Columbia: London Docklands
Can we start a review with the words Voila!? Well we just did, that is the sound of triumph for Columbia restaurant at Hilton Riverside in the Docklands. We had our David Beckham boat cruise moment, slower, but just as cool as we caught the river cruise from the heart of Canary Wharf to the wonders that are Columbia. Admire the city’s iconic skyline as you sip on a cocktail at the sophisticated bar.
Having stayed at Hilton Riverside as a guest in the past, I was always too busy to really take time out to enjoy the food at Columbia and was more than thrilled to get dressed up to head down and taste some of their treats. The ambience was perfect on arrival; it was calm, with slightly dim lighting and friendly staff throughout. My friend put it best that it was like having dinner at a friend’s house, relaxed and with great food.
The food! Oh gosh the food! As Oliver Twist said, “please sir can I have some more”, except this wasn’t bowls of gruel, but lush plates of heaven. Let me explain, for our starters we had the ‘Ham Hock Terrine’, which came, accompanied by apple puree, peas, radish and mini pickles. The Ham hock was super tasty and went perfectly with the other starters we opted for. I am a lover of mushrooms and anything with mushrooms is always a winner so I had to try the wild mushrooms on toast, perfectly sautéed mushrooms with garlic a pesto sauce. Our waitress recommended we try the black pudding scotch egg, don’t wince, it sounds awful, but was the best starter we ate that night. The crispy Scotch egg batter was lined with a thin layer of black pudding with a perfectly boiled hard-boiled egg. I highly recommend that you try it, it was amazing!
Now the mains, we had the pleasure of watching our mains being prepared in the open kitchen and it made the food taste better to see the joy the chefs put into making our meal. The head chef even said with glee ‘sex on a plate’ as he dished out my lamb and you know what he was spot on! He can make me food any day of the week. For my main I had the lamb rump with bean cassoulet, fondant potato and thyme jus. The lamb literally melted in my mouth and the fondant potato was ok, but was definitely overshadowed by the mouth watering lamb. My friend had as a main the beef fillet with triple cooked chips and mushroom sauce, when I tasted her beef I was really jealous, I wanted both her beef and my lamb. We left in a total meat coma, so much goodness on our plate we could not complain. The triple cooked chips came in a cute basket that resembled a mini deep fryer tray, the chips were cooked so well my friend was convinced they had sweet potatoes in them.
The desserts were amazing too. I am not even going to talk too much about them, I will just sit the images right here and you can imagine the taste for yourself. I highly recommend the sticky toffee pudding and the panna cotta that we both ate. Lush!
Columbia even have a Valentines menu that is a bargain and you should book a table for your Mr or Mrs. You will be wowed by the food and the amazing staff and how much more romantic can you get looking across the river and seeing the lights of London’s iconic Canary Wharf.
Find out more about Columbia on their website:
Address:
Columbia, DoubleTree by Hilton London Docklands Riverside 265 Rotherhithe Street, London SE16 5HW
Reservations: 020 7064 4461
Twitter: @columbiarest | Facebook: Columbia-restaurant | Instagram: Columbia-London
