REVIEW: Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Café in Ealing

By Hannah Davenport

7th Sep 2021 | Opinion

I dined at Gordon Ramsay's new Bread Street Café in Ealing, the third in his expanding Bread Street Kitchen chain.

The Ealing branch is set apart for its supposedly more casual café dining experience.

First impressions and on a Thursday evening it didn't scream café to me, but it did have an Italian bistro feel with a comfortable and friendly vibe.

With its ceiling fans and exposed air-conditioning ducts, coloured tiles and industrial lighting, Ealing Broadway transformed into the hip Meatpacking neighbourhood of Manhattan.

Our table was booked at 7pm just as young families were finishing up their meals to make way for a packed-out dining room filled with couples and animated groups of locals eager to get a taste of the Ramsay experience.

For starters, we were told customer favourites were the tamarind-spicy chicken wings, salt and pepper squid and the spicy tuna tartare.

A fishy affair, I went for the tuna tartare with wonton crisps (£11.50) and some mixed marinated olives (£3).

According to our waitress, her boss Gordon orders fish and chips whenever he visits his restaurants.

The reason being that such a classic dish is actually hard to get right.

So, guided by her, I of course opted for Gordon's choice as my main.

The waitress then alerted me to the Bread Street Café Chip Challenge, telling us no one has ever managed to finish a portion of the chips, bar one elderly customer.

This was a challenge I was eager to accept, and pleased I could expect a decent portion of food, at least reflective of the £16.50 price tag.

Fish and chips is just one of 15 options on the main course evening menu that includes many familiar dishes, such as Shepherd's Pie, Caesar Salad, Rib Eye Steak and Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen Burger.

The prices vary from £16.50 to £27 however if you want to splash out, for £29.50 a head you can sample Gordon's signature Beef Wellington.

My dining companion ordered the Butter Chicken Curry served with rice and poppadum (£19).

The staff, most of them newly recruited local young people, could not have been more helpful and friendly.

The overall atmosphere of the ground floor space with open kitchen views was welcoming and after 8pm the lighting dimmed, the tempo of the music changed and the mood was set for a convivial evening of bistro dining.

Service was quick and our starter came as a well-presented plate of food, a nicely spiced tartare surrounded by avocado blobs and crispy cracker.

A 10-minute wait later and our mains arrived, just as queues started to form out the front with eager guests, many of whom were turned away without a booking.

Fluffy batter, potato heavy chips and a caper-y tartar sauce, it was a decent fish and chips that did not disappoint.

I am disappointed to say I failed the Chip Challenge, despite being offered multiple extra condiments to help me get them down.

The curry impressed, with creamy sauce and another filling portion of homely food.

After waiting for my digestion to catch up with my Chip ego, we ordered the pineapple and kiwi carpaccio with passion fruit and coconut sorbet (£6.50) from the dessert menu.

It was a delightful palette cleanser and the tropical fruit experience I desired, before being rolled out the door.

Overall, the food was tasty and there were no pretentious tiny servings, but what made the experience was the friendly and welcoming atmosphere, surrounded by local's eager for a new dining experience and excited to sample what Ramsay has to offer.

Bread Street café is open 7 days a week, 7:30am – 12am for brunch, lunch and dinner at 8 High St, London W5 5DB.

Find out more about the café, Here.

     

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