Tucked away in the Old Spitalfields Market, I heard Blixen was a quirky setting for dinner with its European Grand Café style interior and "outdoor style" interior in the extension, but was it any good? Time to find out...
Ideal for:
Adding a quirky touch to your meal
Dinner with mates or dates
Weekend brunches
Ambience & Décor
This converted bank may have a boring exterior, but the wood-panelled high ceilings, charming retro fittings, and quirky overhanging lights in the bar area gives the interior a chic and trendy vibe. The extension has a plethora of flora to recreate the outdoors, indoors. The décors are polar opposites, but strangely it works. The noise levels reflected a busy time.
Service
Our waiter had cheery demeanour, despite being overworked. He had some banter with the group and made sound recommendations.The service charge was justified.
Food
The Grape Nojito with Bacardi Carta Blanca rum, pomegranate syrup, black grapes, basil leaves and lemon caught my eye. The drink was refreshing but uncouth to look at.
The snacks on show were Hummus, harissa, cracker bread followed by Spiced crunchy corn and Truffle popcorn (left). For £1.50 - £4, the portions were generous. The corn was the best. Crunchy as advertised and full of flavour. The popcorn lacked truffle and the cracker bread was bone dry, harsh and unyielding even with the hummus and harissa combination (which was tasty).
The main of Slow-cooked lamb, rose harissa, butter beans & anchovy (right) looked visually unappealing due to the giant dollop of butter beans. The stew-like consistency drowns out the subtle flavours. I never tasted the saltiness or freshness of anchovy nor the sweetness from the rose Harissa. The lamb was cooked very well but this rustic dish needs modernising, very much like my cocktail earlier.
For dessert, I selected Saffron spiced poached pear & crème fraiche and honeycomb (left). Visually, the colour indicates how much saffron was used. The bizarre flora sprinkled on top as a decoration was unnecessary but the rest of the items paired well. The pear was well soaked and perfectly poached in rich saffron. The sweetness from the crunchy honeycomb and smoothness of the crème fraiche providing a good foil to the pear. Good flavour combinations and textures.
My dining companions had inconsistent meals with their courses too. The biggest con is the Blixen Sweets & Chocolates. For £5, the selection of items looked so cheap and plain.
I had high hopes for Blixen. Good looking menu and great décor, but the food badly lets this place down. The food and drink need urgent modernising. The problem for Blixen is that Old Spitalfields Market is a haven for good, modern and inventive restaurants, and Blixen’s analogue approach will not cut it in this digital playground. Blixen is awarded a C Rating.
Photos of Blixen and more can be found on Instagram here.
Final grade: C
Final comment: Great décor and friendly service, but the food needs urgent modernising.
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