Bo London

[marcusjames]

Popped in for lunch today and thought the food worthy of mention.

It's more traditional at lunch. The set offers 2 dim sum and a main for £30. Add in pud and it's £35.

I bolted an extra dim sum in and had three, the prawn/truffle Har Gau and Squid Balls with a phenomenal kaffir lime mayo standing out.

Scallops main with peas and crisp rice were lovely. I especially liked the fact they served two king scallops whole; none of that slicing the buggers in half to make it look like they're going further which is starting to drive me nuts. A king scallop is one of the best ingredients on earth, let them sing!

Had the famed 'Sex on the Beach' to close. I won't elaborate if you haven't read about it, but suffice to say the flavour matched the gimmick, which was a relief (again, no pun intended).

There were a few service issues, though my biggest gripe is some of the pricing. £5 for a bottle of Pellegrino? And the set, although good, is pricey compared to the value you get at other multiple Michelin gaffs allowing for all the extra amuse, mignardise, frills and fancies. They may need to consider that in the long term, perhaps even now; although busy, it wasn't full, which is a surprise considering this should still be classified as their 'honeymoon' period.

In contrast to the food, the wine list is not massively marked-up and well sourced with some really interesting oddities.

Nice to see the man himself there too.

[PhilD]

Interesting, the first review that doesn't seem to be all about putting the boot in. I have had a sneaking suspicion a lot of reviewers have been playing "the man and not the ball" so good to hear about the food. It sounds like they may have the pricing wrong but that's not uncommon with a lot of London open endings.

[Edesia]

I had the full tasting menu a few weeks ago when I visited with my brother. We ended up having the Chefs menu, 16 "courses", having had 1 extra dish due to my brothers lobster being a bit chewy. I really enjoyed it to be honest, it made a nice change from French and European modern cooking and tasting menu's I'm used to having and I enjoyed some Chinese ingredients and flavours I hadn't had before, the jolo (I believe, a Chinese wine) sauce on the scallop being a fine example, as was the tomato dish and Wagyu and noodle soy truffle combo. It's clear that the menu has evolved since the earlier (Dec) reviews too, some courses have disappeared, some new, most changed considerably. The test tube of hawthorn drink as a palate cleanser was much maligned in its earlier incarnation with the basil foam, but the one with mango foam we had was fab.

However, 17 dishes during a 9 course lunch at Viajante this Saturday showed that Bo London calling a spherified ball of soup on a spoon a course is pushing it a bit. Viajante provided far more bang for the buck. I reckon the Bo's Chefs menu is about 7 courses and 8 amuse bouches/canapes. For the money they charge the portions need to be a bit bigger, and they need to be more generous with petit fours too. After 140 quid and 16 courses I want to waddle out of the restaurant like Homer Simpson after an all you can eat barbecue, rather than that a niggling feeling I could have eaten more.

Having said that, I may well return so my wife can try the vegetarian tasting menu, a change in price or what's on offer would certainly seal the deal.

For those who want a breakdown of each dish and some rather dark photos, it's up on my blog.

Edited February 19, 2013 by Edesia (log)