“IT WAS Grace Dent’s review in the Guardian that drew me to you”, I tell Madina Kazhimona, the co-founder of Firebird. She laughs, “you’re not the first”. As a shameless member of the Dent craze that steers much of the restaurant hype in London and beyond, many of the delicious morsels I have enjoyed this year I must accredit to the weekly Dent review in the Feast supplement. I am yet to disagree with Dent, and her glowing review of Firebird is another example.
Located on the outskirts of the bustling scene of Soho, Firebird entices customers with smells of wood-fired cooking and an open grill, which is cleverly situated at the heart of the restaurant, creating a metaphorical moth to the flame chain of hungry and curious passers by requesting a table. On the Saturday evening we were lucky to have one, there were very few that succeeded. This is a restaurant that requires a booking.
Anna Dolgushina and Madina Kazhimona, owners of Firebird
Dining at Firebird
With golden stone washed and exposed brick walls, wood beams positioned overhead to create portals of light over each table, and corners of olive tree greenery encasing the vision, it is reminiscent of a Mediterranean evening spent sipping wine in a courtyard. There is a naturalness that oozes through the interior design, and is similarly echoed within the ethos of the restaurant too.
Serving only organic wines, Firebird “champions small, natural and biodynamic producers from across Europe, who work their vineyards organically, with respect to nature and soil”. The wine menu changes frequently to accommodate the seasonal shift of their wine sellers.
Tiger Prawns, tomatoes, white wine, herbs
Firebird interior
The ingredients too, create a heartfelt appreciation to the seasonality, but with a twist. Whilst the produce is all British, the flavours have a sun-kissed Mediterranean build. For, what Firebird describe as ‘Snacks’ – proving I have been poorly snacking my entire life, we enjoyed sourdough focaccia glazed with honey that crackled under the knife, cod’s roe with grilled pitta, and bloody mary corn ribs covered in parmesan.
For starters, the tuna tartare with ponzu and cured egg yolk coaxed us into a sense of delirium, an experience that I have shared with friends and family keen to explore new London restaurants. And together with the chicken skewers served with piquillo pepper and almond yoghurt, the essence of Firebird was truly ignited. Plating dishes that hone in on the core ingredient, encasing it with sprinkles of sweet glazes or salty cured additions that only help the inside sing, and heightening the finish with a renowned smokey flame-grill touch.
The scallops with mashed potato and truffle, and the porchetta with dried apricots and celeriac puree, which we opted for our mains, are sturdy fillers but the preparation of each is light, the mash so fluffy it melts in the mouth. Despite our more than satisfied bellies, the savoury had been so exquisite we just had to try dessert.
What followed was an airy cloud-like eclair with salted caramel dripping from the sides and hazelnut dust sprinkled upon the top, sandwiching the most glorious waves of chocolate mousse within – encouraging a childish fit of giggles from us both in anticipation.
Eclair
Oysters
As we savoured our final mouthfuls and sipped upon our delicately crafted sake cocktails we thought, could this be the very seat that Grace Dent also sat on during her visit? It seems the visit to the magnificent Firebird in Soho has only intensified the infatuation, both for the writer and the restaurant.
Charred peach with riccotta
by Lily Rimmer
Firebird can be found on 29 Poland Street, London, W1F 8QR
To place a booking, visit here.