Lucie Loves... Food // The ultimate food safari at One New Change, London: Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen. Barbecoa, Pho and Searcy's Champagne Bar [review - gifted experience]
I get very excited about food. It’s what the majority of my wages gets spent on each month.
Imagine my delight when JMG & I were invited by One New Change - London’s premium shopping destination - to try out not one but four of their very lovely bars and restaurants - in one night!
Hello date night!
I hopped off the tube at Mansion House and walked the short distance to St Paul’s - the home of One New Change.
Here’s where our food adventure took us…
JMG was already waiting for me at the Bread St Kitchen bar. I first visited this place a few weeks ago, after taking part in a Adidas x Stylist Magazine fitness class on the roof. After that mega work out I needed a hearty brunch and Bread St Kitchen certainly delivered!
`The bartender who served us made me an Outlaw from the cocktail menu - consisting of Bulleit Bourbon, Kamm & Sons, pink grapefruit juice, pomegranate syrup and vanilla salt. JMG ordered an Old Fashioned. Cocktails are priced at around the £10 - £14 mark, but are expertly mixed and come highly-recommended.
The team at Bread St Kitchen were absolutely excellent. We were literally bowled over at how well they new the history of the brand, the dishes on the menu and gave excellent wine pairing suggestions.
To get started, the head chef prepared a selection of starters (priced between £8.50 and £10) for our delectation:
Stone bass fillet carpaccio with avocado, horseradish, ginger
Tamarind spiced chicken wings, spring onions, coriander
Flat bread, caramelised onions, taleggio cheese, cured pig’s cheeks, pine nuts, basil pesto
Baked scallops, carrot purée, treacle bacon, celery cress
Head Sommelier, Ram Chhetri also recommended that we try two very different glasses of white wine to compliment the dishes.
Firstly, a sweet 2013 Muscat/Viognier, Domaine Cazes, Roussillon, France to go with the stickiness of the wings and caramelised onions, and secondly, a 2012 Dry Riesling, Georg Mosbacher, Pfalz, Germany to compliment the fish and scallops. Both were excellent!
Fascinated by the open kitchen, we asked whether we could have a quick tour. It’s fascinating watching chefs in action. They are the epitome of efficiency; years of skill, tons of passion and immense pride are combined to create mouth-wateringly memorable dishes. JMG made a video of our behind-the-scenes at Bread Street Kitchen experience.
Our next stop was dinner at Barbecoa. The restaurant is founded by Jamie Oliver and is a celebration of traditional fire-based cooking using the finest of ingredients. It’s far more than just a swanky restaurant that serves amazing steak. This place even has its own butchery downstairs! They have Texas pit smokers, tandoors, fire pits, robata grills and wood-fired ovens. It also has a pretty spectacular view of St Paul’s Cathedral - it’s a must-see!
We poured over the menu, selected a couple of drinks: a bumper car, £10. A pretty, fun cocktail that comes with a cotton-wool-sized piece of candy floss pegged to the side of the glass. JMG ordered an Old Rip Van Winkle 10YO whiskey, £17 - it’s a rich, sweet and smooth bourbon.
After umming and aaahing over what to order, we decided to share the rib-eye steak for two, £70 with a side of creamy mash potatoes, £5, and seasonal greens with chilli, garlic and olive oil - also £5.
Our waitress recommended to order the rib-eye to be cooked as medium. It came in shareable pieces, looking rather magnificent. The meat was succulent, and more than enough for two people - perhaps we shouldn’t have eaten so many starters…
Barbecoa is a great place to bring someone you want to impress - a loved one, friends or even a prospective client. Choose a table after 8:30pm for the best views and all-round atmosphere. They also offer private dining.
With stomachs full of some of the best steak we’ve ever tasted, we made our way to Pho for a couple of Vietnamese desserts. We can definitely recommend the Phojito cocktails, £6.75 and trying their Bánh sô-cô-la truffle served with green tea ice-cream, Chuối chiên banana fritter served with coconut ice-cream and Banh lá dứa pan dan pancake with honey & ginger ice-cream, all priced between £3.50 and £6.50.
It was our first ever visit to Pho, but we will definitely be back to try some of the more savoury dishes on their menu. This is somewhere we would grab a bite to eat with friends - on a purse-friendly whim - rather than booking a table in advance (as you would if dining more formally, in the evening, at Bread St Kitchen or Barbecoa).
The last stop of our One New Change food safari took us to Searcy’s Champagne bar. We arrived just under an hour before last orders and had missed the Friday night post-work rush hour of champagne guzzling business men and women.
Even the bar itself is impressive; surrounded by glittering vessels of all shapes and sizes - all waiting to be filled with champagne. JMG and I, overwhelmed by choice and inexperience, played it safe and opted for a trio of champagne. For £18.50 each you get a guided tasting tour of three very different champagnes, without having to pay for the privilege of opening a new bottle that you may or may not like. It would be the perfect experience for a hen party or big birthday celebration with friends.
If you are a big fan of champagne or perhaps would just like to get more familiar with the bubbly stuff then check out this years Champagne Festival.
Champagne Festival: 1st October – 31st October 2014
National Champagne Week: 6th – 12th October 2014
Searcys have dedicated a whole month to celebrate Champagne and we have partnered with some of the best houses to bring you special events and a new by the glass menu.
Offers available throughout October:
Enjoy a flute of bubbles from £6.95 (All day, Sunday – Wednesday)
Enjoy a bottle of Champagne from £39.95 (All day, Thursday – Saturday)
Enjoy 5 taster glasses from their Champagne Festival list.
Monday 6th - Thursday 9th October 12-5pm (subject to availability)
Our highlight of the evening…. spotting Gordon Ramsay in Bread St Kitchen - I swear JMG and I were both starstruck! *Swoon*
More about shopping, eating and drinking at One New Change… With brands including Topshop, H&M, Banana Republic, Reiss, Hugo Boss, All Saints, Dune, Office, Links of London and Swarovski, there is something for everyone from men’s and women’s fashion to accessories and jewellery. Favourites Nando’s, EAT, Byron and Zizzi’s are joined by a concept restaurant, Barbecoa, from Jamie Oliver and Adam Perry-Lang, who have also opened a butcher’s shop and a takeaway.“
Disclaimer: A huge thank you to the team at One New Change for inviting us to review the most memorable food experience ever! We'll certainly be back.
Photography © Lucie Kerley