Blueprint Café at the Design Museum is worth consideration for its lofty views of the Thames alone (ask for a seat by the windows when you book and then duke it out with your date over who gets the view of Tower Bridge and the City and who gets the view of Canary Wharf). However, Head Chef Martyn Moody’s not-so-fussy but still very fine food is the real draw. To celebrate London Fashion Week, Moody has come up with a Women Fashion Power set menu for February. Yet another stylish reason to pay this restaurant a visit? It sure looked and tasted that way to me when I gave the menu a try last night.
Inspired by the Design Museum’s Women Fashion Power exhibition, which displays how influential women have used fashion to define their position and power in society, the highly visual three-course set menu takes diners on a sartorially savoury journey starting with a “ready-to-wear” Heron’s Farm chicken broth; followed by Wester Ross poached salmon with roasted Jerusalem artichoke and cockle foam for the main; and ending with “Haute Couture”, a gold leaf chocolate fondant dessert with rum and banana ice cream.
The menu is a delectable trio of dishes, as appealing to the palate as to the eyes. I especially enjoyed the broth starter – perfect for a dreary midwinter Monday night for sure! The main course’s cockle foam was a brilliant touch adding an extra bit of yum to an already delicious piece of fish. Dessert was deeply indulgent and a wise assemblage of treats.
Beyond the special menu, much better than expected crusty bread with butter served before starters was a delicious! Sides of apple, walnut and baby leaf salad and exceptionally flavoursome Cornish new potatoes (£3.95 each) more than satisfied. A bottle of Gavi di Gavi, La Battistina (£29) proved a zestfully fruity and suitable quaff for the menu. Service was friendly and swift. The setting is a great one for low key conversation.
The menu is available throughout February and priced at £29.50 per person. Veggie/pesco options from the regular menu may be substituted for the starter.
And if you find coordinating your food with your fashion to be a haute idea, a smart time to visit Blueprint Café might be this Thursday (19 February) when it and Club D&D will collaborate with the Design Museum to hold a one night only exclusive event in honour of the Women Fashion Power exhibition and London Fashion Week. The evening will begin with a Champagne tour of the exhibition led by museum curator Donna Loveday, during which guests can admire outfits, such as a dress famously worn by Lady Gaga. Following the tour, guests will dine in Blueprint Café and enjoy a bespoke four-course tasting menu complete with matching wines, by Head Chef Martyn Moody. Chef Moody’s menu will reflect the eras of fashion from the more basic tastes of the 30s, through the 60s and 80s to the modern day. During the evening, acclaimed fashion designer Tabitha Webb will speak about her collections and her journey in the world of fashion, she will also be available for a Q&A session following the dinner. Tickets for the tour and dinner are priced at £80 per person.
Blueprint Café is located at the Design Museum, 28 Shad Thames, SE1 2YD.
Find out more at blueprintcafe.co.uk.
