Bedford & Strand
our comments
A basement venue is a challenge on both sides of the equation; for the restaurateur there lies the problem of how to entice people in, for the customer going down a stairway not knowing what one will find at the bottom (a smooth talking pimp of a maitre d with the tenacity of a beagle?), can be a bit daunting. Bedford & Strand allays many fears with its honest, welcoming, above-ground entrance, which leads down to an interior that manages well on all fronts; monochrome but not clinically cold, stylish yet comfortable. So far so good.
The wine list makes excellent pre-meal reading, by this I don’t mean it’s size of War and Peace, but that it is innovative and demonstrates the obvious oenological enthusiasm of the ownership. I love everything about it down to the typeface and the way that reds and whites aren’t given separate sections. There is an excellent array of house wines on offer from regions as diverse as Kent and Brazil, even the Old World selection steers well clear of many established brands to deliver wine from newly respected areas.
So what about the food? If the main event is the wine, and it really is here, does any accompanying fodder stand a chance of being half decent, should it even be given a chance? Certainly it mustn’t outshine the wine, but that’s no excuse for sloppiness, I have eaten meals where the wine was the headliner, but the food’s support act so appalling as to render the whole exercise rather miserable. Not so at Bedford & Strand.
We decide to choose our food ourselves and ask our waitress for help with the wine, a great idea as the service is both cheerful and knowledgeable. My soupe de poisson tastes exactly as it should and has a couple of innovations; pecorino instead of gruyere, bread instead of crouton. It is well-executed and goes perfectly with my straw coloured Chapel Down, which on first acquaintance is almost too acidic but mellows rapidly and is a perfect partner to the hearty, sweet warmth of the fish soup, giving off a delightful bouquet of elderflower with every sip. My companion’s crab cake avoids the usual pitfalls of being rubbery or armour-plated, but could do with a little more flavour.
Our mains are; corn fed chicken breast, porcini, spiced red wine sauce, and; cod, pea risotto, lemon beurre blanc - both look the business. The flaky mildness of the cod is given some zing by a tangy buerre blanc which in turn is fleshed out by the pea risotto. The chicken is served with a generous helping of large porcini. Sides of baby carrots and French beans are cooked to a T, full of flavour and not drenched in too much butter. The red wine sauce could perhaps do with being a trifle thicker? My cod could be tad juicer? I’m really just being hyper-critical now. The accompanying dry Tokaj Oremus is a real maverick. Syrupy in texture and hue, it is dry, yet fat and buttery. It tastes somewhat reminiscent of Retsina, I even wonder if it is partially nobly rotted, but am told it is not. This is a style of wine I will definitely keep an eye out for in future.
We finish up with a respectable crème brulee and warm apple and almond tart, with a glass from an inspired list of “stickies” and Sherries.
To sum up; Bedford & Strand is not a foodie destination itself, it doesn’t pretend to be. For a wine buff it’s a different matter and would be well worth a special trip. For the rest of us; an ideal venue for a group of workmates or friends, also for pre/post-theatre dinner. Alternatively you could just sip (or quaff), nibble and chat at the bar.
O.M. - April 2007
your comments review this restaurant and win a bottle of champagne
Customer Service is not even part of their dictionary at this restaurant. I have never seen such attitude and arrogance. We had a good time and spent a lot of money before an impromptu bday cake/wish before leaving, form my friends. The bill came with an added £20 because of that and we were not even warned, or told about it. When we apologised and tried to discuss we were met with arrogance and complete lack of judgement. It is so disappoining to go to a decent bar and find staff and managers that may well be working at a take away. Pity...
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Agne
Overall rating 
Food 4 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
We discovered this bar in a wine magazine and as we were going to the theatre, we thought we would try it as we like a variety of nice wines on offer. They had just opened when we arrived and were very welcoming. The layout was good with a long bar and some nice tables for pre dinner drinks / bar snacks, with a separate restaurant section but still neatly part of the overall bar. The wine list was extensive, particularly by the glass covering most wine countries! The food menu was not big, but again covered most likes/dislikes and we chose a lovely rib eye steak, which had been matured for 21 days. It was tender! We were not rushed and took our time over 1.5 half to have our main course, cheese board and coffee.
This place is unique of its kind in this area, which is very touristy and you often findd overpriced poor quality food all rushing due tto the theatre shows, this was relaxed, good quality and felt off the beaten track even though we were right there in it.
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Mary, Sussex
Overall rating 
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Sunday, July 01, 2007
It's a wine bar. So it's all about the red-and-white-and-sometimes-pink stuff. The food is good, but there are a few less than great dishes on the menu. Starters tend to be better than mains, which are well-meaning but a bit dull.
The Boy kicked off with a fish soup which was pratically a stew, full of health portions of fishy goodness. Afterwards he had a chicken and vegetable pie which was hearty enough in terms of portion size but not as warmingly tasty as it should have been. I fared a bit better with a rather lovely steak tartare and then a kind of average chicken with puy lentils.
The service though, was excellent, just on the right side of friendly without actually getting in the way. I am also very fond of the decor, crip white linen work for me.
Next time, stay and linger over the wines and nibble at some bar snacks.
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Sarah - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating 
Food 7 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, April 27, 2007
Food isn't really a big reason to come here, although it's perfectly decent bistro type stuff. Sit at the bar, have a chat with the staff about your preferred styles and get stuck into some exceptionally good and decently priced wine. Kind of the point of a wine bar.
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Rich
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Sunday, February 18, 2007
I have been here four times now - post movie drinks, dinner a deux, lunchtime entertaining and also with a group of my girlfriends for a prolonged dinner and every time have found everything impeccable. Helpful friendly staff recommending great wine and refreshingly NOT trying to "upsell". There's something for every budget and the portions big enough for all but the greediest of my friends who insisted on having pudding AND cheese which we all helped polish off.
My job means i jave to entertain clients with dinner or lunch a good 4 times a week and i will definitely be bringing them here. Honest, unpretentious and a breath of fresh air.
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Julia Grimshaw
Overall rating 
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Have eaten in the Bedford & Strand on a couple of occasions and, although, the food is reasonable in quality & price, it is very poor value for money as portions are so small.
Service at lunch time, although friendly enough, was incredibly slow and no attempt was made to speed things up despite advising waiting staff of our timescale.
There is a nice buzzy atmosphere in the evening but again, both when dining & just having drinks service is dismissive, unhelpful & rude to the point where you are made to feel that they are doing you a favour.
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Alison
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Monday, December 18, 2006
Do not come here if you are hungry. Or even marginally peckish. A couple of friends and I ate here last night and were speechless (from starvation as much as shock) at the pathetic portion sizes. Firstly, although the choices on the menu matched those on the website, the prices were more expensive than advertised. If only we had paid heed to this early smell of rat. We started with a few drinks in the bar which, admittedly, is a welcome alternative to the touristy bars of Covent Garden, and boasts an impressive selection of wine. However, my friend paid £2 for a truly meagre handful of nuts on a teeny tiny plate, which might have sufficed, were he a doormouse. To add insult to injury, it took a good 15 minutes for them to arrive. Then, a portion of bread to curb the hunger pangs after a delay in being seated (even though the restaurant was half empty) comprised of one teeny nugget each, snuggled tightly in a patronisingly small, purposely-designed-for-miniature-food basket. Two rounds later, and gagging for more sustenance but loathed to spend another £3 on dough-drops, we eagerly awaited our main courses. Two anaemic, bitesized fishcakes were laughably stingey as was the dusting of chips accompanying them, and all consumable in three mouthfuls at the most - although I think my friend was being polite by carving everything into even smaller pieces, no small feat without the aid of a microscope. An £8 chicken pie was more porcelain ramekin than pastry, and was served all alone, forcing the price up to £10 for a side dish which, even then, barely justified its status as a main meal. My 'sausages with pomme puree' did what it said on the tin, but for £8.50 that was a little disappointing. To top it all off, the audacity of the cheeseboard, with its four 'carefully selected' (for a family of Borrowers surely?) varieties was so insulting that we sent it back. At this point I started scouting the area for a hidden film crew, or Jeremy Beadle lurking behind the mascara of one of the waitresses. We were told that the reason for the small cheese was that it had been 'carefully selected'. Confused? Don't worry, we weren’t sure what that had to do with the price of figs either. My friend, who happens to work in a top London restaurant, told the waitress that they too offer 'carefully selected' cheeses, but at half the price and double the size. Although we were offered the cheese board for free, our complaint went unacknowledged by the manager, who happily came to our table to take our payment, but didn't even grace us with a 'thank you' or a 'goodnight'. We left hungry, dissatisfied and having paid £60 for the privilege. Do not eat here - it is a rip off.
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Vicky
Overall rating 
Food 2 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 0
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
I would say that this is one of best bistros that I've been to in a long time. Perfect rib-eye on-the-bone, great cheeses, and a refreshingly different wine list. If you know about wine it's a must. Some very unusual choices. Educated staff complete the experience. The noise level is a little high, but that's what you expect from a buzzy bistro. Great find.
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Stuart Hall
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Friday, August 04, 2006
Went for drinks and dinner here on a thursday night. First impressions were that it's very loud, and packed with post-work drinkers. The staff were very polite and helpful, and happily moved us to a slightly less busy area. We tried the goats' cheese tart, which was nice but nothing groundbreaking. The roquefort salad was really good - a generous portion of cheese with spinach, chicory and frisee, and well priced at around £6. My companion's fishcakes were decent, but probably didn't need to be served with fries as they were already quite potatoey. We had a bottle of the 'good' white (name escapes me) and the rose, both of which were really nice. What really impressed me was the quality of the staff - they were all really friendly and helpful, and knowledgeable about the wines. Bill was £52 for 2, including service. Will definately be back, but maybe earlier in the week, to avoid the crowds.
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Liz
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Friday, July 28, 2006
A cosy underground bar, just off the Strand, which wasn't too full on a Friday evening, . The food was OK, wine was well-priced and service extremely polished. Shame that the tables and chairs were tiny and precarious and that wooden walls and floors amplified sound to uncomfortable levels. The bill came to £36 per head for 3 courses and a couple of glasses of wine each. We weren't overwhelmed by the quality of good, so we probably won't go back.
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Mr and Mrs S
Overall rating 
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Saturday, July 22, 2006
