Artisan Bistro

Dining at the Artisan Bistro

We were invited to dine at the wonderful restaurant The Artisan Bistro in Chelsea, a neighbourhood eaterie serving up stunning Mediterranean-inspired dishes.

Gosh, it was a really hot day! The hottest day in London perhaps? The kind of day where you wanted to book that last minute trip to an English seaside town and seek refuge from the city’s humid sticky weather.

Despite the unusually hot Summer that finally arrived here in the metropolis, I couldn’t wait to dive back into the London restaurant scene, especially after my trip away in South East Asia. After all, I did miss the variety we have in this city after three weeks of curries, noodles and chicken rice (as tasty as they were)!

To cool off, I grabbed a gelato with Mr. New Yorker at the Snowflake Gelato just around the corner South Kensington station. If you like your gelato served with a smile, this is a great little spot. Oh gelato, how I missed your light frothy texture ????

We were on our way to Artisan Bistro, which was recently launched in the heart of Hollywood Road, just off Fulham Road. The last time I was here were to catch up with friends at the popular Brinkley’s across the street, so we were intrigued to discover what this new kid on the block had to offer.

The Interior of Artisan Bistro

In comparison, Artisan Bistro is a rather demure local bistro tucked away with a quiet residential backyard for some Summer breeze, should you wish to stay out for a few drinks before your starter is served.

But don’t let the modest interior fool you, as this little kitchen churned out cooking punched with flavour and executed with precision.

The Food at Artisan Bistro

We started with a trio of starters. The carrot soup turned out to be the clear winner with its layers of spices and refreshing concoction of fresh flavours.

However, if you are a prawn fan like me, check out these massive monsters placed on a bed of squid ink polenta, a taste of sea in every bite.

The crispy aubergine is a delightful little dish coated in panko crumb wonders, which were turned into a light crunchy plate of vegetable tempura. Very moorish!

Next, we decided to indulge in our lobster themed Artisan Bistro menu for the evening. There is a lobster mac-n-cheese on the house menu for those fellow American readers! The dish was gooey with lobster pieces in each mouthful. The lobster linguine was packed with a variety of mussels and clams, which helped to cure our seafood cravings for the night.

Oh and of course we asked for a side of truffle chips…who wouldn’t?

Dessert at Artisan Bistro

For dessert, we were too full at this point to go for the Artisan Bistro special – chocolate souffle (which sounded heavenly), but rather we opted for three scoops of refreshing ice cream (yep on top of that earlier gelato) to cool off from the searing heat.

In the midst of all the theatrical culinary inventions such as foams, jelly and scented infusions currently dominating the restaurant scene, I really take delight in the good old-fashioned solid cooking skills executed to perfection. The Artisan Bistro is the kind of living room you expect to return from a long trip abroad, and cosy up with a lovely menu of simple delicious flavours.