It’s almost christmas! Everyone I speak to at the moment seems to be dreading the impending holiday season. Personally, I’m a little bit of a festive freak. I put my christmas try up at the beginning of November, dress the cats in santa outfits and cover every banister going in fairy lights. I used to have good taste. With the cold nights drawing in and our taste buds begging for rich hearty dishes and spicy red wines – the places we visit changes. One venue that really is a cosy haven is B & H Buildings in Clerkenwell. I visited this place a few months back for their brunch offering and hands down it was the best I’ve had in London to date and it’s not just me either, because the restaurant was packed – a queue was even forming near the door at one point. But now B & H Buildings has a new chef and a new dinner menu so I was back once more to see how its evenings compared. The cocktails haven’t changed – they’re still as spectacular as ever.
The new head chef here is Adam Gray who has a wealth of experience under his belt and has worked at the likes of Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons & D&D’s Skylon. Food wise on this occasion it wasn’t quite up to the standards of my previous brunch. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t all bad and while some dishes were exemplary some felt a little ordinary and in a city which has become extraordinary – the food needs to be extra special. Especially for a restaurant which is slightly hidden and not particularly located near any immediate tube stations. Bread is my thing, I’m obsessed with it and I can safely say it was very good here. Thick, fluffy, full of flavour and with a good crunchy crust. Our starter of poached salmon with a fennel & lime salad and drizzle of yoghurt dressing was perfectly fine but I really struggled to get excited about it. It lacked depth of flavour, even the fennel was a little tame.
Main courses came in the form big, hearty beasts. Far too much food on the plate, but I’m not complaining – I’d rather too much than too little. Braised red wine beef was served alongside crushed heritage potatoes and a mountain of sprout tops. A little rustic, yes – but I liked it. In fact it was probably my favourite part of the meal (excluding desserts) and felt like a true essence of winter. A rich plate of warming food and huge chunks of succulent meat. If all the food was this rustic, but had such intense and pronounced layers of flavour, I’d be a very happy person. Our other main course of roast saddleback pork chop with Cumbrian black pudding, carrots, apple and pork gravy was another rustic plated affair. The pork itself was of very good quality and cut through like butter but everything else was again, a little ordinary and predictable – it also looked a bit messy too. This to me was sunday lunch man food – the complete opposite to serve here when the diners are mostly petit women (my dining companion included). We both struggled to finish our main courses, and I can eat alot.
Excluding that delicious and sultry slow cooked beef, desserts were where the kitchen did get me a little excited. One of my favourite ingredients in a dessert is lavender, so I couldn’t have been more happy to see it on the menu – it’s incredibly underrated when used in sweet dishes. A mix of light and aerated white and chocolate mouse with an incredible lavender shortbread. This was dessert heaven for me. Lemon pudding, as it was described on the menu wasn’t really a pudding (which normally refers to something stodgy and wet) – more a sponge. But either way despite its poor descriptor it was pleasant. Served alongside some sour & sweet poached blackberries and small puddle of vanilla yoghurt.
So there it is. My second visit to Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings, but it felt like I was eating in a completely different restaurant to when I had brunch. Back then the place was swamped with diners, booze galore, women dressed to the nigh and some of the best brunch food I’ve ever eaten. While my meal here for dinner wasn’t by any means terrible, it just struggled to stand out and that was what I first liked about Bourne & Hollingsworth Buildings – it stood out from the crowd. The desserts are fabulous and so was that beef but for me it was all played just a little bit too safe on this occasion.
6.5/10
I was invited to review
