Doughnuts and an ice-cold vodka martini - a great way to spend an evening.
Remind us about Bébé Bob.
This is the offshoot of Bob Bob Ricard and is just across the street from that Soho restaurant. Bébé Bob is a slightly more affordable and specific twist on the original restaurant with a speciality in rotisserie chicken, although you will see plenty of caviar and vodka too. You can read our original Test Drive here.
So why revisit now?
We covered the main restaurant last time, but now we're taking a look at the bar, which sees Bébé Bob teaming up with Mr Lyan (Ryan Chetiyawardana) for a new cocktail and bar snacks menu. There are many new cocktails to try out and just as important, bar snacks where you'll see quite a bit of that caviar making an appearance.
If you don't have time for the full restaurant experience, or just want taste of what Bébé Bob has to offer - this is a very good option.
So what's on this new menu?
All the snacks and the cocktails are completely new, so even if you've been to Bébé Bob before, you're getting something different if you head for the bar. The cocktails run from new takes on classics, like an Old Fashioned, margarita and the like, while also taking specific influence from the food menu. So you'll see truffle, samphire, and even a little chicken make an appearance in the drinks ingredients.
There are, of course martinis, given the huge importance of vodka at both Bébé Bob and Bob Bob Ricard. Here, it's mainly showcased in the Bébé Lyan Martini (you can see that at the top of the page) which adds -18 degree vodka to vermouth and Amalfi lemon. That's available in the normal size (£13) or as a "two sip" version (£9).
As for everything else we tried...
The two new doughnuts on offer. At the back, the chicken liver parfait and Tawny port jam doughnut, which is also dipped in chicken jus and covered in chicken crackling (£7). At the front, it's the lemon cream doughnut topped with caviar (£12). Both are excellent, although we did marginally prefer the chicken version.
The chicken bone negroni, with "bone-dry" gin, campari, amaro, wild strawberry vermouth and an infusion of roasted chicken bone (£15). And that's a little chicken foot gummy on top for good measure.
The Schnuggets are essentially mini schnitzels with a fantastically crisp coating. You can have these with caviar (in the back, £9 each) or trout roe (in the front, £5 each). Or, if you just fancy a whole load of schnuggets, you can get a box of eight with gochujang mayo (£10).
More of the cocktails. On the left, it's the XXX and on the right, the "Fries and Champagne" which mixes Moet with a "liqueur de pommes frites" (£14)
More snacks and more caviar. These are mini rostis and, like the schnuggets, come with either trout roe (£5) or caviar (£7)
We're not done with the caviar yet. These are french fries which come with a number of dips - either gochuchang mayo (£6), trout roe and creme fraiche (£8) or caviar and creme fraiche (£8). For this, we'd strongly recommend the roe or excellent caviar version. We also think these should be on the main restaurant menu, frankly.
And if you're still hungry after that?
You can always take a look at the full menu too. We, of course, did that and went for one of the newer dishes that wasn't available on our first visit:
Chicken Schnitzel - breast of slow-grown Cotswold white chicken, deep fried in panko crumbs, topped with parsley and garlic butter (£19). A truly fantastic schnitzel and if you're going all-out, you can top this with a scoop of caviar oscietra caviar for an extra £20.
Overall thoughts
Bob Bob Ricard has long been one of our favourite restaurants in town, and we had a great time at this offshoot too. If you're looking for a taste of what's on, combining an excellent list of new cocktails with snacks that are both very good and pretty extravagant at the same time, this is a pretty great option in Soho.
More about Bébé Bob
Where is it? 37 Golden Square, London W1F 9LB
How to book: Book online
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @bebebob
Hot Dinners ate as guests of Bébé Bob. Prices are correct at the time of writing.
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