We’d seen pictures from when friends of ours had dined at Bloomsbury Street Kitchen, so when we were invited in, we had pretty high standards of what to expect. It’s safe to say that all of our expectations were met though, and we had a fantastic evening dining at this central London hotspot.
The menu at Bloomsbury Street Kitchen is split into two sections: Contemporary Mediterranean and Contemporary Japanese. This interesting fusion goes surprisingly well together, paired back with a drinks list covering a variety of wine, sake and cocktails. We weren’t drinking that evening so we had two virgin Bloody Mary’s, but can confirm they were delicious, viscous and had a small kick of spice.
We ordered a couple of selections off each menu to get a taste of what Bloomsbury Street Kitchen has on offer. To begin we started with a few lighter plates; the black pepper crusted beef carpaccio with shaved truffle and parmesan was wafer-thin and melted in your mouth, with the rich flavour of the truffle coming through on every other bite. The crab and asparagus salad with Dijon mustard and lemon mayo packed a punch with the flavour thanks to generous amounts of crab throughout. Yellowtail sashimi came swimming in a shallow dish of tart and spicy yuzu sauce, and came with six perfectly cut, fresh slices of fish.
One of Bloomsbury Street Kitchen’s signature dishes is their crispy soft shell crab harumaki roll with spicy ponzu. The best way we can describe this is like a very large, very fancy spring roll, packed full of fried soft shell crab with a moreish sauce. We also tried a dish from their bincho grill section, which uses a traditional Japanese cooking method of using a ceramic grill to cook and giving it their own contemporary touch. The sake flamed black garlic king prawns came out on skewers perched atop smoked hoba leaf on a beautiful ceramic grill filled with fiery coals. Seasoned with chilli and cumin they were as fiery as the presentation.
Our final savoury dish deserves a paragraph of its own because of how fantastic it was. The comments on our Instagram picture of the 28-day aged rib-eye steak summarised our thoughts perfectly: why is everyone not putting Gorgonzola butter on everything and why had we not consumed it until now? The cut of the meat was high-quality and perfectly cooked to medium-rare, and this rich, buttery and cheesy sauce simply melted in with the fat and juices to create a phenomenal sensation on our taste buds. It’s definitely a must-order when dining at Bloomsbury Street Kitchen.
Our friend Amira who had dined here earlier said she loved the chocolate bento box so much they brought her out a second to demolish, so we knew we had to try this for dessert. Inside the bento box is a chocolate fondant, crispy and firm on the outside and warm and gooey on the inside. Paired with a light coconut ice-cream, these flavours and textures balanced each other out perfectly.
The standard of service here is high, and from the moment we walked through the door to the moment we walked back out we never had to wait to grab someone’s attention. Our glasses were always topped up, and even when Mel knocked her cutlery onto the floor one of the staff noticed straight away and brought her over a new set. Customer service in London can be so hit and miss, so when we find a spot like Bloomsbury Street Kitchen we really appreciate the effort the staff went to make us feel comfortable.
We knew we were going to have an amazing time at Bloomsbury Street Kitchen from when we made the booking, and we know you will too. Everything from the modern and bright fitout to the beautiful staff and the delicious food results in a winning combination for anyone.
