pudding, which he also said was delicious.

   

I had an espresso at the end to finish and then we made our way to Waterloo Station and home. The ballet had been brilliant and we’d all really enjoyed our meal at Brasserie Blanc. Jonathan and I thought both the kids’ menu and pre-theatre menu were excellent value and we liked that everyone had been so friendly, making it a very nice experience. The bill for the 4 of us, including drinks and service, was £140.96.