Bumpkin

This was one of those evenings where I wished I'd ordered something else…for virtually every course, resulting in a large dose of food envy as I eyed the far more interesting dishes being brought to other tables. Nevertheless, at these prices, everything should be mouthwatering and memorable.

That said, my pork belly main course was highly memorable…for all the wrong reasons. The crackling was the toughest I've ever done battle with. The steak knife I was provided with was no match for this hard as a rock lump of indigestion.

The artisanal organic breads (note plural!) with good oil and butter starter was a let down – with one lousy variety of white bread, and no interesting seeded or brown varieties. Who wants good oil anyway? – it tastes kind of dirty – bring back olive oil!

A very average dinner spent mostly shouting across the table to make each other heard above the din created by the young and upwardly mobile locals was rescued by an outstanding truffly chocolate cake with a rich coffee sauce.

This restaurant has clearly spent more time and energy ensuring that all its staff are blonde, young, female and stunning, rather than concentrating on the food it is serving.

We've dined here twice & both times have been really happy with the quality of produce and the friendly, efficient staff.
One of our visits was a fully booked mother's day lunch, but we didn't have to wait for ages for service or our meals and staff always seemed to give personal attention even though every table was full.
Great for seasonal British food, this is a place that is quite passionate about food. It's also great for meat & game, which I love! And divine home made Yorkshire Puds!
The wine list is fairly priced.
We would definitely return again & recommend it to friends. It is not a cheap meal out, but it is well worth it…

This review has been long overdue as I recently went on holiday, but since I did a raving review about the Notting Hill branch it seems fit to give South Kensington what is due to it. I am a regular at Notting Hill so South Kensington is a new area to me, never go out there. It seemed to be very busy from early and lots of famlies. Its the newer addition to the Bumpkin brand and seems “newer”. Diverse dishes and insisting on seasonal fruit and veg is why I love Bumpkin. They also have an open kitchen and a nice big bar area as you walk in so you can have a drink before or after dinner if you like. This time round we only had a main and dessert. The trout with heritage potatoes was beautiful. I have never had heritage potatoes before but these were purple, lovely looking on the plate. My partner had the sausage and mash which I tasted and it was delicious. Looked like a lollipop on a stick to keep it from unravelling, gravy was yummy( i may have that next time). Chocolate cake again as it is to die for and we shared it. Service as usual was friendly and I saw some familiar faces that cross work at the Notting Hill one which is nice to see. Bathrooms are lovely and not that I drink wine but I do drink bubbly, they had introduced a new Wine list which to me seemed quite extensive with British bubbly! How do I choose which Bumpkin now?

Bumpkin has a good location just behind Gloucester Road tube station and serves decent drinks in its bar area. The food, service and ambiance in the dining room are a different matter. The food ranges from disapointing over bland to uneadable. A pity because this part of London could do with some fresher and younger options. Bumpkin is not one.

Bumpkin is a quirky cross-breed that combines the charm of a traditional country inn with the modern décor of a trendy city haunt.

Having checked out the menu online, I had already honed in on what I was going to order. Wait a minute… where is my Lancashire Hotpot? Reduced menu on Saturday lunchtime? I sit back and sulk in my chair like a child and cannot contain my disappointment, I am beginning to regret skipping breakfast for this. The menu lists an all day full English breakfast as well as fish n’ chips and bangers and mash to name a few It’s going to take a lot more than that to tickle my taste buds and I begin to despair. Not exactly the full menu I had hoped for but we plump for a warming starter of onion soup with thyme, accompanied by lovely doorstep chunks of bread studded with caraway seeds. An ideal winter warmer, hitting the spot perfectly.

For main course ‘Buccleuch’ pork chop with a side of mashed potatoes and curly kale with red wine gravy hits the spot and at first bite, the pork is juicy and tender and the fat, crisp and sticky as it should be. The mashed potatoes are smooth and creamy and the red wine jus is a perfect accompaniment to the dish. I nab a bite of my friends Welsh black beef burger and it is lovely and medium rare on the inside with a nice doughy bun and great chips (skin-on) with a garlicky mayonnaise dip.

Service is good, a tad slow and the staff certainly are ‘characters’ to say the very least… But Bumpkin is a great place to head to ‘The morning after the night before’ – for a carb and comfort food-lead recovery. Can't imagine what kind of food they will offer over the summer, but they have quite a few Al Fresco tables which makes it worth the visit.

I spent a dinner in the private room at Bumpkin the other weekend and I had a very pleasant experience. So pleasant, that I'm not sure whether we had dessert or not. Either way, the atmosphere was really nice, although admittedly I was in a group of 30+ people, all celebrating a friend’s birthday, so no surprises there.

We had a kind of buffet-style dinner, with the starter being an antipasti platter and the main a choice between meat and fish, with a potato gratin and salad on the side. All dishes were good and there was nothing to complain about, although I wasn’t in complete awe either.

I thought Bumpkin was a great place to have an event like this. It felt a bit pricey, but the atmosphere, good food and kind service definitely made up for it.

I visited Bumpkin for lunch on a cold wet Wednesday and was very happy I did so. The restaurant comes across to me as a haven of comfort food and a chilled relaxed venue to have a lazy lunch or dinner in. The lunch menu managed to be short without making you feel there wasn't enough choice – In fact if anything it leaves you with the problem of wanting everything. I had some fantastic game soup for starters followed by a delicious steak – extremely tender and considering the price much tastier than I've had in many fine dining venues. This was all washed down with Bumpkin's very own ale which on its own could have kept me in all day long. For the quality and the price you just simply can't go wrong with Bumpkin.

I could have ordered anything from the menu as it all looked delicious. In the end I ordered a chicken pie which was fantastic. The service was friendly, helpful and attentive. The atmosphere was buzzing. All in all we had a great evening and I've already booked to go back for seconds.

A very welcome addition to an area surprisingly lacking in down-to-earth, neighbourhood restaurants. Wonderful British food, beautifully cooked and presented, and very sensibly priced. My 2 course lunch was £12 per head.