Bluebird Restaurant

Such a great shame to see a restaurant that was once a favourite go into such a steep decline.

Whilst the setting remains one to admire I regret to report that the quality of food is at best average and the service appallingly amateur. This would not be what Mr Conran had in mind for any of his establishments!

The monkfish curry was a pitiful attempt at stylish Indian meets SW3 and for the sake of good taste should be taken off the menu as soon as possible. Avoid!

Whilst there were a good many staff on duty on a Wednesday evening and all had the appearance of being busy it was a challenge to see exactly what is was that gave them this appearance.

If you are a fully paid up member of that shallow breed who so admire style over substance then you will no doubt find this venue acceptable. If this were in NYC the place would be closed down in a matter of weeks at most. Discerning diners would shun the place.

I hope that someone responsible at Bluebird reads this and responds in a positive manner to the criticism. I would be very happy if the dining experience at Bluebird could be restored to the standard of days gone by.
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Arbiter of Taste - View all reviews by this user
3 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 1
Thursday, June 23, 2011

I went last week with a group of friends for the mid-week 2 course for £20 menu. Loved the decor of the place, not an easy task to make such a large space feel warm and inviting.

Service was excellent. Food wasn't bad and portion sizes were bigger than we expected them to be.

My main criticism is that the wine list was pretty expensive, whilst not unexpected I thought there would be a better choice for more reasonably priced bottles and glasses.

Definitely would go back for the deal.
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SS - View all reviews by this user
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, March 21, 2011

overpriced and their steak was a joke, mushroom risotto was good though. Snob place with pretending to be trendy. Decoration is nice and looks great but will never go there again. not worth of money
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tina
2 Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 0
Sunday, March 20, 2011

Went Xmas eve with er indoors and daughters aged 19 & 21. Great atmosphere, as always - attentive but not over-attentive waiting staff. Food served on time good proportions and tasted great - washed down with house red. Daughters had desserts while we both had Irish coffees that we probably didn't need. Altogether a great dining experience, that being our fourth time and we will definitely be visiting again.
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David Beauvais
9 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Friday, January 21, 2011

Remembering Bluebird from a few years ago we went to a bit of a treat lunch there recently. It was very poor. Bland dated room and not a very interesting menu. Starters were ok but very standard (pate and smoked salmon) followed by steak and chips and a fishpie. The fishpie was salty and watery and not very nice. Good service, very pleasant etc but for £70 it was pricey and unmemorable.

We could see the brunchy food being brought out to the tables in the cafe below and to be honest it looked far nicer

Won't be going back until things change.
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London Girl
4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Friday, October 15, 2010

I read some of the reviews on here and thought after many years the old Bluebird might have disappeared up its own backside, like so many good restaurants in London often do. Fortunately that trick still seems to be confined to some of the clientele - very pretty people, usually 6'2 serious looking blonde women with "I'm a serious person" look about them... which wasn't a distraction at all.

As that maybe, I'm glad I went. In short I thought the service was impeccable and the food *on the whole delightful*. We had Oysters to start with - they were simply gorgeous - well prepared and presented on a big steel ice dish.

For the mains my girlfriend went for the rib-eye steak, rare. It was very stringy to cut but was OK once in the mouth, which is all I can say. It was cooked well but could have been a better cut of meat. I had the Venison Au Poivre. Wow. Probably the best cut of meat I've had for years. A big block of meat that sat on my plate like a brick. It quivered as I prodded it with my fork, and when I cut through it, it was beautifully colored in only the way a perfectly cooked medium-rare dish can be. It tasted wonderful in the sauce. I even slowed down simply to enjoy the taste - which being a massive carnivore I seldom do. If you're there, and you don't have that dish - you're really are missing out. The way it melted in my mouth reminded me of the best steaks I had in Buenos Aires.

The desserts.... Hmmm. Well we went for a Banoffe pudding and the Dark Chocolate Fondant... the latter being gorgeous and the former only being so-so.

The whole meal including the wine (£19.50 Temperillo (I think) - but very good none-the-less) came to £111 - including a £16 tip. I thought the waiter was very good and made the evening a pleasure.

So - Oysters, Venison, Chocolate Fondant wins the day! If you go, it may have an off day, but from my experience coming here for many years, you would be unlucky for that to happen. Enjoy.
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Mark Williams
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Thursday, August 26, 2010

Went to the Bluebird on the 3 courses for £21 offer. The selection from the set menu was not the best, but overall food was really good. My starter of the Salt Cod Scotch Egg was lovely and very clever. Some of our party were late in arriving and the staff were very accomodating by holding back the main courses so that everything could be brought out together. Service, even though a little slow was very good. They also compensated the fact that our main courses were delayed with free deserts each from the a la carte menu. Overall, brillant vibe and the decor is fabulous without being pretentious. After dinner, we moved to the seating area and sampled a great selection of cocktails. Will definitely go back again.
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Naheed
8 Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 9
Monday, July 12, 2010

We had drinks and nibbles after work last night, the waiter after 40 mins came back and told us they had lost our ticket, we had ordered a bottle of wine they brought 3 glasses, the waiter really was useless! The crudite for £5 was a joke! the experience was awful, great outside venue but what a waste!
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Nicky
3 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 2
Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Went to the Bluebird Saturday night with two friends. The atmosphere was buzzing and the decor very stylish. We booked a table for 9.30 but had to wait 45 minutes to get seated - after two strong complaints. If you can stand the appalling shambles that they call a seating system - which clearly does NOT work - then the set menu is great value. Be sure to stress when booking that you want the set menu or you will not get it!! Think Jasper Conran should take an interest in sorting this restaurant out before it gives him a bad name. The staff were very polite and our food was very good.
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Deborah Miller
9 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, March 22, 2010

Where to start? The cocktail was not brought with the rest of the drinks and, it turns out, completely forgotten? The order - not a request - to come to the table? The question about aperitifs at the table, though we'd had two rounds at the bar? The wine that only had one bottle left? The serving of the same type of venison dish to all those who had ordered either of the TWO types available with twin lies about which dish was on the set/a la carte menus and about who had ordered what? The bottle of wine not brought? The complete invisibility of staff - despite the place being two-thirds empty? The failure to fill wine glasses with the white wine that had been hidden out of sight, never mind out of reach? The up-the-derriere attitude of all the staff? If your idea of a good time is all this, then go. Non style-victims will not support this sub-standard rip-off joint.
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David
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 3
Thursday, March 11, 2010