Celebrities, canapés and champagne were served up at Chelsea's
Bluebird Restaurant British regional menu preview. Londoners favorite summertime
brunch hangout and now UK-famous due to repeated appearances on the guilty
pleasure show Made in Chelsea, it is "
the place to be and be seen" (as the website tagline declares) on the ever fashionable King's Road.
This October the restaurant is debuting a new rotating regional menu,
serving fare from a different region in Britain every month. On
Wednesday I was part of the lucky group to try out a selection of the
food will be gracing Bluebird tables over the next year.
As a feast of
canapés were offered those in attendance, I offer you the photos of what we ate as a feast for your eyes:
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| Red Mullet Soup from the South West |
This tasty creamy fish soup had a nice blend of flavors, though the chopped parsley on top a little over powering. Might be my American palate, as I find parsley to be a much overused garnish in a lot of British dishes.
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| Smoked Salmon Blini from London |
The smoked salmon was served on a blini which complemented but let the fish shine.
Due to
stuffing them in my face with glee technical difficulties I managed to not get a photo of my favourite menu item: The Potted Shrimp & Crab from the North. Just imagine a bite of melt-in-your-mouth creamy shellfish with a bit of cucumber that really drew out the flavour. I am salivating just thinking of it.
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| Welsh Rarebit from Wales |
Truth: When I first moved to the UK I thought Welsh rarebit was probably a gristly cut of meat. Thankfully I was wrong!- it is Cheesy Toast and Bluebirds version was mouthwateringly good.
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| Summer fruit and Elderflower Jelly from The South |
Dessert started with a fresh summer berry jelly (Jell-O to Americans). The elderflower keeps it from being too sickly sweet and brings it out of school lunches for a more adult treat.
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| Apple and Guinness fritters from Northern Ireland |
When I first saw "apple fritters" on the menu my heart hoped for Amish apple fritters. Though they were not the same thing- Bluebirds version was an apple fried in a light dough and sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar- they were extremely tasty and deceptively light-tasting. It is impossible to say 'No' to anything served with a dollop of clotted cream.
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| Selection of British cheeses from around the country |
To finish off the night was a good selection of cheeses from around the country, a little cheddar heavy, but it wouldn't be British without cheddar!
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| Piper Heidsieck Brut Champagne |
Accompanying the menu was champagne. "Champagne Thursdays" happened at my house all through university, so I do think champagne is
always a good idea. However, it would have been nice to have a British wine to match the regional theme and Bluebird's overwhelmingly local, sustainable menu. Even better- the only way to improve this delicious menu would be to serve it with a flight of regional ales.
The champagne and canapés have been covered- but where are the celebs, you ask? A
LONjawn blind item: A certain favorite AbFab-er was spotted strolling with her long time husband in front of Bluebird by me on Wednesday.
(side note: How excited are you for the new episodes?!)
So whether you have been featured in Hello! or just want to be wined & dined like those who are- Bluebird is definitely the place to be.
You can try the Red Mullet Soup I sampled until the end of October to get a
taste of the South West at Bluebird, before they move on to a new region. For more info visit
Bluebird Restaurant website or check them out on twitter
@bluebirdchelsea
Have you been to Bluebird?
