Judging from the sheer weight of positive tweets and blogs flooding the internet since it opened its doors just over a week ago, Bar Boulud will be a huge success. And why wouldn’t it, when you discover how carefully it was put together. As the first UK outpost for New York’s most famous chef, Daniel Boulud, this restaurant was thought out, planned and prepared with a degree of care and attention to detail few London restaurants have lavished on them.
Not for Bar Boulud the casual opening whilst the celebrity-named chef/owner was on the other side of the world – no, Daniel Boulud was in London for two full weeks, in the kitchens and talking to diners, making sure that this place was good enough to bear his name. And we should also mention his key American staff who spent a further three weeks this side of the pond helping staff in London bed down. It’s surely this level of perfectionism that some London chefs (naming no names) could do with taking note of.
Location-wise, on the plus side, it’s bang opposite Harvey Nichols and Knightsbridge tube station. On the downside the current Candy Brothers building site means it can take you half a lifetime to cross over to the Mandarin Oriental side of the road. Although Bar Boulud is technically a basement restaurant, designer Adam D Tihany’s lighting and colour scheme for the room makes it an airy, relaxed place to be. We also liked the rather odd pictures lining the walls of the restaurant, which upon closer inspection, turned out to be tablecloth stains made with famous wines (one of Daniel's more offbeat ideas, according to our waiter).
The menu here is a thing of joy, with all manner of simply-executed dishes that you'd want to eat - and this is the crux - any night of the week. It's the same thought process which has served Mark Hix's Soho joint so well. If you were lucky enough to live in Knightsbridge (as the eventual Candy Bros apartment owners will) you'd happily dine here a couple of times a week and never get bored.
Having hummed and hawed over the menu, we eventually started with a dish of olive oil-poached cod, shrimp, sweet garlic dip, mussels market vegetables and quail eggs while the piggier Hot Dinners diner ordered the £14 small board of Gilles Verot charcuterie to share, and promptly refused all entreaties to part with more than a tiny forkful of the treats - it included, among others, provençal pulled rabbit and shredded slow-braised beef cheek. Both starters were a treat to look at - the fish and salad platter was sweet, fresh and did just the job of perking up our appetite, while famous charcuterier Gilles Verot lived up to his billing with earthy, intensely-flavoured terrines and pates. Happily for us, at this point, a few little extras arrived - so we also managed to try the boudin blanc with mash which we'd also recommend (and truth be told, preferred to the one at Bistrot Bruno Loubet a few months back).
For the main course, one of us was always going to have to try one of Boulud's famous burgers, and the Frenchie, topped with confit pork belly, rocket, tomato-onion compote and morbier cheese, was a fine example. Notably the peppered brioche bun was just the right size to enable you to eat the whole thing with your hands, should you wish, without resorting to cutlery. We also tried the rib-eye steak which was cooked perfectly and served with a good, tangy bearnaise. Our only quibble was that we would have preferred a lighter hand when the kitchen salted the french fries.
Desserts included a fluffy, wobbly marvel of a Grand Marnier souffle, with hot creme anglaise to complete its artery-furring qualities and a perfectly nice Ile Flottante which suffered by comparison to the souffle. Our tip - order one souffle each, so you don't feel left out.
On the wine front, we played it safe with glasses for each course chosen by the sommelier, including a fine Marsanne to start, and glasses of Saint-Émilion and Maalbec to pair with the steak and burger respectively, finishing off with a sticky Muscat with desserts.
Our verdict? Bar Boulud London is a really excellent addition to the London dining scene. A week before, we'd had the opportunity to try out one of Boulud's New York outposts, the excellent DBGB, and his London venue easily matched its American cousin. The £20 set menu for lunch and early-dining is nothing short of a miracle and we'll be back to work our way through the menu.
