Video Courtesy of @bedaleswines: Since 2011 No. 5 Bedale Street Is The Address of Bedales Wines, Borough High Street, London Bridge. Also The Home of Sister (Pop-Up) Restaurant @Bob’s Lobsters Since 2013.
Thus Hence Our Aforementioned (Subsequent) Decision Not To Send Back Our Premature Plates Followed Shortly Afterwards.
It Was Self-Evident That The Barman’s Response Was Not The Professional Reaction of An Employee Endowed With The Exacting High Standards of ‘Excellent Service’ Training.
Later The Waiter’s Announcement That “The Kitchen’s Closed” Leading To A Dessert Disappointment Compounded That Impression.
That Was Such A Shame As Bedales Is What We’ll Politely Call Pricey And If There’s Anything That Will Make Customers Accept That A Place Is Pricey It’s ‘Excellent Service’ of The Highest Order.
Such Order Can Only Be Commanded By Those At The Top Who Establish It For Everyone Else By Dedicated Training And Setting An Example Beyond Speed And Turning Tables.
Coincidentally We Found There To Be Another Potential Health Hazard (This Time – Scalding, Not Choking) By The Piping Hot, Long-Handled, Metal Mini Saucepan That The French Onion Cheese Dip Comes In. Thankfully We Did Not Scald Ourselves, But Again, The Potential For Customers To Do So Is Obvious. It Should At Least Come With A Warning. Better Still Maybe There Should Be A Rethink On The Presentation Practice For This Particular Dish.…Delicious Though It Is, As It’s Very High Risk.
By Sheer Coincidence @Bedales Posted This Wonderful Video (Below) Just A Month Before Our Visit (Which We Only Viewed On Their Instagram Platform Afterwards). It’s A Wonderful Demonstration And A Wonderful Dish. We Absolutely Loved It. But We’re Not Sure We’d Serve It As They Did If We Were To Make It For Ourselves or Anybody Else.
What About Clear Pyrex Which Is So Versatile And Great For Cooking, Storage And Presentation? And Who Doesn’t Love A Le Creuset? Both Brands Look Great, Any Dish Can Be Cooked On The Stove In A Pot And The Transferred Into A Le Creset or Pyrex For Presentation. In Some Cases They Can Be The Cooking Vessel And Also Brought To The Table. They Often Have Lids And Somehow Seem Much More Safe. Just Our Opinion As A Punters. The Legal Department Reminds Us of The Mcdonalds Scalding Coffee Case (And The Fact That Potential Scalding Hazards Are Best Avoided At All Costs Where Possible.)
Style And Safety Need Not Be Strangers To Each Other.
The French Onion Dip Was Lovely To Eat. But It Was Also A Scalding Risk. Plus Ours Came With A Few Extra Curious Bits (On Photographed Napkin Opposite).
The Twinkly Lights Add Extra Sparkle To The Atmosphere. Although Somewhat Unsightly, The Bins Do Have To Go Somewhere (Part of The View From The Best Seat In The House – Highlighted Opposite).
Special Sincere Thanks To Manager Evalina (Who Proudly Originates From Lithuania) For Hosting Us And Allocating Us Such A Great Table (From Whence The Wine Bar’s Podcast Was Made No Less And From Where We Had A Birds Eye View Into The Evening From Late Afternoon). It’s A Great Way To Spend A Summer’s Day. Indeed Any Day Any Time of The Year!
@pyrexukofficial (Slow Cook Range)
@lecrusetuk (Professional & Private Chefs)
“I’ve Never Actually Seen A Rose This Colour. It’s Almost Slightly Orangey.”
Prior To That It Was Also The Greek Restaurant (Kalispera) Featured In The 2001 Bridget Jones Diary Fight Scene Between Colin Firth And Hugh Grant, With Renee Zellweger As Their Love Interest
Back At Bedales You Can Also Venture Upstairs At The London Bridge Site Where There’s Another Terrace Area.
This Is Where We Were And It Was Captivating Watching All The Different Kinds of People Walking Through The Borough Market Thoroughfare After The Market Had Closed.
Friends, Couples, Business Associates, Workmates, Workmen, Locals, Tourists, Pilgrims And Members The Cloth All Passed Through..
The Stairs Are A Schlep But It’s Worth It. The Trains Loudly And Suddenly Bounding Down The The Railway Tracks Can Startle But It’s All Part of The Vibrant Atmosphere.
This Is Dickens Territory And One Sight That Was Quite Jaw-Droppingly Magical Was An Afro-Caribbean Man Swaggering Through The Thoroughfare With A Big Pitbull Looking Dog Following Behind Him. One Couldn’t Help But Think of Bill Sykes And Bullseye From Oliver Twist. It Was A Gloriously Spellbinding, Contemporary Yet Dickensian Gem of People Watching.
There’s Another Branch On The Otherside of London Bridge At Leadenhall Market, Deeper Into The City. It Seems There Might Be Something of A Theme There. Where Next? East Street Market? Shoreditch? Petticoat Lane? Hoxton? Right Now It’s Leadenhall And London Bridge And Pop Ups. Maybe The Owners Are Reviewing The Situation. Meantime Consider Checking Them Out!
There’s A Borough Market Podcast Which Includes At Chat With Bedales Boss Rob Dann And His Fellow Restaurateur Neighbour Next Door, David Carter At Oma, (Who Has The Most Delicious Accent With A Caribbean Lilt @david.carter.uk @oma.london). You Can Listen On Spotify (By Searching The Platform For The ‘Borough Talks’ Podcast – And – The Life of A Restaurateur Episode – August 6th 2024 -s2). Or Go To @BoroughMarket or @bedaleswine. Here’s A Couple of Short Audio Clips From The Episode.
Restauranteurs Dann And David Talk To Food Writer Guilia Crouch @guiliacrouch About The Start of Their Careers & Becoming Business Neighbours
“It’s Quite Different From The Provence, Southern France Style Roses.”
“It’s Actually A Southern Italian Rose.”
“Ooh!”
Thank You Chef!
Thank You Bedales Wine List! What Great Descriptions. We Tried This Spanish Grenache (Gre2) Because Although It’s Summertime We Fancied A Red Wine And This One Was Described As “Light, Lively And Youthful”…”With Great Food Matching Versatility.” It Was Indeed A Perfect Red For Summertime And Chilling Out With A Few Small Plates Full of Robust Flavour And Taste.
We’re Thrilled To Have Discovered A New Spanish Red Wine For Summertime.
Intriguingly There Was No Rioja No Where. (It’s A Long-Standing Spanish Favourite of Ours During The Cooler Months.)
Instead Spanish Tempranillo Features In Both The ‘Charming, Smooth And Warming’ Section And The ‘Intense, Structured And Long Lived’ Section, Thereby Taking Care of The Rest of The Year For Spanish Wine Lovers!
Thank You Bedales! (That Brown Butter Is Devilishly More-Ish And We Honestly Absolutely Loved It. We Will Definitely Be Back Soon With A Booking And New Patrons Next Time)!
Thank You Bedales’ Dessert Chef. Baked Cheesecake With A Red Berry Coulis. That Coulis Was Lovely.
Suffice To Say Domestic Goddess, Wordsmith & TV Chef @nigellalawson Once Presented A No-Bake-Fridge-Set-Cheesecake (Which We Duly Made Sometime Afterwards As She Made It Look And Sound So Miraculous). Our Tastebuds Were Forever Changed And We Now Know How To Make A Bake Free Crunchy Yet Creamy, Dreamy, Fruity Cheesecake.
So Thank You Too Nigella!
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