The Upcoming
  • Cinema & Tv
    • Movie reviews
    • Film festivals
      • Berlin
      • Tribeca
      • Sundance London
      • Cannes
      • Locarno
      • Venice
      • London
      • Toronto
    • Show reviews
  • Music
    • Live music
  • Food & Drinks
    • News & Features
    • Restaurant & bar reviews
    • Interviews & Recipes
  • Theatre
  • Art
  • Travel & Lifestyle
  • Literature
  • Fashion & Beauty
    • Accessories
    • Beauty
    • News & Features
    • Shopping & Trends
    • Tips & How-tos
    • Fashion weeks
      • London Fashion Week
      • London Fashion Week Men’s
      • New York Fashion Week
      • Milan Fashion Week
      • Paris Fashion Week
      • Haute Couture
  • Join us
    • Editorial unit
    • Our writers
    • Join the team
    • Join the mailing list
    • Support us
    • Contact us
  • Competitions
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • Instagram

  • YouTube

  • RSS

CultureFood & DrinksRestaurant & bar reviews

The Blind Pig in Soho: Innocence of youth and prohibition-era vibes fluidly blend together

The Blind Pig in Soho: Innocence of youth and prohibition-era vibes fluidly blend together | Bar review
4 February 2020
Cristiana Ferrauti
Avatar
Shot by Filippo L'Astorina
Avatar
Cristiana Ferrauti Shot by Filippo L'Astorina
4 February 2020

Food

Cristiana Ferrauti4

The Blind Pig

BarQuick & easyCasual foodFine dining
QUICKCASUALFINE DINING

Concept

Highlights

Paddington’s Lost & Found, Raw Lyme Bay Scallops

Drinks ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮

Service ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮

Links

InstagramFacebookTwitterWebsiteMap

Complying to its name, The Blind Pig’s door is semi-hidden in a dark recess next to its bigger brother Social Eating House. The bar is located on the first level – quite unusual for London – the basement used for the restrooms instead. The end of the staircase opens up to a warm space fostered by antique furniture, comfortable seating and subdued lighting. The muffled atmosphere is apt for mischievous behaviour or to unwind with friends and dates; the bartenders’ coordinated clothing completes the speakeasy setting.

Original cocktails are coming and going on the drink list but, pondering on the best concoctions famed and favoured by the regulars and new visitors, the current Greatest Hits menu proposes the best of the best from the last five years. The names in the series point to children’s literature, with the recurring addition of fruit. The result is a collection that steers towards the sweet – with very few exceptions – and pampers the mouth.

The first lovely example of this is Paddington’s Lost & Found, which straight away melted the heart of this reviewer. When the glass arrived garnished only with a label reading “Please look after this bear”, it is immediately reminiscent of Paddington’s story. The orange flavoured vodka dominates, made mellifluous by the triple sec toast and marmalade sandwiches.

Arriving in a simply-wrapped beer bottle, Harry Potter’s Best Bottled Butter Bitter hides an exquisite, sparkly liquid. The Monkey Shoulder Whisky gives the punch, the Samuel Adams beer adds the fizz, and the butterscotch confers a sugary finish.

There is time in between to taste some of the snacky creations from downstairs. The mastery of Jason Atherton shines in the Raw Lyme Bay Scallops: the smoky avocado gracefully marries the seafood, with tangy dashes of lime and wasabi seeds. The other gratifying creation is the “Bloody Mary” Beef Tartare. A thin sourdough layer covering the tasty meat is scattered with dabs of velvety yolk jam. The greasier bites make less of an impression. The fried chicken is coated in an odd mix of spices, lime and chilli yoghurt, that result in a heavy mouthful. The Cumbrian Spiced Hotdog leaves you questioning the amount of sausage used, especially because the overloaded onion jam and piccalilli would have been better savoured. For a safe choice and a crunchy nibble: try the Triple-cooked Duck Fat Chips.

Introduced as a liquid Turkish delight, Mr Tumnus’ Tumnus Tipple Delight reveals itself to be a genuine treat for the sweet tooth. The blue-tinted drink smoothly brings together Bombay Sapphire Gin and Lanique Rose, with a splash of white chocolate and vanilla. While the Kindergarten Cup’s silken texture and sugary taste are a bit over the top. Its endearing presentation in a teacup with skittles and a sprinkle of icing sugar encloses a concoction consisting of Aperol and wham bar syrup, on a vodka base that kicks off at a later moment.

The character and easy service of The Blind Pig lure you into its pleasurable environment. The cocktails are an interesting collection, dear for their aromatic flavours and for the beloved childish memories that they recall. The innocence of youth and the muck ambience of prohibition-era American bar fluidly blend together.

★★★★★

Drinks ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮

Service ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮

Cristiana Ferrauti
Photos: Filippo L’Astorina and Cristiana Ferrauti

To book a table at The Blind Pig, 58 Poland Street London W1F 7NR, call +44 20 7993 3251 or visit their website here.

Related Itemsreview

More in Food & Drinks

Albert Adrià reopens Enigma on 7 June as a “fun-dining” restaurant and cocktail bar

Food Desk
Read More

Three-Michelin-star restaurants L’Effervescence and SingleThread announce first post-Covid collaboration in Tokyo

Food Desk
Read More

World’s 50 Best to announce 50 Next list of young people shaping the future of gastronomy on 24th June in Bilbao

Food Desk
Read More

Cinco de Mayo 2022: Where to celebrate in London

The editorial unit
Read More

Fiend restaurant to host guest chef supper clubs with Ollie Dabbous and Gareth Ward

Food Desk
Read More

World’s 50 Best announce 2022 Champions of Change

Food Desk
Read More

Colette and Manon Lagrève team up for limited-edition chocolate cake in support of Save the Children in Ukraine

Food Desk
Read More

Alberto Landgraf brings a taste of Brazil to London: A feat of culinary chemistry

Rosamund Kelby
Read More

Carlo Scotto to open two-floor fine-dining restaurant Amethyst in Mayfair

Food Desk
Read More
Scroll for more
Tap

Food

Cristiana Ferrauti4

The Blind Pig

BarQuick & easyCasual foodFine dining
QUICKCASUALFINE DINING

Concept

Highlights

Paddington’s Lost & Found, Raw Lyme Bay Scallops

Drinks ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮

Service ▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮▮

Links

InstagramFacebookTwitterWebsiteMap

  • Popular

  • Latest

  • TOP PICKS

  • Albert Adrià reopens Enigma on 7 June as a “fun-dining” restaurant and cocktail bar
    Food & Drinks
  • The Road Dance
    ★★★★★
    Movie review
  • Paolo Nutini at the 100 Club
    ★★★★★
    Live music
  • Crimes of the Future: Three new clips from David Cronenberg’s dystopian body horror film
    Cannes
  • When You Finish Saving the World
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Marcel!
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • More than Ever (Plus que Jamais)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Plan 75
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Enys Men
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • The Stranger
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • More than Ever (Plus que Jamais)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Plan 75
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
  • Dirty Dancing the Movie in concert at Apollo Theatre
    ★★★★★
    Theatre
  • Feminine Power: The Divine to the Demonic at the British Museum
    ★★★★★
    Art
  • Eo (Hi-Han)
    ★★★★★
    Cannes
The Upcoming
Pages
  • Contact us
  • Join mailing list
  • Join us
  • Our London food map
  • Our writers
  • Support us
  • What, when, why
With the support from:
International driving license

Copyright © 2011-2020 FL Media

The Jonas Brothers play ebullient reunion set at Wembley Arena | Live review
Poet in da Corner | Theatre review