209 Westbourne Park Road
W11 1EA
Tel: 020 7243 9818
Date of Last Visit: Sunday, January 7, 2006
The Victims: Feathers, Julie, Kellie, Anna
The Damage: £37 each + £25 for the Secret Santa
The Background: It was time for our Secret Santa. Feathers, the master organizer, had set us upon Elfster late last year, proving yet again that on the Internet, there’s a job for everyone. A Secret Santa Web site? Yes Virginia, it exists. The goal was to do a little gift arbitrage…we had to spend £25 each, and well, if you were smart, you’d spend it in the U.S. Like I did!
The Approach: First to arrive, I hung out at the bar and enjoyed a nice glass of Sauvignon Blanc. It was very light. It was so pure and clear looking it was almost like they had added water to it while I wasn’t looking. (I’m sure they didn’t. They look like nice people.) I also enjoyed the wallpaper, because Bumpkin has the coolest wallpaper I’ve ever seen. Especially in the loo. (Note that my tastes are not shared: read this (“too loud”), and this (“statement”), and this (“hideous”).
The Starter: While I was in the loo enjoying the wallpaper, they delivered a fantastic platter of bread and pork belly and apple chutney to our table. I was so happy. It was great. The pork belly was like pork tuna fish (solid, not chunk lite) and I mean that in the best possible way; i am a huge tuna fish fan, but I am prevented from enjoying my passion by my mother who insists the mercury will kill us all. You know I love freebies of the edible variety–Yes, I know they’re not really free–so this went over well.
Tap Water Test: Passed! With lemon slices. I don’t think they were too happy about it, but they did it with a smile. A small smile. Julie still got in one bottle of sparkling, so we were redeemed.
The Mains: Let’s see–three roasts and Yorkshire puds, one lamb, and one spinach and mushroom pie. The lamb (Anna’s selection when faced with no chicken at 3 p.m.) looked very gourmet and well-presented from a distance, but piddly in comparison to the serving of beef. The spinach pie looked lovely, but the inside was full of soupy creamy stuff. It was just a little too soupy for me…Feathers liked it though, proving yet again that everyone likes what THEY like. The roasts–thoroughly enjoyable. Mine was nice and roasty on the outside, charred and delicious, as if it had been through many rubs. Best of all was the serving of family style potatoes, parsnips and carrots, and a green bok-choy like vegetable that I should probably know but I don’t. Really really good. Loved it. Loved the potatoes best again. They were baked and then a little fried I’d guess. But just a little. Lovely.
The Verdict: I really liked Bumpkin. I liked the service (professional and friendly–good balance), I really liked the food (especially the freebie pork belly), and I dug the music, particularly at the end when they played Cat Power’s The Greatest, only my favorite CD these days. (Did they know I was there?) The only downer was that the crowd was very well-groomed, and I was (am) not.
