Bertie Blossoms
Wine bar · North Kensington ·
House cocktails, Vinca wine, seasonal dishes, friendly staff
House cocktails, Vinca wine, seasonal dishes, friendly staff
"An eccentric, visually over-the-top Notting Hill project that feels intentionally daft: interiors mix an overbright chandelier, municipal-green paint, faux trophy heads and portraits of Elvis and Dolly Parton, while a bemusing, hip wine list seems curiously disconnected from the food. The menu lacks coherent narrative and seldom delivers — lamb meatballs are the faint high point, while dishes descend into marshy, overloaded risotto with rubbery Manchego and flatbreads that assault the palate (notably a salt-beef, sauerkraut and mustard ‘Reuben’ and a tandoori-chicken with curried hummus that reads like a fridge-afterparty concoction). Singular and comical rather than hateable, the place is a stubborn, copper-bottomed weirdo that nevertheless provokes bemused fascination." - George Reynolds
"Housed in a lived-in, personal, laid-back space that generates a beer-loosened party atmosphere, this celebrity-backed bar-restaurant initially impresses on vibe alone, but the short, waywardly Mediterranean menu largely underwhelms. Baby artichokes arrive as pale, oil-steeped nubbins lacking briny freshness; mushroom risotto is a claggy, unappetising puddle made worse by a mealy hazelnut garnish; and gnarled lamb meatballs are only marginally better, offering a slightly repeaty, home-cooked comfort rather than refinement. While the owner’s fame will draw crowds, the place needs a few consistently decent dishes to turn first-timers into regulars." - George Reynolds
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