Blueprint Cafe

Blueprint cafe – one of my favourite lazy lunch spots!

A great view of the thames and Tower Bridge – with the lovely touch of mini binoculours on each table… very quaint. It is definitely a cafe/ canteen feel to this place, although the service is great. We had lovely British seasonal food at decent prices, and spent a long leisurely lunch here without being rushed or made to feel unworthy since we werent really drinking.

The fact that this sits atop the Design Museum and is in Shad Thames makes this even more perfect. Taking a stroll before and after lunch, to see the museum treats or the waterside on a nice day, you could while away the hours very happily. I reccommend this place to almost anyone who I feel could enjoy it. Very relaxing and enjoyable.

The Blueprint Cafe promotes simple pleasures, being unfussy and seasonally British. I found it to be a slightly bi-polar venue. With refined service and big bold flavours but in a slightly cavernous and rickety room, it all appeared to be slightly mixed in its messages.

We had starters of asparagus with a butter sauce, eel and horseradish sandwiches and a duo of pates. The butter sauce was unfussy, in-fact instantly forgettable, and the eel and horseradish was mostly horseradish. However the pate was a real joy, with beautiful textures and flavours.

For mains we had venison which was fine, a chicken and rabbit pie which could have fed a small family if somewhat blandly and a wonderful lamb with asparagus and mint salad. However the true highlight of the evening was the St. Emilion au chocolat which caused huge amounts of order envy from everyone around the table.

It is a lovely venue, and great for a chattering and clattering meal with friends or watching the view, and the people passing by below. Service was warm and attentive, and the wine list has some interesting bottles at friendly prices. But sadly I found it slightly disappointing on the promised flavours and charm from the kitchen. I would still go but grab an offer, there are plenty about.

Really good food with views over the river, service was discrete but timely.

We loved our experience at the Blueprint.. The food was very well prepared and extremely tasty – so much so we were still talking about it a week later. The service was attentive, friendly and helpful, especially when we had specific questions about items on the menu. Convivial atmosphere, one of our favorite views on the Thames, looking at Tower Bridge. We went because of the Evening Standard Offer and we will be going again.

After a relaxing walk along the scenic River Thames past Tower Bridge, you will come across one of Londons best restaurants, the Bluepeint Café; home of the wonderfully Scottish and avant-garde Head Chef, Jeremy Lee.

Blueprint Café has one of the best views of the Thames, Tower Bridge and City that any restaurant could hope to offer. The atmosphere is relaxed, modern and tasteful. You know you will have a wonderful experience as soon as you arrive and you are greeted by one of the attentive waters.

I have dined at the Blueprint Café a number of times, with family, friends and business clients. All have been impressed with the restaurant, food and service. Running a restaurant of Blueprints calibre and value takes a great deal of dedication and passion. I am writing this review to thank them for the wonderful experiences I and friends have had there and I know I will continue to have.

I am always excited to see the menu at Blueprint. The ingredients shine through every dish, and I have always found them to be of the highest quality. You will often find wonderful cuts of meat on the menu such as Onglet or Feather Steak, always cooked perfectly.

I found the Smoked Eel sandwich to be wonderful. It is one of those simple dishes, cooked with obvious passion which leaves you with a longing for more. Genius in simplicity and a scrumptious delight! Blueprint’s moorish baked Salsify, wrapped in Filo pastry is also one of my favourite starters.

I must admit that I am a confirmed carnivore. I love meat and it is always a joy to find a restaurant which creates dishes from classical, rare cuts of meat which can be almost impossible to find elsewhere. If you have carnivorous tendencies like me then you must order Blueprint’s Onglet steak. This incredibly tender, beautifully cooked and presented steak has a flavour which the default steaks of Sirloin and Rump found in many other restaurants can not hope to match.

The ingredients, preparation and presentation of the food at the Blueprint Café shines through every dish and will arise a passion for food within even the most jaded pallet. The portions of food are generous too, but not so generous that you won’t have room for the next delight. Perfect!

Blueprint’s wine cellar, while reasonably priced, has a wonderful range of wines. For some time, Blueprint stocked only French wines. Now, I am happy to say, they also have a wonderful range of Italian wines to compliment your meal.

Blueprint’s service is excellent too. While the Chefs in the kitchen create the food, the waiters and waitresses are very attentive but not overly so. They seem to pre-empt your needs and have this natural ability to appear, do what needs to be done then disappear while being barley noticed.

I have always found that Blueprint Café offers great value for money, with a passion for food and service thrown in for free. With the addition of Italian wines to the Blueprint Café cellar, I can not find a fault.

I'm not prone to negativity when it comes to dining out and I'm no service snob, nor a self-professed foodie. But it would have taken someone still more forgiving to let the seriously flawed service at Blueprint pass them by. I went with 2 friends on the Evening Standard special offer, and should have heeded the warnings of other reviews. We were only asked what wine we would like 15 minutes after sitting down, having tried hard to catch a waiter's eye for some time. None of the menu remotely resembled that advertised by Evening Standard. We were never once offered bread, side dishes or asked how we were enjoying our food. The starter of pork rillettes was tiny, utterly bland and served on toast burned to a crisp. The main course was very pleasant but a lone fillet of fish with no sides or accompaniments (for which we would of course have had to pay extra). I left feeling distinctly hungry and realising I could have paid that £15 on one much more satisfying course elsewhere. We were overcharged on the bill for our bottle of wine, and were lumped with a 12.5% service charge for our non-existant service which I complained about. The manager was apologetic but this is clearly a recurring incident based on the other reviews I've read from people dining out on special offers. Very disappointing.

I dined at Blueprint Cafe this weekend with my family and wee were very impressed. The restaurant is beautifully located with a fantastic view of the Thames and Tower Bridge. We were met by a friendly receptionist and from there on the service was flawless. Highly recommend the smoked eel s/w. Nice buzzy atmospehere coupled witht he great food and service will definately be back again.

Its been a while since I ate here, but the memory lingers on. I can't believe this place constantly gets rated so highly. Truly abysmal food on the night we went. Razor clams were completely cold, so we sent them back. Out came exactly the same plate 5 minutes later (you could tell by the bite marks!). The result was rubbery and almost inedible. The roast beef was so well rested it had a cup of tea and a lie down. The only accompaniments were horseradish sauce and a few bits of spinach. All in all, completely overpriced.

However we did like the touch of putting a pair of binoculars on the table, great for having a birds eye view of the river and surroundings. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who really rates their food and if you're after a view, try the Oxo tower instead !

… forgettable … average service.

There was a hilarious episode with regards to my steak which looked odd … and tasted odd … so you query it and the staff haven't got a clue … so they take it away and incinerate it … and then give you a new one which looked just like the first.

Hilarious.

Having sprinted over Tower Bridge somewhat late and a little red in the face, I was immediately greeted by a smiling lackey sporting a cold beer. I could have kissed him. Anyhoo, rather fussy, prissy food and very loud dining room populated by people who whinnied dulled the overall experience, but a really strong contender for best Conran

Poorly presented food, service very disorganised, uncomfortable seating, quality of cooking is the same as the All Bar One downstairs. If you want a nice view and a gastro pub this is ideal. This is not a quality restaurant.