Bistro du Vin Soho is the newest restaurant from the Hotel du Vin group – so new it only opened Thursday! We attended the launch with the most food we’d ever seen on an opening night – with this in mind we had high expectations of the food and luckily we weren’t disappointed!
Inside the bistro is “The Salon” a relaxed informal area for drinks and nibbles at the back, the Cave au Fromage, a room filled with cheese, a small wine cellar for wine tastings and the main dining area.
The menu differs slightly from the Clerkenwell branch as do the cocktails. We tried a couple of the BdV Champagne Cocktails – Calvados, rhubarb bitters soaked sugar cube and champagne – followed by starters of Cornish Crab with sour dough and Mussel rarebit. The freshly baked complimentary bread is also worth mentioning especially the fruit variety. The generous portion of crab served in a light mayonaise was fresh and light whilst the mussels left us wanting more.
Sticking with the fishy theme, our mains of choice were the Sole bonne femme and Sea bass, fennel & chilli salad in a soy and lime dressing. The Sea bass was the clear winner, served on a generous bed of fennel & chilli salad the dressing was tangy and salty without over powering the fish. When we go back we’ll order this dish again and probably again. The Sole was a good piece of fish although the sauce was a little too rich for our liking.
But the desserts really kicked ass – we finished with a ricotta, lemon and pine nut cheesecake and a cheese board. We couldn’t decide which one was better; the addition of pine nuts in the huge slab of cheesecake was a nice touch whilst the cheese board was the best we’ve eaten with the largest selection of cheeses we’ve seen.
All in all one of the best meals we’ve eaten this year if not during our time in London. Let’s just hope they keep it up!
Bistro du Vin. 36 Dean Street, London W1D 4PS
www.bistroduvinandbar.com