Bo Drake

For those of you that remember my blog post on Spuntino, you'll know that "date night" with my school friends was supposed to be a monthly occurrence. Fast forward from November to March and we have - wait for it - our second (!) date night at this new Korean restaurant in Soho called Bo Drake. 

It has taken me a while to decide whether I should blog this restaurant. It didn't wow me, and I kept comparing it to another new opening that I visited recently. We rocked up on a Thursday evening in the restaurant's second week of opening. We waited over an hour for our table although we were initially told it would be a 45 minute wait. Classic error. Waiters and waitresses should always over-estimate the queuing time so that the diners are pleasantly surprised when offered a table earlier than expected. 

Nevertheless we were kept entertained by a lovely waitress. If any of you have read Gone Girl, this waitress was the definition of "cool girl." We were finally seated at the bar circa 9pm and were presented with this menu...

I was suitably miffed at this point. Everything we had planned to order was crossed off the menu and we weren't fully warned before we were seated. Bad form.

We ordered what was left,..the Brisket Bao...

Mushroom Tostada...

 Baby Chicken...

Bo Ssam...

and a special, the Kimchi Nachos...

The dim lighting in the restaurant didn't help my mood, or my photographs...

Bo Drake does display sparks of brilliance. But the sparks are quickly put out with the obvious teething problems that I have mentioned in this post.

To those of you  that are excited by this restaurant, I hope I haven't put you off. The food is good. It's just that I have had better. To sum up my feelings in one expression..."meh." Give this restaurant a few months to settle, and we may be onto a winner. 

To those of you looking for something similar, try Smoking Goat...snacky sticky Thai sharing plates in teeny tiny dark surroundings with a lovely drinks menu and an uber cool vibe. It also has a private dining area or "feasting room" at the back with a decently priced set menu.

Let me know your thoughts...

Rating:

http://bodrake.co.uk/

Fortnum and Mason's Afternoon Tea

Our mission was to convert our friend into a regular afternoon tea go-er. She doesn't drink tea and describes herself as a "McDonalds person..." Enough said.

We set off to the Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon at Fortnum & Mason for a relaxing girly afternoon. Afternoon tea is hard to perfect; I find that there's always one element that could be better whether it be the sandwiches, the ambience or the tea itself. I was keen to see how Fortnums compared to other places I have visited recently. 

The first thing that struck me about Fortnums was the level of experience that the staff have. This luxurious department store have had almost a century to fine tune this English custom and it's clearly evident from the get-go.

We were seated and our waiter instantly knew that my two friends (non-tea drinkers (!)) had placed a special pre-order for hot chocolate. He was very knowledgeable about the teas on the menu and helped me to settle on the Ceylon which contains Orange Pekoe and is described  as a crisp, full-bodied and large-leaved tea. It was yummy and you can purchase it online here.

 

The pianist provided the perfect calming atmosphere; we sat back and ate...for hours.

The Afternoon Tea is, as you would expect, very classic in terms of it's offerings...I won't list everything but you can peruse the menu here. For those of you without a sweet tooth, there is also a Savoury Afternoon Tea.

I opted for traditional jam and clotted cream with my scones, but my friend loves butter and lemon curd in hers.... :/

Bar the scones (which were a teeny bit dry), the food was luxurious and delectable throughout. After gobbling up everything on our tea stand and numerous refills, we made our way to the cake trolley. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos but there is something for everyone and one slice of cake is a meal in itself. Make sure you save some room for it!

All in all, it was a lovely afternoon which was made better by the excellent service and calming nature of the Tea Salon. The Tiffany-coloured crockery is oh so elegant and helps to bring out the gorgeous shades of the tea cakes.

We even asked for some vegetarian sandwiches during one round of refills and the staff were happy to oblige!

My friend pocketed the raspberry jam and lemon curd on our way out and we had a mosey around the store before ending our lazy Sunday afternoon. 

My favourite afternoon tea is still my "local" - Stoke Park Country Club. Fortnums however, is a close second. Next on my list is The Georgian Restaurant at Harrods so watch this space! Oh, and I forgot to add...mission accomplished. 

If you're an afternoon tea-lover like me, check out my blog post on the Mad Hatter's Afternoon Tea at the Sanderson.

Rating: 

https://www.fortnumandmason.com/restaurants/afternoon-tea