Bertie Blossoms was reviewed by Jimi Famurewa from the Evening Standard who visited the pub on a Saturday, describing it has having a party atmosphere but “not a decent thing to eat”.
The review read: “And then, tragically, they actually started bringing me things to eat from the quite short, waywardly Mediterranean menu.”
A vibrant and simplistic menu
Situated on Portobello Road in Notting Hill, west London, the pub is open from Tuesday to Sunday, serving food and drinks.
Its website reads: “By sourcing the highest quality of the freshest ingredients, our kitchen team has created a vibrant, simplistic menu perfect for sharing at the table.”
But, the global star and Grammy Award winner has been whacked with a two out of five food review, despite scoring a very respectable four out of five for its ambience.
Beer-loosened party
The review read: “I went on a Saturday, arriving to a campy disco soundtrack (Gloria Gaynor, Village People) and a beer-loosened party atmosphere that was brilliantly pleasant.
“Compact and tightly split across two floors, it is all plump green booths, lightly kitsch paintings (cute kittens, a box canvas of Elvis), garrulous forty-somethings at a bronze-topped bar and the sort of dim-lit, divey gloom that makes a soft drink seem ludicrous.”
However, the review took a turn when the food was served.
Unwelcome mealy air
It continued: “Baby artichokes came as a distressing, generous bowl of pale, oil-steeped nubbins lacking the necessary jolt of fragrant brine, and ready to dissolve to watery mush in your mouth.
“Mushroom risotto was just as aesthetically troubling, arriving as it did, spread out on an oval plate in an unappetising, claggy puddle.
“A needless scattering of hazelnuts gave it a properly unwelcome, mealy air.”
Wow, you’re hungry
Famurewa added: “Gnarled, thoroughly seasoned lamb meatballs were a little better in a slightly repeaty, home-cooked sort of way.
“Skin-on chips with a curry mayo, heavily vinegared and only faintly spiced, probably represented the dizziest high.
“‘Wow, you’re hungry,’ said an amiable, slightly spacey young waiter spotting my still very full plates. Yes, mate, and it looks like I’m leaving that way.”