My first visit to The Bycicle Theif was within the first two weeks of it being open. We were so excited. I met my good friend at about 8 pm and the place was blocked. We had a reservation, but the table wasn't quite ready so we sat at the bar and sipped our cocktails while we waited for our spot to open up.
And what better thing to do while you wait than to sip a cocktail? My first bevy was a Rosemary Pink Diamond Fizz; a combo of some of my favorite ingredients. I love a good herb-y drink and this one had flavour in spades. With Hendrick's Gin, grapefruit juice and rosemary as a base, the drink was topped off with Prosecco for a bit of bite and fizz.
There was a bit of a trend with our dinners; we both ordered two first plates: a seafood appetizer and a salad. My friend ordered the tuna tartare to start. A mix of tuna, avocado, cucumber spaghetti and wasabi cream. It was a lovely dish and the flavours came together nicely; soft, succulent tuna, piquant wasabi, cool and crunchy cucumber and creamy avocado provided great texture contrast.
I went with the crab salad; delicate crab meat with a decadent cream sauce served with dressed greens, two shrimp and a lobster claw. It was a bit of an odd experience as it took the kitchen a couple tries to produce a good shrimp – the first two were tough and leathery, but once they served them warm and freshly poached, they were delicious.
My friend is one of those odd peopl who love bitter greens and who can never resist a radicchio salad. This one was radicchio and rucola greens, dressed in a warm garlic pancetta dressing, and tossed with toasted pinenuts and shards of salty, nutty parmigiano. It certainly changed my opinion of a radicchio salad, and might enourage me to try one in the future!
My salad though, was absolutely incredible – and it wasn't even as though the ingredients were gourmet. They were simple and fresh, but each flavour complimented one another perfectly: peppery Arugula, rich, toasted hazlenut, tangy goat cheese and sweet, tender fig.
Although I was a little miffed about having to send my shrimp dish back, twice, I did really enjoy my meal. There are some incredible cocktails on The BT's list, and an enomatic machine which offers fresh wines by the glass. I'm looking forward to another night out at the BT soon, so that I can try an entree…and maybe a little dessert! :0
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