Flambé Menu at The Drift

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Bon Vivant

Not drinking alcohol or eating out in January? Thankfully, the most miserable month of the year is nearly over. So why not celebrate its end with some serious wining and dining? There will be plenty of new restaurants and bars opening in 2012, and the ones that are already established are trying to tempt the post-detox crowd with exciting new menus.

The Drift bar and restaurant in the Heron Tower at 110 Bishopsgate has introduced some hot and flaming dishes that were popular in the 1970s. Its Flambé menu offers Beef Stroganoff (beef fillet sautéed, creamy mushroom sauce with a hint of mustard, flamed with cognac), Scampi Mornay (scampi served in a creamy cheese sauce and also flamed with cognac) and Steak Diane (minute steak pan-fried in a rich creamy sauce with mushrooms, gherkins & hint of mustard & flamed with cognac) for the mains.

Meanwhile, Crêpes Suzette (pancakes with fresh oranges, lemon juice & sugar, flamed with Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao) and Banana Flambé (caramelised bananas with sugar & butter and flamed with cognac) can be ordered for dessert.

Starter, main course and dessert costs £29.95 and £45.95 if paired with Flambé cooking matching cocktails. I had a generous mug of “Flaming your Thai” (5 year plantation rum, Pierre Ferrand Dry Curaçao, pink grapefruit, orgeat, egg white, orange bitters & flaming lime) to kick-start my appetite. The cocktail was really good and for once I wasn’t complaining that the amount of drink in my glass was so insignificant.

I chose Beef Stroganoff for my main course and it came paired with “Cobbled together punch” – spiced & chilly mulled wine and plantation dark overproof rum 73%. The beef was juicy and I could really taste the rich flavour of the cognac cutting through the creamy mushroom sauce. The cocktail was without flames, but it was so spicy, it was almost fiery and went down very well with the meat. All the cocktails can be purchased separately for £7.95 each.

The Flambé dishes are always made by a dedicated chef at your table so you have to book 24 hours in advance. Bon Appétit!

For further information or to make a booking, please contact your concierge at Bon Vivant. To make sure you’re kept informed of similar updates on a regular basis, subscribe to the blog, our fortnightly newsletter, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook!

New Restaurant Openings – Spring 2012

Posted on January 4, 2012 by Bon Vivant

Having seen a host of new openings last Autumn, the frantic pace continued into November and December with the likes of ’34′ (pictured), the latest venture from Caprice Holdings, Pizarro, Jose Pizarro’s Spanish restaurant in Bermondsey, and The Delaunay, sister restaurant to The Wolseley, in Aldwych.

London’s restaurant scene looks set to continue in this fashion into 2012, with a wealth of new openings already on the horizon for the spring.

Mark Hix will open another restaurant, Hix Belgravia, at the new Thompson Belgraves Hotel in Belgravia, the first Thompson hotel outside of the US. The restaurant will feature a Mark’s Bar (currently at Hix Soho), and a cigar garden, and the menu will have more of an international feel.

Barrafina Covent Garden will be the latest restaurant from Sam & Eddie Hart, who currently also run Quo Vadis and Fino. The restaurant will be the second outpost of Barrafina, their tapas restaurant in Soho.

SUSHISAMBA, which has many locations throughout the US, will open its first European restaurant in London in the spring, on the top three floors of the Heron Tower. SUSHISAMBA offers a mix of Japanese, Brazilian and Peruvian cuisine, and will surely also have a rather impressive view.

Continuing with the Peruvian theme, ‘Ceviche’ promises to be London’s first Peruvian restaurant in Soho, which will also feature a Pisco Bar.

Ollie Dabbous, ex head chef at the Michelin starred Texture in Marylebone, will open his eponymous restaurant ‘Dabbous’ in Fitzrovia, offering a Modern European menu of small plates.

And let’s not forget the likely arrival of two of New York’s big names – Andre Balazs’s new hotel in Marylebone will probably feature The Standard Grill from the Meatpacking District in New York, and there is the continued rumour of Balthazar, one of New York’s famous restaurants, opening a London outpost, which would surely be one of 2012’s biggest openings.

To make sure you’re kept informed of similar updates on a regular basis, subscribe to the blog, our fortnightly newsletter, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook!

The Drift, Heron Tower – New Bar Opening

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Bon Vivant

The Drift is the City’s latest new bar, located in Heron Tower on Bishopsgate, from the team behind The Folly and The Anthologist.

The bar’s design features oversized shelves with an eclectic mix of antiques and floating Chinese-style lanterns, with a view of Europe’s largest private aquarium.

The ﬁrst ﬂoor main dining room overlooks the bar below and features monochrome mosaic tiles that wrap around the marble topped bar and the ‘pontoon’ lounge bar features low comfortable chairs and soft banquette seating.

The Drift is open from 7.30am for breakfast, with cocktails being served until 1:00am on Thursdays and Fridays, and until midnight on Saturdays.

For further information, please contact your concierge.