So for the first date night of 2017, (we’re planning on making ‘date night’ a more regular thing around here… Please hold us to that! See other date night recommendations here and here) we hit up Bob Bob Ricard with a couple of close friends. I had heard great things about the place but didn’t want to go in with too high an expectation, as that always tends to be the kiss of death. The slightly odd name apparently came about because one of the owners, Leonid Shutov (nicknamed Bob) put in two thirds of the money needed to purchase and open the restaurant, as opposed to his business partner, Richard Howarth.

Bob Bob Ricard was born.

An iconic Soho based restaurant serving up British / Russian inspired eats in opulent art-deco surroundings. It has a glamorous yet eccentric vibe and you can expect fun little touches such as the ‘press for champagne’ buttons at every table. FYI – the buttons work for other drinks, too.

We were all actually really impressed with the food, ok so it’s not michelin starred but with beef wellington and full Sunday roasts on the menu, I don’t think it needs to be. It’s ticking all the boxes for great quality, supremely tasty and well presented, posh ‘comfort food’. The perfect place to book for a leisurely Sunday afternoon meal with friends and family, or on a Friday after a busy work week, you can dress up to the nines and not feel out of place at all but on the flip side, it’s not a prerequisite.

To start the meal off, I can personally recommend the Steak Tartar – perfectly flavoured, fresh and light. For the main course the Crispy Pork Belly is absolutely delicious! Add in some greens and the truffled mash and you’re good to go. We may have also indulged in dessert, I am nothing if not predictable here and I went for, shock horror, the chocolate fondant.

PRICE

Dinner for two plus drinks (we had a glass of champagne each and a couple of glasses of wine – not a bottle this time which is unlike us) will set you back around £200 which isn’t bad at all for a ‘posh’ meal by London standards and thanks to the delicious food and the great overall vibe it felt like a reasonable price to pay. Disclaimer – When I say ‘reasonable’, obviously we don’t eat out like this every week but as I’ve mentioned before, we’re both foodies and we make sacrifices in other aspects of life so that we can occasionally treat ourselves to great meals out. If you want to book a table you should call them well in advance however you might get lucky on the day due to cancellations, although I wouldn’t bank on it.

Would definitely recommend this place and whilst we still have so many restaurants to try out in London, we would go back to Bob Bob Ricard if the opportunity allowed it.