December 2021
Due to the pandemic, a significant birthday for my Dad was missed in 2020 and as a result we were looking to book a private room to celebrate a year on. The first challenge was to ensure we accommodated everyone’s palate, so I was looking for somewhere which had a menu which wasn’t too restrictive. Equally, I wanted an impressive room which would be memorable to mark the occasion. Given that criteria, I was reluctant to pick somewhere which we hadn’t visited before, so I had managed to shortlist known venues down to two; The Gamebird (in St James) and Bob Bob Ricard. Both had significant merits as I had enjoyed meals at both locations previously, both had good varied menus and picturesque private rooms. I settled for Bob Bob Ricard, mainly because the room looked striking in the pictures, self-professed in the style of the Orient Express and the fact they were offering a la carte for the entire group sealed the deal.
Our visit occurred between Christmas and New Year, we arrived prior to our lunch time booking. The restaurant is in Soho, very close to Carnaby Street and Regency Street. As we arrived early the restaurant wasn’t open, so we elected to have a walk around an eerily quiet London (Omicron Covid-19 variant on the rise) taking in some shops whilst waiting for 12:00 to strike. Our group of nine people, were the first through the door of the restaurant and we were taken to the private room which is situated through the ‘blue’ dining room on the ground floor. It has a good level of privacy as the room is secluded and not a through route to the toilets etc. The space is modelled on the Royal Dining Carriage and it definitely gives off that impression, it was well spread out whilst still having a good level of intimacy. All tables in the main dining room are in the form of booths, with the exception of bar seating, which is in keeping with the Orient Express theme. There is an additional dining area downstairs which is the ‘red’ room, same theme as upstairs with the exception of the colour and this is where you pass through to access the toilets.
We had pre-booked some Pol Roger Champagne to be served upon arrival as well as a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc, Tinpot Hut. The service was great from the start, our waiter poured the drinks, handed us the menu and we were left to socialise whilst perusing what we wanted. The Pol Roger was fresh tasting and a welcome start to the occasion although we did not take advantage of the ‘press for champagne’ button on the wall. The Sauvignon Blanc went down well with everyone, admittedly I am not an expert however I did think it was pleasantly crisp and at £42 was very reasonable.
To start the majority of the group chose the ‘Truffle, Potato & Mushroom Vareniki’ which is a dumpling dish- this was widely praised by all and something unusual which you do not see on most menus and reflective of the restaurant’s Russian influence. The ‘Crab Salad’ was the next most popular and this came with a pan fried scallop, brown crab mayonnaise all served in a crisp tart case which was equally lauded. I personally chose the ‘Stinking Bishop Cheese Souffle’ this was wonderful, coming with a pear, apple and ginger chutney which was indulgent without being too rich. All in all, it was a fantastic start to the meal for everybody.
To accompany our mains we ordered two different red wines; Amarone della Valpolicella Corte Giara (£86) and Dominus Napanook Cabernet Sauvignon (£125). Both wines were full bodied, very memorable and accompanied the food well. The restaurant prides itself on capping the mark-up on wine to £50 regardless of the price of the bottle and the wines were certainly of a premium nature without breaking the bank too much.
We then moved onto the mains and again the group chose different options. The ‘Beef Wellington’ must be shared by two, with four of us electing this option. It was a fantastic dish, perfectly executed with the fillet cooked medium rare and a lovely mushroom duxelles encased in glorious puff pastry. My only criticism was that one of the Wellingtons was slightly smaller than the other and I was jealous of the other pair! The ‘Chateaubriand’ was also appreciated, as was the ‘Chicken Kiev’, however the ‘Lobster Macaroni Cheese’ albeit tasty was found to be a little dry. It was suggested that this would have been a good side dish. In terms of side dishes, we chose a variety of choices which included ‘French Fries’, ‘Truffled French Fries’, ‘Mashed Potatoes’, ‘Crushed Minted Peas’, ‘Roasted Carrots and Parsnips’ and ‘Sauteed Spinach’. All were very nice, however we definitely over ordered as we did leave a fair bit at the end. Guidance from the maître d over portion sizes may have avoided this scenario.
The group had room for dessert and we were enticed by the variety of choices. The ‘BBR Signature Chocolate Glory’, ‘Flaming Crème Brulee’, ‘Tarte Tatin’ and ‘Strawberry and Cream Souffle’ were all selected. The BBR Glory was a chocolate sphere where hot chocolate sauce was poured over the top melting away to show praline and hazelnut mousse- it was really impressive and added a bit of theatre. The tarte tatin, Crème Brulee and Souffle were all enjoyed as well. A few of us elected to have the Vin De Constance dessert wine (£12 per glass) which was stated to be Napoleon Bonaparte’s favourite and this was a very good accompaniment to the desserts which all in all was a great end to the meal. At the same time orders were taken for coffee/tea which provided a non-alcoholic option to some in our party.
Now as it was a private room, there was a minimum charge that the restaurant requires. It is £1000 for a lunch service and £1500 for a dinner service. It would not be fair for me to say the price, for obvious reasons, however I felt that it was great value for money once taking everything into account. I would not hesitate to recommend the room to anyone looking for somewhere special to celebrate.
Food 4/5
Drink 4.5/5
Service 4.5/5
Value for Money 4/5
Comments