The Boisdale, Canary Wharf

Ambiance:	(4.5 / 5)
Service:	(4.5 / 5)
Value for money:	(4 / 5)
"Toilets:	(2.5 / 5)

Note: This is NOT a Pizza review! But still worth a read, and a visit!

I know you might find this hard to believe, given my track record of spontaneous dining and getting lost, but the Boisdale was planned, by me, and at least a week in advance. It’s also one of those places which I had massive excitement about going to. Not only did it promise steak tartare and a lot of shellfish, but the main excitement was for the live Elvis tribute act, complete with a twenty piece suite. You can almost guarantee something is going to be good if you have to pay for your table before you go. At £20pp, we were promised a ‘good view’, which in hindsight, I would have paid double for if it meant I’d have enjoyed exactly the same evening.

My only criticism of this particular Boisdale was the location. Added to that, it was tucked away, in a shopping mall which didn’t exactly exude elegance. However, after getting the lift up and walking down the hallway to the restaurant, all negative thoughts were lost. We were greeted and asked for our coats, and were able to choose which of the two tables we’d like to sit at. I strongly believe that where you sit is a hugely important factor in the overall restaurant experience, so this was a big bonus point to me. We settled for a table in the middle, of which we edged more and more forward throughout the course of the evening 😉 I still wonder if any of the staff noticed…

Ordering was my biggest issue. The menu, both food and wine were spectacular. As Andrew doesn’t have much of an opinion on wine, he asked me to pick, to which I was a little over-whelmed so we played our usual game of seeing how many free samples we could get without feeling too cheeky. We managed three, and one of those included a £95 bottle of wine. Pretty good going if I do say so myself. We settled on….. I cant remember?! I need the book… HELP xxx

For food, I chose steak tartare and 2 langoustines (because I fancied it?!) and then a whole cock crab for main. Andrew, being a creature of habit tends to order the same thing whenever we go out so chose the Scallops and then whole lobster for main. We also ordered a side portion of creamy wilted spinach with black truffle. The wine came, as did the complimentary bread, of which I had three servings and made Andrew take his in case I wanted to go back for more. In all honesty, the bread wasn’t great but I must have been hungry as I didn’t seem to care! And the steak tartare more than made up for it. It was served at the table and tasted like perfection. So perfect that even Andrew, despite like many people, finding the idea of raw beef a little difficult to accept, liked it so much that I ended up giving him half. Or maybe forcing him to eat half, the wine clouds my memory… An added bonus was the six langoustines that appeared in front of me – I think the waitress was so confused by my order of ‘two’ that she sent for a whole portion. Turns out my confusion won me a free plate of langoustines, so a win win all round as Andrew ended up with half of those, too. And yes, I’m a feeder! As I’m not as much of a scallop connoisseur as Andrew, I’ll quote his feedback on them… ‘’ FEEDBACK PLEASE. XX

First wine bottle down and Andrew said we should just order the same again. Being that creature of habit, it’s best to stick with what you know right? Well, I wish we had! I said we should make the most of the extensive wine list and try something new, and it just wasn’t on the same level as our first choosing so I regretted not listening to him pretty quickly. Crab and lobster were soon delivered, alongside the spinach which I still believe was the star of the show. You know that feeling you get when something is so good, you almost go warm all over? That happened with the spinach, it may have been the black truffle but the combination together, was just so so good and I could’ve demolished ten times that amount. But I was controlled, I was sharing after all! The crab was lovely – so lovely that I ate every single morsel on it. In hindsight, maybe bits I shouldn’t have… Andrew enjoyed his lobster too, but in all honesty, it doesn’t take much to make him happy in the food stakes.

We ended our meal with a sticky toffee pudding with almond ice cream, to share. And oh wow, possibly the best sticky toffee I’ve ever had. Andrew jokingly said we should order another but I think I may have visibly popped if I consumed another mouthful. I was also starting to feel increasingly merry, of which seemed to be the opportune moment for Elvis to call people up to dance. And, it was just so much fun! Dancing to Suspicious Mind, Jailhouse Rock and other big Elvis numbers was just the perfect end to a meal. Andrew laughed at my pretty atrocious dancing but not everyone has had lessons in ballroom, jazz and all that malarkey – so I gave him a killer glare.

In summary, it was possibly the best restaurant outing I’ve ever had. Everything from being greeted, seated to being presented with delicious food and wine was amazing. And, to top it all off with dancing and a sing-along was a pretty darn good experience. The only true negative of the evening was me throwing up, three times to be precise. So a truly romantic end to the evening – thanks crab.

Recommendation (4.5 / 5)

If you’re up for a dance, great food and fancy trawling through a brilliant wine list, go to the Boisdale on one of it’s music nights. The quality of the food and service makes for a near perfect evening. I say near perfect as if it was a 5 star, nothing could beat it… and my search for the best restaurant would be over, and nobody wants that.

Extra Information:

Address: Cabot Place, Canary Wharf, London E14 4QT

Phone: 020 7715 5818

Website: http://www.boisdale.co.uk/the-venue/view/restaurant

NTK: Ignore the uninspiring exterior, the inside more than makes up for it!