London bar and restaurant group, Drake & Morgan, has launched a new spring/summer menu focused on “Mediterranean flavours and sun-kissed ingredients.” An invitation to have a taste of the new menu led to a lovely Sunday lunch for Kemey and me at D&M’s airy, expansive and pleasant The Drift at the base of Heron Tower.
Kemey and I liked all the dishes we tried during our visit and were especially impressed with the service (we were in kind and competent hands with our server Maria who looked after us so well).
Crispy squid with lemon mayonnaise (£6.50) was a perfect and ample starter for me, and a bite of Kemey’s crab on toast with chilli, coriander and lime mayonnaise (£8.95) suggested she’d chosen just as well as I had.
For my main, a smoked chicken, avocado, mango and cashew salad (£11.95) was a filling and flavoursome treat; though in retrospect I wished I had asked to have the dressing on the side for a crisper dish. Despite strip-mining the salad for the chicken, there were still plenty of pieces left through to the end. Nice. Kemey went with a delicious tuna burger with a side of sweet potato fries (opted for no bun with extra avocado instead, £8.95). Not a regular menu item, we were told the burger is apparently a big seller whenever it’s on offer. We could taste why.
A sampler of other fries: cowboy (with honey, chilli, and garlic) and Roman (with Parmesan, truffle and rosemary) rounded out our mains nicely). Fries are £4.50 per portion or £9.95 for a “trio” of cowboy, Roman, and sweet potato.
An indulgent and gooey chocolate brownie topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream with small jug teeming with warm chocolate sauce on the side (£5.95) was everything that a brownie is meant to be. Kemey was equally pleased with her prettily presented strawberry and mint pavlova (£5.95).
A bottle of lightly chilled and well balanced 2014 Chateau de Raousset Fleurie (£30.95) did justice to all the dishes and was more than pleasant on its own as well.
The Drift is located at 110 Bishopsgate, EC2N 4AY. Find out more at thedriftbar.co.uk. For details about all Drake & Morgan properties go to drakeandmorgan.co.uk.
