The American
The Dali Universe:
The Dali Cafe
Reviewed by Virginia E. Schultz
T
dishes such as pork belly with apple sauce and rack of lamb. There were plenty of unusual items on the menu, I was tempted by potato soup with Welsh Rabbit Toast and puddings included a delightfully old fashioned treacle tart. With our main course we shared a bottle of a delicious New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The wine list is really excellent (yes, there are a few English wines) and with the puddings they indicate a suitable glass of liqueur or wine, which I have not seen done before. Of course it is tempting, however we were rather full and shared an enjoyable English cheeseboard. Bumpkin do a Sunday Roast for £24, for the rest it is really what you want, from a light bite to a full dinner. If you want an old fashioned really grand restaurant this is not it, but if you want to enjoy good traditional food in a happy atmosphere with just enough formality …go Bumpkin.
Westbourne Park Road, London, W11 1EA. 020 243 9818 www.bumpkinuk.com
aking a long slow spin on the London Eye has become a top tourist attraction to anyone visiting London. On a clear day, there is a breathtaking view from the top that excites everyone no matter how often they’ve done it, as I discovered when I joined friends from Houston who had experienced the ride on three previous occasions. Knowing they’ve visited most of the other attractions along the Southbank, I took them to the Dali Universe, a permanent retrospective of Salvador Dali, the great surrealist and creative genius of the twentieth century. Set in County Hall, a short distance from the London Eye, the 30,000 square feet gallery features the largest collection of Dali sculptures in the world as well as rare graphics, jewellery, glass objects, etchings, furniture, tapestries, lithographs, watercolours and paintings, alongside black and white photographs of Picasso taken by Andre Villars. The exhibition has three themes, “Sensuality and Femininity”, “Religion and Mythology” and “Dreams and Fantasy”. Dali’s signature melting watch is everywhere. I loved the colossal oil painting for Alfred Hitchcock’s film Spellbound. My friends preferred the wood and red satin sofa modelled on Mae West’s lips. We admired the well-known sculpture Buste de Femme Retrospect, one of the defining classics of Surrealism from the l930s. Having delighted ourselves visually and intellectually, we had to do something about the hunger pangs we were beginning to feel.
Fortunately on the premises is ‘The Dali Cafe’. Throughout Dali’s life, food played an important role in his work and he even produced an exceptionally beautiful cook book, Les Diners de Gala. The cafe was a pale green and white haven after the mind boggling exhibition. I had a glass of “Salvador Dali”, carrots and clementines, my friend the “Spellbound”, raw beetroot, carrot, orange and spinach, and her husband a glass of Torres Mas Rabell. We couldn’t make up our minds as to what we would like from Chef Sebastian Ryder’s Spanish influenced menu, so decided to have a selection of dishes which we would then share. The hot corn-fed chicken sandwich with lemon and sage was my friend’s favourite while her husband preferred the Catalonian beef pie (£6.95) so much, he ordered a second one which he ate, don’t ask me how, all by himself. The three of us enjoyed the Serrano ham, artichoke, and tomato salad (£5.95), but my favourite was the creamy custardy Quiche (£4.95). For dessert I chose a chocolate cup cake with vanilla ice cream while my friends shared a huge very buttery shortbread cookie with jam between, the cafe’s signature dessert, and strawberry cheese cake dessert. Both were absolutely delicious, they assured me. There was a wonderful selection of teas, but we decided on coffee (£2.00) to help keep us awake as we were going to the nearby National Theatre later that evening. County Hall, Riverside Buildings, Southbank, London SE1 7PB 0870 744 7485
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