Last Autumn 2021 award-winning Scottish chef Mark Greenaway, who is well known in Edinburgh has opened up Pivot British Bar & Bistro in the hear of Coven Garden, London. It’s an all-day restaurant which the bar can be found on the ground floor and the Bistro on the first floor. The bar is a café by day, where you can enjoy a breakfast, brunch, snacks or even pies whilst sipping on coffee at The Gentlemen Baristas. By night it is a lovely place to enjoy a wine or two along with small plates. If you are looking for more than a snack or pie head on up stairs to their restaurant where you will be able to enjoy dishes from the a la carte menu for a romantic night or enjoy dishes from Pivot’s 3 course theatre menu to fix your appetite before heading the theatre. Pivot British Bar & Bistro is perfectly British.
I was invited on a courtesy basis to sample dishes from their a la carte menu.
Pivot Bar & Bistro
Award winning Chef Mark Greenaway owns Pivot Bar & Bistro.
Chef Mark Greenaway is voted #160 among the top 300 chefs in the world, and is renowned for his depth of flavours and the care he treats ingredients.
Situated at 3 Henrietta Square Pivot resides within an old historical townhouse which expands over two floors and overlooks Covent Garden’s famous Piazza Pivot
Pivot cuisine focusses mainly on gourmet classic British dishes with a few Scottish dishes all which have been carefully curated by award-winning Chef Mark Greenaway.
The first-floor is the main dining area which overlooks the famous Piazza. It is a modern take on a quintessential British bistro with a open kitchen with a chef’s counter gives you a prime spot while the team prepares your meal.
The ground-floor is a cafe and bar which overlooks out onto Covent Garden’s beautiful Piazza, serving exceptional food accompanied by award-winning coffee from The Gentlemen Baristas. Great spot to catch-up with friends, breakfast meetings, grab a coffee or a glass of wine after work. In the evening, the ground floor transitions into a bar, making it the perfect location to enjoy a drink with delicious small plates or choose a signature dish from the restaurant menu.
All dishes served within Pivot all are highly focussed on seasonal ingredients which elevates all the much-loved British dishes.
British dishes at their best
Having visited Pivot Bar & Bistro before I knew we were in for yet another treat as all the dishes are after all have all been curated by Chef Mark Greenaway who is an award winning chef. Mark does not reside at Pivot Bar & Bistro but even though he is not there all his dishes are left to be cooked in the capable hands of top chefs within Pivots kitchen.
Stepping into Pivot Bar & Bistro heading up stairs to the main restaurant what I love about the dining area is how quaint and romantic it feels with walls which are painted with a warming colour, the quirky posters which are dotted around and the wooden round tables which give the place a very relaxed feel. Plus no matter where you sit it, it wont make a difference as each table is large and nicely spaced out away from others. However if you love sitting next to a window then I highly recommend as you’ll get a view overlooking Covent Gardens square where pop up entertainment takes place. Also most of the tables you can view the open kitchen and watch the chef at work or for a more intimate feel you can sit counter side.
All menus from the a la care menu to the theatre set menu all use seasonal ingredients and the very best produce available.
Overlooking the a la carte menu me and my husband we decided to each have the soup of the day which on this occasion was Pumpkin Soup. For mains I opted for the chicken and Jason the Bubble and Squeak. Dessert I opted for the pavlova and Jason the chocolate mousse.
Whilst waiting for our meals to be prepared we opted to have Coffee & Baileys (£13) which is a coffee shot using Baileys and topped with a caramel flavoured cream. This drink can be served hot or cold, we decided to have it served hot. The drink was lovely warming and silky with a great hit of coffee and caramel flavour. Soothing, especially on these cold days.
For sides we opted to share the Stottie Cake (£5) with Whipped Devon Crab Butter. A Stottie Cake is an English round flat loaf of bread, traditionally cooked on the stove top, rather than oven baked, and originates from the north. Plus with the Stottie Cake you can choose from a selection of butters. We chose the crab one as we love crab. However even though the cake bread was nice, a little similar to naan bread in flavour just a lot thicker the crab butter we were both not keen on. There are nice chunks of crab within the butter but was very crabby in flavour, a little too fishy.
For starters we both opted for the Soup of the Day (£8) which comes with ripped sourdough. On our visit was pumpkin soup and it was amazing. Seriously this was the best pumpkin soup I have ever had, was thickish, creamy, and sweet. Plus the sourdough was a nice thickness, fresh and toasted to perfection.
For mains I opted for the free-range English chicken (£21) which came with mushroom & tarragon cream sauce. The chicken was moist, succulent, with the most perfect crisp skin. The sauce was full on flavour, herby and creamy with nice bites of vegetables from tiny wild mushrooms, fresh peas and asparagus tips. A very comforting dish for a cold day.
Jason ordered for his mains the Cumberland Sausage (£19.50) bubble & squeak with caramelised onion gravy. I?t came to the table bubbling away. The sausage was curly, thick and long, with no grizzly bits making it a tasty meaty sausage. The onion gravy gave the whole dish and yorkie batter that extra sweetness. Again another comforting dish for colder months.
To accompany our mains we had a bowl of mash potato which was very smooth, creamy and buttery.
For dessert I had the Pavlova (£10.50) which came with Freeze-dried raspberries and topped with caramel sauce. Was very white, crunchy and sweet. The salted caramel sauce gave it that extra wow factor with a hint of saltiness.
Jason opted for the Chocolate Mousse (£9.50) which was toped with caramelized hazelnuts and a dollop of clotted cream. Rich, silky and creamy chocolate mousse with added texture and hits of saltiness from the caramelized hazelnuts and drizzle of sauce. Chocolate heaven.
A perfect night, great atmosphere, lovely staff and delicious food.
Verdict
What I love about Pivot Bar & Bistro is that they specialise in British cuisine and even though we live in England you would think finding a proper restaurant which serves British cuisine would be easy but not really, as British cuisine generally is found served up in pubs.
Pivot Bar & Bistro I found was a lovely pleasant restaurant to dine within and was situated in a great area being bang in the middle of Covent Garden near shops and theatres. The staff were all so pleasant and I loved being able to see the chef cooking whilst eating and drinking within the restaurant. All the dishes that we enjoyed on the night was all ever so delicious and the portions were just right.
I would certainly visit and dine at Pivot restaurant again for most of the dishes I had and even to try some of the others dishes on the a la care menu. I would also consider eating at Pivot again ahead of any theatre show I might go and see as they do a great value theatre three course menu which can be had before 7pm and only costs £28 a head (without wine).
I highly recommend visiting if you love great British food at its best. Perfect for night out with friends or family or a romantic night with your loved one.
Video of an insight of Pivot
Pivot Bar & Bistro book now
Pivot British Bar & Bistro
First Floor – 3 Henrietta Street
Covent Garden
London WC2E 8LU
Opening Times – Monday- Sunday | 8am-11pm
Pre Theatre – Monday- Saturday | 5pm-6.30pm
Sunday Roast – 12pm-9pm
Thank you to Pivot Bar & Bistro for a lovely night full of delicious food. All views are my own honest opinion.
“I love going out discovering new and existing restaurants, theatres, immersive experiences and so much more but I also love staying in and discovering new gadgets, gaming and cooking.
