On the site that was once Soho’s famous Circus restaurant, a very different haunt has opened. Circus launched during the media- frenzied 90s when Soho Square was permanently full of media types desperate to find establishments at which they could spend four hours having lunch and return after work for more Mojitos and Long Island iced teas.
If the papers are to be believed the world is going to hell in a hand basket. Bob Bob Ricard unfortunately could not have opened at a worse time. Now more P45s are being handed out than power lunch menus.

BBR is slightly different to your usual high-end trad/brit/modern-euro restaurant. It opens at 7 am and closes 20 hours later at 3. It is somewhat in the vein of the Ritz’s neighbour, the very successful Wolsely. BBR’s décor is camp with twenties styling throughout, and an Edwardian train travel theme. The theme is not railroaded down your throat, merely alluded to in details such as booths for tables of four, brass fixtures, and wood panelling. With the males wearing powder pink double-breasted waistcoats, and the women in a turquoise version, the staff uniform is unashamedly camp. The managers are easily recognisable in leather-elbowed tweed shooting jackets.

Many members of staff are recognisable; the maître d' is from the Ivy, I recognised my waiter immediately from Le Caprice, and a couple of the bar staff have I’m sure helped me stagger out of Scotts before.

BBR’s menu arrived in the form of an A4 booklet which does take some navigating. It starts quite naturally with the usual breakfast dishes (every table has a socket for a toaster to be plugged in at breakfast), and proceeds to lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and a very late supper.

Having already breakfasted at the Wolseley, I was only in the mood for a light 3pm lunch. I therefore chose to forgo the enticing starters, (Beef tea, potted middle white of pork, egg mayonnaise etc). For my main I plumped for a salmon dish, slowly poached and served with salad leaves and a lightly acidic lemon dressing. My companions chose roast grouse, macaroni and cheese and the BBR burger. My salmon (£14.25) was the right side of undercooked, and fell away beautifully. The grouse was what I would term a ‘gut buster’ and at £31.95 it should be. The whole bird was served with bacon, game chips, and a liver pâte on toast, salad, and vegetables. The meat was perfectly cooked, but one of my guests did feel the dish was as OTT as the décor. The macaroni and cheese was good but a slightly meagre portion for the £12 something it cost. The BBR burger was standard with the usual trimmings, nothing special, but fair for the £11.

The service was great as expected, and is brightened up by the addition of a champagne bell at every table which brings along nanny’s champagne trolley. The puddings were interesting and covered the usual school pud themed jelly and ice cream with the odd grown-up dish thrown in such as baked Alaska. I plumped for three ice creams, salted caramel, a double choc and a third helping that escapes me. All perfectly good, but far from exciting.

On the whole the restaurant is great, it’s far from cheap but you can eat well without splashing the cash. You can have anything from 15 grams of caviar followed by a bowl of Kellogg’s Cornflakes at 2 in the morning, to a double eggs Benedict at 8. The restaurant endeavours to be all things to all men and at the minute, you have to applaud them for attempting to maintain a full restaurant 20 hours a day.

The hidden gem of this place is the basement, a beautifully designed room with a backgammon wood floor, and rail travel seating, with a 25ft bar, and a wonderful selection of booze (the house champagne cocktail is made using rhubarb and Hendricks Gin, wonderful!) I for one will be propping up that bar often until their cellars run dry.

T: 020 7352 2908 Map: Click Here