A hidden speakeasy. Reservations required, far in advance. Amazing cocktails, including ones that come with mini kettle corn containers attached to them. Bar snacks by a Michelin starred kitchen. Um, yes?
The moment I heard about The Blind Pig, the upstairs cocktail bar that shares a kitchen with the Michelin starred Social Eating House, I knew I wanted to visit. I quickly worked it into my plans for my few days in London. It also seemed like a great place to bring a small group of coworkers, as the cocktail program is a highlight and bar snacks seemed like crowd pleasers.
So, weeks in advance of my visit, I made a speculative booking for Friday night for six of us, and knew I could fill the seats. I easily did, and we found our way there on a rainy, dreary, London evening.
Overall, it was a success. The cocktails tasted as good, or better, than they sounded or looked. Service was fast. The food was excellent. But ... the place is not designed for groups, so, we did have a bit of an awkward evening with the seating. Still, I'd gladly return.
The Blind Pig, is, sorta a hidden speakeasy. I say sorta because it isn't *that* secret. There is no signage for the actual establishment, and it is reservation only, but, as I said, it is well known. It is located above the Social Eating House, which does have a real sign.
And then ... something far less sharable, but, I adore hot dogs, and I needed to try this chorizo dog. Of course, I doubled up on these as well.
Our server brought the two chorizo dogs, and started to walk away. "Uh ... could we have a knife?", I suggested. I'm really not sure what he thought we were going to do with two chorizo dogs, no cutlery, and no plates. He had told us everything was for sharing and would come as it was ready, and we had indicated we were sharing everything. Each chorizo dog was a full size hotdog, a bit strange to have as something considered a "Bite" on the menu.
He returned with a knife and fork, and we used them to cut each dog into thirds, somehow managing not to totally mangle it, and I'm not really sure how.
On the side were two little squirt bottles, that looked like ketchup and mustard, but we were quickly told that the orange one was paprika aioli, not mustard. The wooden plank was a cute serving vessel.
As we awaited our silverware, everyone admired the chorizo dogs. One person made a comment about a pickle spear on it, but I assured him there was no pickle spear. Others agreed that there was something just under the cabbage layer that looked like a pickle. I quickly identified it as the mozzarella, an element they all forgot was part of the dog, but of course I had written down.
So, what did we have here?
A thing of beauty, really. A soft fluffy, slightly sweet, brioche bun. A chorizo dog, topped with a layer of ridiculously flavorful, delicious, onion jam. A thick layer of melted Monterey jack cheese. Tons of flavorful, crispy, slightly fermented, cabbage on top.
This was actually really delicious. I loved the soft fluffy bun, I loved the flavorful onion jam, the gooey cheese, and the fresh cabbage topping. The only thing I didn't love? The chorizo dog itself. It was a thin thing, and I didn't like the texture, which seemed kinda gristly to me. Others liked it though, so, maybe I just got a bad chunk?
Even so, this was my favorite dish, along with two others, so, the overall top dish. I would have gladly had more than my third, or another chunk, but we opted not to order another, just because it was too annoying to split.
I don't eat chicken, but, the others were all eyeing the fried chicken, so, we put in an order for it. It came with 4 chunks, for our group of 6. It was no problem since I didn't want a chunk, but, the other 5 did. I really felt our server could have a done a better job guiding us here.
The moment I heard about The Blind Pig, the upstairs cocktail bar that shares a kitchen with the Michelin starred Social Eating House, I knew I wanted to visit. I quickly worked it into my plans for my few days in London. It also seemed like a great place to bring a small group of coworkers, as the cocktail program is a highlight and bar snacks seemed like crowd pleasers.
So, weeks in advance of my visit, I made a speculative booking for Friday night for six of us, and knew I could fill the seats. I easily did, and we found our way there on a rainy, dreary, London evening.
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| Crazy Cocktails, Amazing Bites. |
Setting
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| "Opticians" Sign. |
I knew what to expect though, so the random "opticians" sign, plus the pig knocker on the door, didn't take me by surprise. Of *course* this is where we were going. After 6pm, there is also a doorman, with a strict guest list, blocking the entrance.
To reach The Blind Pig, you go up a stairwell, with a quote from Alfred Lord Tennyson glowing in red. I'm not sure the connection.
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| Quote from The Eagle, Alfred Lord Tennyson. |
The restaurant is on the ground floor, the bathrooms, wine cellar, and I think the kitchen, below.
Given that the cocktail program is the big focus of The Blind Pig, the bar is a constant flurry of activity, with multiple suspender-clad bartenders in constant action.
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| Bar. |
There are a handful of seats at the bar, but these too are by reservation. You don't just walk in here.
The place is small, and it is cramped. Most seats are tables for two, with small wooden tables, appropriate for having a cocktail and a little food. We were a group of 6 however, and, uh, we had a smaller table, really, just a tiny cocktail table, barely large enough to hold 6 drinks, let alone any food. I clearly hadn't done my research well enough, as I thought that we too would have a table, but, there really were not any bigger spaces. Just tables for two, and a handful of coves like we had.
The interior of the restaurant featured wood everywhere - wood floors, wood tables, wood chairs, even wood walls and ceiling panels. Dark tones, and dimly light with candles on the tables, and fancy lights with exposed bulbs that had visual filament. It somehow didn't feel that trendy though, as it had some kind of elegance to it as well.
How I failed to get a photo of our table is beyond me, but, we basically had a curved leather bench for four of us, a itty bitty little table in the middle, and two more wooden chairs. It was certainly an awkward setup, on a number of levels. For one, the table was lower than us, so, all eating required bending over strangely to reach. Second, well, as I said, it wasn't big enough for our drinks, and certainly not for food. Our server did bring a second, even tinier table that he perched near the two in chairs that helped at least move their drinks off the main table, and we strategically ordered food slowly so that we'd only have one item at any given time (all was share plates), but it also meant that we had absolutely no room for any share plates, turning the entire meal into finger food ... when it wasn't necessarily designed to be that. More on this soon.
So, yes, awkward and not ideal for a group. I'd recommend a visit with only one other person, but, we made it work.
The room was also very loud. Our group was close together, given our teeny tiny table, but it was still hard to hear each other.
The service was great though. As busy as the place was, and as complicated as the food and drinks were, everything came out at a reasonable pace. I really expected that we'd order cocktails and wait 20-30 minutes, and even ordered my second one before I was done the first, as I expected a lot of lag. They really have service down here, and we were never left wanting for anything, well, besides a bigger table.
So the downsides were all due to the setup. The cocktails, food, and service totally made up for it though, and I had a great time. I'd love to return, just, uh, with a smaller group.
Yup, I'm including bathroom photos, which you know means I have something to say about the bathrooms. First, look at the sink area. Maybe this is just old London style, but the tiles and woodwork were really quite striking to me.
But even more striking? The stalls.
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| Interior. |
The interior of the restaurant featured wood everywhere - wood floors, wood tables, wood chairs, even wood walls and ceiling panels. Dark tones, and dimly light with candles on the tables, and fancy lights with exposed bulbs that had visual filament. It somehow didn't feel that trendy though, as it had some kind of elegance to it as well.
How I failed to get a photo of our table is beyond me, but, we basically had a curved leather bench for four of us, a itty bitty little table in the middle, and two more wooden chairs. It was certainly an awkward setup, on a number of levels. For one, the table was lower than us, so, all eating required bending over strangely to reach. Second, well, as I said, it wasn't big enough for our drinks, and certainly not for food. Our server did bring a second, even tinier table that he perched near the two in chairs that helped at least move their drinks off the main table, and we strategically ordered food slowly so that we'd only have one item at any given time (all was share plates), but it also meant that we had absolutely no room for any share plates, turning the entire meal into finger food ... when it wasn't necessarily designed to be that. More on this soon.
So, yes, awkward and not ideal for a group. I'd recommend a visit with only one other person, but, we made it work.
The room was also very loud. Our group was close together, given our teeny tiny table, but it was still hard to hear each other.
The service was great though. As busy as the place was, and as complicated as the food and drinks were, everything came out at a reasonable pace. I really expected that we'd order cocktails and wait 20-30 minutes, and even ordered my second one before I was done the first, as I expected a lot of lag. They really have service down here, and we were never left wanting for anything, well, besides a bigger table.
So the downsides were all due to the setup. The cocktails, food, and service totally made up for it though, and I had a great time. I'd love to return, just, uh, with a smaller group.
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| Bathroom Sinks. |
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| Stalls. |
Each located behind a wooden paneled door, with more tile work, and a wooden toilet seat (!).
"Popcorn infused Buffalo Trace bourbon, Bespoke-a-cola reduction, “3D” bitters, lemon oils, snacks."
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| Pull Chain Flush. |
It took me a moment to figure out how to flush. The tank, as you saw, is elevated about the toilet. Hanging from it is a wooden handle on a chain. I thought that must just be for looks, and assumed the little toggle on the wall was the actual flush. Nope. Pull chain it is.
Cocktails
The Blind Pig is, at its core, a cocktail bar, so that is where we began our evening.
We only had a table for <2 hours (we arrived a tiny bit late), we were all able to order several cocktails, and everyone was impressed with their drinks. The cocktail menu was unique and quirky, but, the drinks tasted good, even if they looked a bit ridiculous, and that is what mattered.
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| Cocktail Menu. |
The cocktail menu is quite impressive. I wanted nearly every drink. Every single one had interesting elements, ranging from avocado puree, broccoli tincture, and tortilla chips in the Wholly Guacamole to Skittles washed Ketel One vodka in the Kindergarden Cup.
They even had a section for "Designated Drivers",and they weren't just fruit juices.
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| Silver Screen. 10€. |
The Silver Screen was the drink I had my sights set on before I visited. I saw photos in advance, and I knew that it came with a little container of kettle corn (!) attached to it. Plus, um, how awesome does popcorn infused bourbon sound? I'm obsessed with popcorn ...
But once at The Blind Pig, I read the full description more closely, and saw that it had "bespoke-a-cola", which I assumed was caffeinated, and thus, not for me. In fact, far too many of the awesome sounding drinks had caffeine in them.
Anyway, one of my dining companions ordered the Silver Screen, and I was able to steal a little of the kettle corn. It was pretty standard kettle corn, but still ridiculously fun to include clipped onto the drink, in its own mini popcorn bowl, attached via a tiny clothespin.
One diner said the kettle corn was his favorite dish of the night, but I think he was slightly exaggerating.
"Buffalo Trace Bourbon, grapefruit, lime, raspberry."
For my first cocktail, I went with the Porch Side, a bourbon drink with grapefruit, lime, and raspberry, garnished with a big slice of fresh ruby red grapefruit. I selected this mostly because I was quite curious how the bourbon would go with all the fruity elements.
I was pretty surprised by the result. Somehow, I was able to taste grapefruit, lime, and raspberry, all distinctly. It was a fairly balanced drink, not too fruity, not too boozy, and I thought it was good, until I had my next drink ...
"Olmeca Altos blanco tequila, Aperol, grapefruit, lime juice, elderflower, Tabasco salt solution."
For my next cocktail, I went tequila based, for a drink that sounded a bit odd, and I'm really not sure why I picked it, besides that I was sorta feeling in a tequila mood (hmm, that happens?)
I loved this cocktail, one of the best cocktails I've ever had. There was a ton of flavor, with each element perfectly complimenting the others. The "tabasco salt solution" gave it a slight kick, but just in a way that enhanced everything else. It was just this hint of spice that gave it quite a complex undertone. The grapefruit and lime made it quite sour, in a way that made my mouth pucker, but, then there was some sweetness to balance that too. And of course, the tequila, plenty boozy enough to taste the tequila, but just enough to appreciate it, not regret a long night of drinking.
It came garnished with another slice of grapefruit, plus a large chunk of lime and a little flower.
I really, really liked this cocktail, and would get another in an instant.
"Bulleit Rye, Fernet Branca, lemon, maple ale reduction, ginger ale charge, Benjamin Franklin."
I didn't try this one, it belonged to a dining companion, but, seriously, little tiny $100 bills were attached, using the same mini clothespins. The drinks may look like they were kinda silly in the garnishes, but, they delivered in taste, so I don't care.
"Seedlip Garden 108, elderflower cordial, ginger syrup, fresh dill, cucumber, smoked salt, lemon juice."
Amusingly, the food menu is a fraction of the length of the drink menu. Again, cocktail focus, but, that does not mean the food was an afterthought.
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| Porch Side. 9.5€. |
For my first cocktail, I went with the Porch Side, a bourbon drink with grapefruit, lime, and raspberry, garnished with a big slice of fresh ruby red grapefruit. I selected this mostly because I was quite curious how the bourbon would go with all the fruity elements.
I was pretty surprised by the result. Somehow, I was able to taste grapefruit, lime, and raspberry, all distinctly. It was a fairly balanced drink, not too fruity, not too boozy, and I thought it was good, until I had my next drink ...
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| Are you a Mexican or a Mexican’t? 9.5€. |
For my next cocktail, I went tequila based, for a drink that sounded a bit odd, and I'm really not sure why I picked it, besides that I was sorta feeling in a tequila mood (hmm, that happens?)
I loved this cocktail, one of the best cocktails I've ever had. There was a ton of flavor, with each element perfectly complimenting the others. The "tabasco salt solution" gave it a slight kick, but just in a way that enhanced everything else. It was just this hint of spice that gave it quite a complex undertone. The grapefruit and lime made it quite sour, in a way that made my mouth pucker, but, then there was some sweetness to balance that too. And of course, the tequila, plenty boozy enough to taste the tequila, but just enough to appreciate it, not regret a long night of drinking.
It came garnished with another slice of grapefruit, plus a large chunk of lime and a little flower.
I really, really liked this cocktail, and would get another in an instant.
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| Buck Stops Here. 9.5€. |
I didn't try this one, it belonged to a dining companion, but, seriously, little tiny $100 bills were attached, using the same mini clothespins. The drinks may look like they were kinda silly in the garnishes, but, they delivered in taste, so I don't care.
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| Designated Driver: Due Dill-Igence. 9€ |
Our non-drinking diner tried several Designating Driver drinks, and I didn't manage to take photos of the others, nor even try them. To be honest, I was too busy with my amazing cocktails, or, with the elaborate garnishes on others. This one was cute though, again with a mini clip, this time holding on a sprig of fresh dill.
Food
The Blind Pig shares a kitchen with the Michelin starred Social Eating house. I had high hopes for their elevated takes on bar snacks, even if the menu still read as fairly standard offerings.
The cuisine lived up to my hopes.
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| Food Menu. |
The menu is arranged as "Bites", nicely shareable bar snacks, "Jars", dips and spreads that come in jars, "Steaks", uh, steaks, and "Sundaes", some token desserts. Steaks seemed totally out of place on the menu, and, since we had no space for food in the first place, we certainly couldn't order a steak, so, we skipped that section of the menu entirely. We also skipped the desserts, even though I'm a dessert lover, the Pimm's Sundae with orange sorbet didn't really inspire me, and the only other option was a very chocolately B52 Sundae with a chocolate brownie and espresso syrup, both of which I didn't want at night (although, the Bailey's ice cream certainly sounded great!)
So, we stuck with the Bites, and, one selection from the Jars.
The first thing I ordered for the group was simple: duck fat chips. Nearly every review of the food at The Blind Pig mentioned these, so, it seemed like we needed to get them. Plus, um, perfect bar snack.
The chips arrived piping hot. Like, burn your fingers as you picked them up hot. They were super thick, large format chips, with a perfectly crispy exterior, and a very fluffy interior. They were a touch oily, but only in a I-just-came-out-of-a-fryer way, not in a greasy way.
The curry aioli was, well, curry aioli. I am not a fan of curry, so, I was a bit sad no other dipping sauce came with them.
Overall though, nicely executed, and a fairly classic British offering of nicely prepared chips with a Indian curry influence.
You can see a sense of scale here though with our tiny table. Yes, these were large chips, but, the chips, the curry, and the little candle that were on the table took up the entire table. There were 6 cocktails on their way (the chips actually arrived before our drinks), and more food soon to follow. We did away with the candle, and the one plate/knife/fork we were provided, and covered our laps with napkins. Most of us managed not to spill *too* much, but, uh, Ojan's shirt did not escape unharmed.
Soon after the chips, our drinks arrived, and our table was overflowing. And then the fish & chips arrived, which I had wisely doubled up on. As soon as the first one of these hit the table, we realized how awkward the food situation was going to get. I demanded that someone finish the chips, to at least clear that dish off the table.
Bites
The majority of the food menu is "Bites", which includes small little bar snacks, like olives, prawn crackers, and fried padron peppers, plus some fun things like a chorizo dog, fish & chips, and fried chicken.
We started with a few Bites, some of which I doubled up on in our initial order since I knew the dishes were small. Some were so good that we immediately ordered more. All the dishes came quickly, so it was easy to keep ordering more as we figured out how much more we wanted.
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| Duck fat chips, curry aioli. 5.50€. |
The chips arrived piping hot. Like, burn your fingers as you picked them up hot. They were super thick, large format chips, with a perfectly crispy exterior, and a very fluffy interior. They were a touch oily, but only in a I-just-came-out-of-a-fryer way, not in a greasy way.
The curry aioli was, well, curry aioli. I am not a fan of curry, so, I was a bit sad no other dipping sauce came with them.
Overall though, nicely executed, and a fairly classic British offering of nicely prepared chips with a Indian curry influence.
You can see a sense of scale here though with our tiny table. Yes, these were large chips, but, the chips, the curry, and the little candle that were on the table took up the entire table. There were 6 cocktails on their way (the chips actually arrived before our drinks), and more food soon to follow. We did away with the candle, and the one plate/knife/fork we were provided, and covered our laps with napkins. Most of us managed not to spill *too* much, but, uh, Ojan's shirt did not escape unharmed.
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| Beer battered fish & chips, vinegar powder, Tartare sauce. 9€. |
The fish and chips came with large chunks of fish, battered and fried, plus more of the same chips. Had I realized that the exact same chips would come with the fish & chips, I would have skipped the initial order of chips, and wish the server had warned us. This dish came with a bowl of ketchup and a bowl of tartare sauce though, no curry aioli, so, maybe he thought we really wanted that curry aioli? It also came with lemon to squeeze over the fish.
Anyway, the fish and chips was fascinating. The coating was unlike anything I've had before. It was sorta like tempura, yet lighter, more airy, if that makes any sense. Yet it was crazy crispy. I really can't explain it. The fish inside was moist and mild.
The tartare sauce was nicely done, thick, loaded with little bits of pickle and I think capers.
Everyone was very impressed with this dish. One diner couldn't get over exclaiming just how notable the fry job was. How fresh it was. He loved it, and quickly had us order another round. This was a very easily sharable dish, since we could all take our own fish chunks and chips, and reasonably priced at 9€.
This was the favorite dish of 2 diners, and the popcorn lover's second (um, behind the popcorn).
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| Chorizo dog, Monterey jack, onion jam, fermented cabbage. 8€. |
Our server brought the two chorizo dogs, and started to walk away. "Uh ... could we have a knife?", I suggested. I'm really not sure what he thought we were going to do with two chorizo dogs, no cutlery, and no plates. He had told us everything was for sharing and would come as it was ready, and we had indicated we were sharing everything. Each chorizo dog was a full size hotdog, a bit strange to have as something considered a "Bite" on the menu.
He returned with a knife and fork, and we used them to cut each dog into thirds, somehow managing not to totally mangle it, and I'm not really sure how.
On the side were two little squirt bottles, that looked like ketchup and mustard, but we were quickly told that the orange one was paprika aioli, not mustard. The wooden plank was a cute serving vessel.
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| Chorizo Dog: Side View. |
So, what did we have here?
A thing of beauty, really. A soft fluffy, slightly sweet, brioche bun. A chorizo dog, topped with a layer of ridiculously flavorful, delicious, onion jam. A thick layer of melted Monterey jack cheese. Tons of flavorful, crispy, slightly fermented, cabbage on top.
This was actually really delicious. I loved the soft fluffy bun, I loved the flavorful onion jam, the gooey cheese, and the fresh cabbage topping. The only thing I didn't love? The chorizo dog itself. It was a thin thing, and I didn't like the texture, which seemed kinda gristly to me. Others liked it though, so, maybe I just got a bad chunk?
Even so, this was my favorite dish, along with two others, so, the overall top dish. I would have gladly had more than my third, or another chunk, but we opted not to order another, just because it was too annoying to split.
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| Fried chicken, ponzu, mirin, soy. 7€. |
Anyway, I didn't try the chicken, but the others liked it, said it was crispy and moist. They ordered another round. It was the second pick for one diner.
I still didn't try the chicken, but, I did try the jalapeños (yum!), and the dipping sauce. You can't see it, but, the entire bowl that the fried chicken skewer is setting on is filled with a ponzu/mirin/soy sauce. The sauce was very flavorful as you'd expect given those ingredients, and a bit salty.
The mac normally comes with shaved mushrooms on top, but there is an option to add on truffle. Our truffle-hater inquired if it was real truffle, not truffle oil, as you know he loathes truffle oil. We were told that it was real truffle, shaved on top. So, we added it, because, why not, right?
Jars
The "Jars" section of the menu contains 5 different jars. Most are spreads or dips, like duck rillette (spelt "rillet" on the menu), salmon rillette (this one spelt "rilette"), and hummus. Those are all served, in jars, in the main restaurant too, as starterts.
But there was also ... mac & cheese. In a jar? Obviously, not a very sharable item, but, I had heard great things about the mac and cheese. A version of this, not in a jar, is served in the main restaurant as an actual entree (yup, Michelin star mac and cheese), so, even though a bit strange to order for a group, we did it anyway. Granted, if we had any share plates or any space, it really would not have been a problem. But of course, our server just brought us the jar, with one set of silverware, and started to walk away. I at least asked for more silverware, not that I had any idea what we'd really do with it.
Then I remembered that we had been brought a jug of water and little cups. We didn't use them, since we didn't have space on the table, but I figured they would work to serve some mac into. Except, lols, we were only given 3 cups for our group of 6. Still, 3 cups, and the one big jar, got us closer to 6.
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| Mac & cheese, shaved mushroom 9€ + truffle (7€). |
Our mac came with a decent portion of shaved truffle on top. It was very fragrant. While we sat waiting for silverware, we enjoyed the earthy aromas.
Under the truffles was a layer of other mushrooms. The menu said "shaved mushrooms" but these were not shaved mushrooms. The menu for the main restaurant lists girolles too, aka, chanterelles, and I'm pretty sure that is what these were. They seemed ... dried? Fried? I'm not sure, but they were super crispy, and added a crunch on top, as you'd expect to come from a bread crumb topping. Several members of my group actually thought there was bread crumbs in here, but I'm pretty sure the texture all came from the mushrooms on top. The chanterelles were also crazy salty. I liked the salt level, but, I can easily see it being a big much for some. Chef's palette required.
The mac was very large elbows, nicely cooked, in a fairly creamy sauce. It wasn't super cheesy, but I think that is just me being used to fake cheese powder and its intense flavor. It also wasn't stringy. The sauce tasted more like actual cheese and cream, plus, uh, truffle oil. I'm pretty sure there was truffle oil in here too. Doh.
Overall, I thought this was fairly tasty, a very grown up version of mac and cheese, which really should be called something more like "elbow macaroni with truffle oil infused Monterey Jack cream sauce, topped with crispy chanterelles" ... or something. It wasn't really mac and cheese, but that isn't a bad thing. Still, no one's top pick of the night.
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