Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography

Food, photos & faraway places

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About me
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Legal
      • Copyright notice & Disclaimer
      • Disclosure
      • Cookies and Privacy Policy
    • Press and media
    • Cooksister FAQs
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index – by course
    • Baking (savoury)
    • Braai/Barbecue
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Christmas
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Eggs
    • Fish
    • Gluten-free
    • Leftovers
    • Pasta & rice
    • Poultry
    • Pulses
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • South African
    • Starters & light meals
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • RESTAURANTS
    • British Isles restaurants
    • Dubai restaurants
    • France restaurants
    • London restaurants
    • Montenegro restaurants
    • New York restaurants
    • Pop-ups and supperclubs
    • Serbia restaurants
    • Singapore restaurants
    • South Africa restaurants
    • Sweden restaurants
    • Switzerland restaurants
    • USA restaurants
  • TRAVEL
    • All my travel posts
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • Dubai
      • Cruise ships
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Grenada
      • Hong Kong
      • Hotel reviews
      • Italy
      • Israel
      • Jersey
      • Mexico
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Singapore
      • Ski & snow
      • South Africa
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • UK
      • USA
      • Wales
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Freelance writing portfolio
    • Speaking and teaching
    • Photography portfolio
    • Buy my photos
You are here: Home / Restaurants / London restaurants / Bob Bob Ricard

Bob Bob Ricard

by Jeanne Horak on July 14, 2010 11 Comments in London restaurants, Meeting bloggers

BobBobRIcard

 

Is it just me, or is taking a Tube from Barbican to Oxford Street at lunchtime rather like stepping into some sort of Dr Who TARDIS and emerging in a totally different universe? When I board, I am surrounded by people in dark suits, pencil skirts, Thomas Pink blouses and serious expressions.  When I emerge, it is into a world of meandering tourists, wannabe IT-girls in precarious heels, creative types with Macs, and canoodling couples in the sunshine.  It feels like a mini-break to Mars than a lunch hour

The reason for my midday TARDIS trip is to pay a long overdue visit to the much-discussed Bob Bob Ricard for a Posh Lunch organised by my friend Niamh of Eat Like a Girl to try the restaurant’s July lunchtime special.  For the month of July Bob Bob Ricard is promoting the fact that their house Champagne is Pol Roger (rather than, say, cheap cava!).  Order two courses (starter and main; or main and dessert) and you will get a glass of Pol Roger for free (usually priced at £11.50).  What food blogger can resist this sort of enticement?  Don’t know – but I can tell you who couldn’t resist: Niamh, Denise, Helen, Ailbhe, Petra, Dan, Charlie and Magnus were all in attendance.

Bob Bob Ricard is billed as London’s only all-booth deluxe diner,and stepping inside evokes the feel of a huge luxury train carriage, albeit a train carriage from a far more glamorous Art Deco-ish era.  I am already feeling a little louche, skipping off for what promises to be an extended lunch in the middle of the work day, and this feeling is only bolstered by the decor, the chandeliers, the antique morrored ceiling, and the “Press for Champagne” buzzers at each table.  We kick off with a signature rhubarb gin & tonic which is the perfect drink for a hot summer’s day – tangy with rhubarb and endearingly pink.  In fact, it’s a perfect match for the staff’s blazers, and I did find myself wondering how job interviews at BBR go.  “Yes you will be required to wear the uniform every day.  No, we do not care that it makes you look like the love-child of Barbapapa and the Pink Panther.  Look, do you want this job or not?”.  The mind boggles.

BBRCollage

Niamh had wisely booked us into the Owner’s Salon, a secluded dining area that currently contains the only non-booth seating in the restaurant.  It feels more like an eccentric gentlemen’s club than a restaurant, with a killer chandelier (pictured), some abstract art (more pink!) and a collection of random objets – as well as a flurry of champagne buzzers!  The menu is a tour de force of luxe comfort foods and as the restaurant serves from late breakfast until the wee hours, dishes range from eggs Florentine to chicken Kiev, to a knickerbocker glory for dessert, to some Russian touches (a nod to one of the owners’ Russian heritage) like caviar with blinis and zakuski canapés.  There’s also rather a lot of truffles and foie gras – kind of like the recession never happened.  In fact, I would say that if truffles do  not float your boat, you might consider dining elsewhere.  Luckily, they DO float my boat, so I was in exactly the right place.

BobBobRicardCollageSalon

Up first is a starter of Russian salad with a quail’s egg and generous shavings of truffle, accompanied by a shot of Russian Standard vodka, chilled to -18C.  To make sure that we ingest this in the correct sequence, co-owner Leonid himself drops by our table to explain that we are to take a forkful of the salad (including some shaved truffle) in one hand and the vodka in the other; then down the vodka at a gulp and immediately eat the forkful of salad.  We all gamely follow these instructions and I have to say, the combined effect is electrifying.  The vodka is so pure and so cold that it bears no resemblance to the ghastly stuff I used to drink as a student – it has almost no taste, but as the salad and truffle slips down my throat, the warming effect of the vodka seems to amplify the flavour of the food.  It is a very pleasant sensation indeed. Although truffles are sometimes both depressingly flavourless and surplus to requirements of a dish, here they are neither, and the indefinable musky flavour of the truffle is perfect with the crunchy, mayonnaisey salad.  A sublime dish.

IMG_1243 - edited

Although much of the menu is tempting, between our table of ten we home in on only three different dishes.  Obviously there is a flurry of retro-tastic chicken Kievs (pictured below, served on fresh tomatoes with a potato and sweetcorn mash), as well as one veal Holstein (breaded veal with a fried quail egg, anchovies and capers).  As it is swelteringly hot outside, I opt for something cool and tempting on the specials menu: cold roast veal salad with tuna sauce – basically their take on vitello tonnato. This turns out to be a delight – veal done to pink perfection, a cream sauce that’s deliciously but indefinably flavoured with tuna, and a generous salad of cress and cherry tomatoes (dressed with a hint of truffle oil??).  All very successful dishes, washed down with a glass of the delicious Pol Roger house Champagne.

BobBobRicardCollageMains

But the best part is arguably still to come:  dessert.  Here, we are spoilt for choice, with desserts ranging from the vaguely chic to the guilty pleasure.  As a creature of habit (an because I think pistachio ice cream provides a reasonable barometer of any kitchen’s competence!), I go for the warm chocolate fontant with pistachio ice cream – and I am not disappointed.  The fondant is properly bittersweet with a properly molten centre, and the ice cream tastes of pistachios, not almond essence.  Hurrah! My neighbour Denise goes for the striped strawberries and cream soufflé (pictured) which is light and redolent with fresh strawberries; while on my left, Charlie opts for the ice cream.  I taste his salted butter caramel and instantly swoon – this is definitely what I will have if I return!  But the major menu envy hits when Dan gets his dessert, the aptly-named chocolate glory.  This comes to the table as an orange-sized chocolate sphere dusted with gold and accompanied by some fresh raspberries.  So far so average.  But then, in an inspired piece of tableside theatre, the waiter brings a little jug of hot chocolate sauce which he pours over the sphere, melting it until the passion fruit jelly and chocolate mousse inside is revealed.  Think Dali does dessert (maybe the Persistence of Chocolate?).  We’re all entranced by the spectacle, and Dan confirms that it’s delicious too.

 

BobBobRicardCollageDessert

And then the show is over for me, barring a shot of good espresso and the bill, as I have to catch my TARDIS back to Planet Normal Life.

If you are looking for Nouvelle Cuisine, or interesting ethnic food, or health food, or subtly understated food, then this is not the place for you.  But if you are looking for posh nursery food, a well-priced wine list, a menu that harks back to the greed-is-good days of caviar and truffles, and the feeling that you are doing something vaguely naughty, then Bob Bob Ricard should be your first port of call – especially for the month of July when you can feel louche for less.

Thanks very much to Niamh for organising and to Bob Bob Ricard for making us feel so welcome!

If you enjoyed this London restaurant write-up, you might also like my write-ups of Galvin Bistrot de Luxe, Yauatcha, or 1 Lombard Street.

Bob Bob Ricard
1 Upper James Street
London
W1F 9DF

Tel: 020 3145 1000
E-mail: 
[email protected]

 

Bob Bob Ricard on Urbanspoon

More deliciousness for you!

  • Roast lamb breast with rosemary & mustard flageolet beansRoast lamb breast with rosemary & mustard flageolet beans
  • Belvidere Manor, KnysnaBelvidere Manor, Knysna
  • Sensationally simple beef raguSensationally simple beef ragu
  • Saturday Snapshots #18Saturday Snapshots #18

Never miss a Cooksister post

If you enjoyed this post, enter your e-mail address here to receive a FREE e-mail update when a new post appears on Cooksister

I love comments almost as much as I love cheese - so if you can't leave me any cheese, please leave me a comment instead!

« Mamma’s coconut tart (klappertert)
The Complete History of Food with Courvoisier and Bompas & Parr »

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Gastronomy Gal says

    July 15, 2010 at 4:02 am

    This looks so cute- I wish I had somewhere amazing to go at Lunchtimes- except I’m stuck in the suburbs in Brisbane!

    Reply
  2. nina says

    July 15, 2010 at 4:36 am

    Yikes Keanne, that is awefully posh for lunchtime, hope you did not have to work after all that. Love the Russian salad and the mousse, oh my hat…..divine!!

    Reply
  3. Ailbhe says

    July 15, 2010 at 7:26 am

    Decadently naughty is exactly how it felt. It was a lovely lunch and good to meet you after reading your blog for so long. Nicely written article as usual!

    Reply
  4. Sarah, Maison Cupcake says

    July 15, 2010 at 9:36 am

    I’m kicking myself I’m not free to go to the London Food Bloggers’ meet up there next week… it certainly sounds worth a visit for the decor and rhubarb gin and tonic alone.

    Reply
  5. Nic says

    July 15, 2010 at 9:52 am

    The desserts sound wonderful, I read about the chocolate sphere – I’d love to try it!

    Reply
  6. Kavey says

    July 15, 2010 at 11:04 am

    God, I love BBR!

    Reply
  7. Charlie Nelson says

    July 15, 2010 at 11:46 am

    Great write up, I’m going back when ive got more cash! Good to meet you too.
    Charlie.

    Reply
  8. Charlie Nelson says

    July 15, 2010 at 11:46 am

    Great write up, I’m going back when ive got more cash! Good to meet you too.
    Charlie.

    Reply
  9. Charlie Nelson says

    July 15, 2010 at 11:46 am

    Great write up, I’m going back when ive got more cash! Good to meet you too.
    Charlie.

    Reply
  10. Niamh says

    July 15, 2010 at 6:03 pm

    Such fun and I was delighted you could make it. Lovely post and fab photos! x

    Reply
  11. Gourmet Chick says

    July 15, 2010 at 9:00 pm

    Lucky you Jeanne – I am hoping to head there for the bloggers meet up next week. I just want to use the push for champagne button!

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Never miss a Cooksister post!

Get my latest recipes delivered by e-mail!

Search over 500 recipes

Recently on Cooksister

  • Perfect broccoli and Stilton soup [keto, low carb, GF]
  • Masalchi by Atul Kochhar – Indian street food in Wembley
  • Barbecued salmon with blood oranges and capers
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts with feta, pomegranate and pine nuts [GF, V]
  • Love Yourself healthy meal delivery [Review]
  • Antillean
  • Festive roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
  • Rustic blood orange and pistachio galettes

Archives by month

Archives by category

Popular posts

Peppermint Crisp fridge tart - a South African treat
Oxtail and red wine potjie
Nigella's Bakewell slices & the Big Bakewell Taste-off
Gem squash 101: how to find them, how to grow them, how to eat them!
Roosterkoek - a South African braai essential
My big, fat South African potato bake

Featured on

Also available on

Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need to get down to @canarywharflondon between now and Saturday 28 Jan to catch the free Winter Lights 2023 event, back for the seventh year.

My favourites include @lukejerramartist ‘s Floating Earth; Tom Lambert’s Out of the Dark; Fluorescent Firs; Toroid by This is Loop; and the surreal and mesmerising Anima by MEATS - a tunnel filled with hundreds of thin optical fibre lights that change colour and move in the breeze 😍 

Have you been to Winter Lights? What was your favourite?
“When we look down at the Earth from space, we s “When we look down at the Earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet. It looks like a living, breathing organism. But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile.” - International Space Station astronaut Ron Garamond

To experience the “overview effect” (a phenomenon experienced by astronauts viewing the earth from space), head down to Canary Wharf in the London docklands this week where you can see @lukejerramartist ‘s beautiful Floating Earth installation as part of the Winter Lights event. 

This giant 10m diameter installation is created using high resolution NASA images to create a floating scale model of the Earth, lit from within so that it glows from its current home on the Middle Dock, surrounded by the headquarters of international banking and finance corporations.

The artist hopes that viewed in this context, the installation will make visitors and the bankers working in surrounding buildings question how their money in savings and pensions is invested, and whether investments can be greener.

Aside from being a thought provoking piece, it is also mesmerising and surreally beautiful, so make sure you visit the free Winter Lights event before ends on Saturday 28 Jan.
Happy lunar new year! [Invited] To celebrate the Happy lunar new year! 

[Invited] To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, why not head over to @mamachensdumplings currently doing a residence at the @thegantrylondon in #stratford where you can feast on prawn & chive dumplings; pork, Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushroom dumplings; pork & prawn wontons with Mama Chen’s chilli oil; vegetable dumplings; smacked cucumber salad; and spicy noodles coated in garlic and Szechuan pepper oil.

And afterwards, make sure you head up to the @unionsocialoc bar for a cocktail - I loved the Moreish Fashion with bourbon, PX sherry, chestnuts and mandarin orange bitters!
Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Chr Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Christmas? Turn it into this super simple and super indulgent broccoli and Stilton soup! So easy to make and soooo delicious to eat - and it is low carb and GF. What more could you want?! Click the link in my bio for the full recipe. What’s your favourite soup?
CELEBRATE. So the fireworks are over, the champag CELEBRATE.

So the fireworks are over, the champagne is finished and the leftovers are all eaten. We are one week into 2023 and I have had some time to think about what my intent is for the year. 

In 2022 my brother had a life saving kidney transplant. Since the operation, he has had a Peanuts cartoon as his WhatsApp profile pic, where Charlie Brown and Snoopy are sitting on a pier talking. Charlie says “Some day, we all die Snoopy.” And Snoopy replies: “Yes - but every other day, we will live.”

Waking up in the morning is a gift, every day, and it is so easy to forget this. The last few years have been difficult for so many people and the coming year promises its own challenges. But every day that we don’t die is a day to live, to celebrate life in some small way.

So my intention in 2023 is to celebrate. Celebrate our achievements however small. Celebrate our friends and family. Celebrate small things. Celebrate life.

Did you make any resolutions or goals for 2023? I would love to hear them in the comments! Wishing you all the very best for 2023 🥂
Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes fro Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes from last night with friends in Deptford. My deconstructed avocado ritz; @twinkleparkstephen ‘s bobitie; Giles’ Ottolenghi tomato salad; and Jean’s clementine trifle - and the London night sky ablaze with fireworks!  How did you spend your evening? 🥂🎇🎆
Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope your day was merry and bright, filled with family, friends and love 🎄🥂. Mine was spent alone at home - my choice and the result of a combination of Covid (not mine!) and rail strikes 🤦‍♀️ but very relaxing and indulgent!
Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter y Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter you can make ahead? Look no further than my individual smoked salmon terrine! Hot smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives wrapped in cold smoked salmon in a ramekin. Still one of the most popular Christmas recipes in my blog, it looks cheffy but is soooo simple to make - and will save you time and effort on the day! Get the recipe by clicking on the link in my bio.

How is your Christmas meal prep going? Are you entertaining at home or going to friends or family? 🎄🥂🎄🥂🎄
Looking for a brilliant biryani near Marble Arch? Looking for a brilliant biryani near Marble Arch? I recently enjoyed a feast at Biryani Kebab Chai @bkc.restaurant on Edgeware Road, including wonderful sweet, spicy and crunchy papri chaat; smoky burrah lamb kebab; galouti lamb patties; juicy chaap chicken thigh kebab; spicy chapli chicken patties; and the surprising vegetarian dahi ke patties made of yoghurt! We also tried the chicken and soya biryanis, both with incredibly fluffy and delicately spiced rice. You can get their biryanis as a 1kg takeaway, served in a beautiful branded clay pot that serves 3-4 people, for about £30. Bargain! We also took home a sample of their desserts, including a fragrant and delicious kheer rice pudding. If you are in the Marble Arch area, get yourself to BKC!  #invited #bkcrestaurants
Load More... Follow me on Instagram

Follow Jeanne Horak-Druiff's board Recipes by Cooksister on Pinterest.

Cooksister

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Bowls of broccoli and Stilton soup
Salmon with blood oranges dill and capers
Brussels sprouts with feta and pomegranate
Roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli

SITEMAP

Home

Contact

About me

Recipe Index

Restaurant Index

Copyright & Disclaimer

Cookies & privacy policy




blog counter

© 2004 - 2023 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by RTW Labs

Copyright © 2023 · Cooksister on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Cooksister cookie consent
We use cookies to ensure you receive the best experience on our site. If you continue to use this site, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT