Serpentine Bar & Kitchen

Mr I and yours truly found ourselves in proximity to Hyde Park this morning. Being a beautiful today (and some coaxing from me) we decided to take a stroll through the park, along the Serprentine to eat lunch and laze about in the sun.

Serpentine Bar & Kitchen was incredibly full and runs on a cafe sort of basis, where you order at the bar and wait for your food outside at your table, so it was naturally a bit hectic. And there was a deluge of children. And tourists...

However it seems to market itself as having quite good food, seasonally-inspired, Modern British/Contemporary French. Which seemed to be quite unusual when in theory they could pass off stale burgers to tourists in Hyde Park. And plus it was, admittedly, a lovely day. 

I ordered a 'Risotto of roast pumpkin, sage, candied pumpkin seeds and parmesan' rather uneventfully - although deliciously. Perhaps a bit underseasoned - but that is a matter of taste - but lovely in its al dente glory, with (my favourite) pumpkin and sage. The pumpkin seeds added a lovely texture and the parmesan melted right in. And who cannot love melted cheese? It was simple, seasonal and rich. Exactly what a risotto should be. 

Mr I, feeling a bit more basic, had their classic pizza (tomato, mozzarella and oregano) and added chicken and mushrooms. The chicken, I was told, was perfectly lovely and the pizza base looked crispy and charred from their wood-fire oven. I remain dubious about the mushrooms which looks like not-yet-hydrated dehydrated mushrooms.

In terms of the service, The Serpentine Bar & Kitchen falls a bit short. The waitress seemed to be oblivious to the dirty tray left on our table and Mr I asked  demanded thrice that it would be removed. It seemed that either the waiters/waitresses were in hiding. Or there wasn't enough of them. I believe it was the first. Maybe it was a busy Saturday but I think they are simply lax on service (although the prices aren't exactly bargain) because of the location, which I cannot tolerate.

Nevertheless it was a lovely afternoon with a decidedly lovely (on my part) risotto...

Even Mr I admitted, in the end, that it wasn't a bad idea.

Conclusion:

Not amazing service but more than decent food.

Serpentine Bar And Kitchen
Hyde Park
W2 2UH