Cowboy Chic And Southern European Food Meet At London’s Buzziest New Wine Bar, Bar Blondie
These few things are widely loved: wine bars, southern Europe, Italian food, cowboy chic, Queen’s Park, sharing plates, live music. The more I go on, the more I describe one place in particular. A cool place, a cultural place, a place with good food, a place called Bar Blondie. Bar Blondie on Lonsdale Road (so cool) is the latest opening from the team behind Milk Beach, and is already both loved and yearned for. I went, I loved, I yearn.
Bar Blondie has all the ingredients to make one suspicious. Cowboy chic, sharing plates, natural wine, live music, Queen’s Park — it almost feels engineered in a lab to appeal to a very particular, very curated corner of London. The only irritating thing about it, though, is that it works.
Mallory, Junior Food & Drink Editor
What sets it apart
Upon walking in, you realise this is not just any building. No, these are stables. Within it, midwestern aesthetic and design concepts line the walls. Designer Macauley Sinclair has draped the venue in Spaghetti-Western paintings with cowhide stools and orange lighting illuminating the backgammon tables. Not only is this a saloon, but it looks as if it should smell of whiskey and smoke, gunpowder and lead, like an old man’s study.
The cinematic vibes are further amplified by a rotating cultural lineup of activities and programmes: live music. Poetry, chess nights, speaker events, and DJ sets.
Not only is this a saloon, but it looks as if it should smell of whiskey and smoke, gunpowder and lead, like an old man’s study.
What we ordered
A step inside this mid-century Western joint is made all the better by its southern French-meets-Italian menu of seasonal dishes and sharing plates – a mouthful you’ll absolutely want to get your chops around.
House focaccia saw mounds of olive tapenade left on a plate that once housed red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, while seabream crudo sat over a hill of cucumbers in a honeymoon melon sauce so vibrant it would make the sun look dim. A crostini laid the foundation for bluefin tuna and stracciatella, an ultimately confusing combination which Alexandra Price herself admitted was “quite an unusual combination”. I trusted her; thank God I trusted her. Gloriously crisp, buttery carbs with fresh, shiny fish and creamy dairy. It’s a valid reason to curse at the table, bursting into expletives at the excitement of that first bite. Four more, please.
Little did I know, though, that that little bite was not the kicker. There was more in the form of an artichoke; an artichoke with a simple pecorino dressing and a properly light hot honey drizzle (different to those who drench anything and everything in this more-than-trendy sauce). This was my reason to travel, proof that everything from the walls to the plating is carefully, meticulously crafted for the eye, but it does not take precedence over flavour; this is pure taste. It is the ultimate culinary representation of “chic,” of “cool”.
Proof that everything from the walls to the plating is carefully, meticulously crafted for the eye, but it does not take precedence over flavour; this is pure taste. It is the ultimate culinary representation of “chic,” of “cool”.
The plates au pistou, aka mum’s pesto pasta, proved talent in pasta making, more specifically in not making a fool out of a good thing – keeping it simple. And the monkfish tail with mussels and samphire pivoted my brain to remind myself that this food is, indeed, meant to be had on a rocky shore, distant sounds of Frenchmen. Meaty, fishy, seaweed garnishes pulled from the rocks just there on the horizon, mussels from the boat next door.
Washed down with a slice of olive oil and ricotta cake, a dollop of fig jam (obviously) and an Italian margarita which played on those almondy notes, I left Bar Blondie not happy, but giddy. Skipping down Lonsdale Road like a teenager as I reminisced on what felt like a coming-of-age story for my taste buds.
This food is, indeed, meant to be had on a rocky shore, distant sounds of Frenchmen.
Verdict
Bar Blondie has all the ingredients to make one suspicious. Cowboy chic, sharing plates, natural wine, live music, Queen’s Park – it almost feels engineered in a lab to appeal to a very particular, very curated corner of London. The only irritating thing about it, though, is that it works.
Underneath all that cool is a restaurant that can really cook. The interiors are highly designed without becoming the entire point, the cultural programme gives you a reason to stay long after dinner, and the food is confident enough not to hide behind either. Bar Blondie doesn’t just look like somewhere you want to be; it tastes like somewhere you want to come back to.
I went expecting to like this trendier-than-thou place. I left, as mentioned, practically skipping, almost floating. This is gospel.
Where: 19-21 Lonsdale Rd, London NW6 6RA
Website: www.barblondie.co.uk
