I made a reservation at Blueprint Cafe after looking up London restaurants with a view. Located on the southern side of the Thames in the Design Museum, it looks out over the Tower Bridge and makes for a lovely nighttime view; perfect to try and show an out-of-towner how pretty London can be.
There is a market special on where one can get three courses for £23; a bargain for London. We also want the venison, so order it as an extra main. Piggies.
The food is contemporary British cuisine and for the most part is good with a few highlights and lowlights along the way.
Without a doubt, the hero dish is the starter of Jerusalem Artichoke Soup. Anything with Jerusalem Artichoke captures my heart, and this creamy soup with its earthy notes is my lover for this evening. I practically guzzle it. Its awesomeness cannot be captured on film.
The Salt Beef is bountiful and has good flavour, and makes for a simple, fresh starter. I love that horseradish cream. Pow!
The lightest of the mains is the Pollock with Spiced Puy Lentils and Cauliflower Puree. The fish isn’t amazing but the lentils are well-seasoned with lots of flavour and lift the dish.
Now, having never eaten anything that comes with the warning, “may contain shot”, it is like winning the lottery when I find a ball of steel in my mouth – “I won, I won!”. The pheasant is pleasant, dark and gamey, however, there is so much shot in it that you get over the novelty very quickly. I appreciate game slaughtered this way, at least it had a lovely, natural existence, however, the warning really should say “contains shot”. The bed of sweetcorn, mushrooms and cocktail onions it lies on is a bit of a tribute to 1968: a random combination. Corn is never that fabulous unless it is barbecued on the cob, and cocktail onions need to live up to their name and come swimming in gin and vermouth.
Highlight of the mains, is the venison. It is tender and juicy and is complimented well by the tangy Savoy Cabbage and woody Chestnuts.
Desserts are hit and miss. The Caramel Poached William Pears with Vanilla Foam and Bitter Chocolate tastes generically sweet and lacks in robusticity or definition of flavours. It’s nice but doesn’t deliver what its title suggests.
The Peanut Parfait with Chocolate Ganache and Passionfruit on the other hand, is rather scrummy. The flavours are distinctive and well balanced and the passionfruit gives it a zing to awaken your palate.
Blueprint Cafe has an adequate wine list with many available by the glass, however, there is no cider on the menu, which astounds us. At first we thought the European waitress didn’t understand what we were saying, but alas, alack, there is no cider. It seems rather incongruous, as come summertime, when they open the windows up and the sun glimmers on the Thames, nothing would be better than sitting there with lunch and a cold glass of cider.
