Donnelly's In Bermondsey: The Best Of British Tapas Comes To SE1
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Last Updated 08 April 2019
Pumpkin, beetroot and blue cheese. On paper it's not a combo to be raving about, but the roast veg is filling and the added zing from the blue cheese sparkles across the tongue. It's the kind of dish that makes meat eaters think they could easily go veggie.
Donnelly's restaurant is now operating out of Bermondsey Bar & Kitchen with a mouthwatering selection of British tapas. Alongside our veggie option, we're served some substantial minty mutton chops. The jerk chicken, while tasty, doesn't have enough spice to really classify as jerk. Thankfully, the accompanying spiced red haricot beans bring the kick that the chicken lacks.
The truffle mac n' cheese as a side is a must. It may be small but is rich enough to be temptingly more-ish.
Dessert is a split between the decent and the divine. The caramelised spiced pear with walnut ice cream and granola is too many competing flavours vying for attention, resulting in something that's half dessert, half breakfast cereal.
However, redemption awaits in a chocoholic's dream — whisky soaked chocolate mousse. It's pure dense chocolate and if it were any richer it would have to be sequestered away in the Cayman Islands. Often alcohol in dessert can overpower, yet here it's only evident in a subtle aftertaste that will re-visit you in your dreams for weeks.
Everything on the menu ranges from good to excellent, and our minor criticisms relate to dishes that just weren't as good in comparison to some of the restaurant's finest. Bermondsey is a crowded foodie scene but Donnelly's manages to muscle in as another top notch addition.
Donnelly's is at Bermondsey Bar and Kitchen, Bermondsey Street, SE1. The meal in this review cost circa £45 for two excluding drinks.
