J and I walked past the entrance to Bedford & Strand – twice! We had both worked out that it had to be pretty well on the corner of Bedford Street and the Strand, yet we still missed it.
In our defence we were fraught. J’s train from the Northants had been badly delayed and I had found myself trying to get round police barricades set up to block of potential problems from protest marchers in the Whitehall area – and it was raining!
We like to try different places for lunch when we meet and we had heard good reports on Bedford & Strand. We were really glad we persevered.
The entrance to B&S is about 10 yards from the Strand in Bedford Street on the left hand side of the road as you head towards Covent Garden. Luckily I spotted a couple of young men vanishing down some stairs and followed them Alice in Wonderland-style into the welcoming embrace of this subterranean bar and restaurant. I promptly forgot Alice in Wonderland and began to think Dickensian as I got my bearings. Behind the bar Kate was dispensing drinks, taking orders and giving us a smile of welcome as she found us a table in a partly screened off section of the room amongst the city workers before she dashed off to produce menus and an excellent glass of white wine for me and a whisky for J. Bottles of wine start from £17.
The menu has a lovely homely look to it – with British comfort food listed amongst French and Italian cousins. I fancied the Wednesday Plat du Jour – Fish Pie but had to change my mind as it contained mussels (I’m v allergic to mussels) so instead settled for the £16.75 whole roasted plaice with capers and lemon chervil butter, whilst J. opted for the slow roasted pork belly with root veg and yummy lemon and raisin sauce (£15.50). My starter was a devilled pot of Torbay crab whilst J. chose sardines – starters from £5.50. The menu was interesting, the food was good, the service was lovely, the ambience was great, the wine and bar lists were good –and apart from the difficult to spot entrance – we loved it. The Bedford & Strand is well on the way to becoming our favourite meeting spot. A.M.B.
Bedford & Strand: 1A Bedford St, London, WC2E 9HH, Tel: 020-7836-3033. www.bedford-strand.com