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Part of the Gordon Ramsay stable, Bread Street Kitchen is set in the glitzy One New Change shopping centre (next to Jamie Oliver’s Barbecoa) and on the doorstep of St Paul’s Cathedral, so its customers are nicely diverse: City suits, tourists, shoppers, families. The space is vast – you can barely see from one end to the other – with floor-to-ceiling windows on one side, and a long open kitchen on the other.
The wow-factor design (courtesy of Russell Sage, responsible for many of London’s best-looking restaurants) takes industrial-cum-brasserie chic to a new level, using curved banquettes in gold and green to break up the space, and throwing in plenty of exposed ductwork, white tiles and metal grilles. The menu is pretty huge too, with influences from Britain, Italy, the States and beyond; there’s lots of fish, but also pork chops and ribeye (courtesy of the Josper grill) and the likes of oriental duck salad. It’s a fun place to eat, with friendly and focused staff, and mostly excellent cooking.
Roasted cod with capers, artichoke and a red wine sauce was hearty and rich, but a salad of couscous, cranberries, radish and mint was too much like an M&S takeaway pot. Sides include macaroni cheese and classy chips – fluffy interior, crunchy golden exterior. BSK also offers breakfast and weekend brunch and there’s a bar downstairs, at street level.