Bar Boulud, by world-renowned chef Daniel Boulud, is a jazzed-up French bistro in the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge. Its signature burgers are good enough to make ‘best of’ lists and even – on a good day – top them. The BB burger is a near-perfect triumph of juicy beef, pulled short rib, crunchy fried onions and buttery foie gras piled high on a salty black onion bun.
Besides the burgers, Bar Boulud is also known for its charcuterie, which is sourced from artisan purveyors Maison Vérot in Paris and served either individually or in large and small selections. The small plate comes with three cured meats and/or pâtés selected by the chef, but little thought seemed to go into our assembly of duck rillettes, pâté and ham. I remember the dish with three adjectives: cold, pink and boring. The texture and taste of the three selected meats got very samey very quickly, making it feel anything but curated. Good thing there were excellent bistro staples like hot garlicky escargot and French onion soup to break up the meat monotony. Also, the old school French desserts – pillowy soufflé rustled up in a new flavour every other week and delicious gateaux served with creamy homemade ice cream – were good enough to make Julia Child proud.
Service is proficient, but the ambience of the back seating area is a little lacklustre – the vibe is more generic business hotel than swanky Mandarin Oriental. And while sticky table mats should be unforgivable for somewhere with these prices, that burger is, thankfully, special enough to make you forget