Events: Food

Blank Street Christmas TV Dinner Review

Blank Street has launched their Winter Menu and to celebrate they are hosting two TV dinner events. Last night we went behind the scenes of Blank Street TV to enjoy an evening of food and entertainment.

Walking into 83 Rivington Street, we were greeted with a mulled wine. Considering it had been snowing and was cold that day, this was a nice way to warm up and get us in the festive spirit. As the Winter menu is inspired by nostalgic treats like festive movies and cookery shows, we stepped back in time to the holiday shows of the 70s and 80s, where everything was kitsch and glam. There’s a wall of old TVs displaying our images as well as the advert for the winter menu. The long tables are festively decorated and give family dinner vibes. Pull a cracker to get your paper hat. The evening also featured entertainment from the “BTV” hosts.  This included bingo and a game of ‘higher or lower’ regarding information about Blank Street. Do you know how many Blank Street coffees Sabrina Carpenter served?

We enjoyed a 3-course TV dinner. For starters we had the honey prawns with roasted macadamia, avocado puree, pickled radishes, hot honey and harissa Marie Rose. This was sweet and crispy. I’m not a massive avocado eater but the amount was just right, adding a creamy touch to the dish.

Next was coffee rubbed confit duck leg, Jerusalem artichokes, marmalade sprouts, parsnip cheese, sage stuffing, clementine braised red cabbage and orange mole. I’ve never had coffee rubbed duck but after the first bite everyone looked at each other, nodded, smiled and dug in for some more. The coffee gives it a an earthy and smokey taste. In keeping with the theme, this was served on a a TV tray with individual sections for each item, and was the starting point for talking about our own TV dinners as children.


For dessert, there was a sharing size baked Alaska made with vanilla and matcha swirl ice cream, joconde sponge, blueberry curd, fudge pieces and blank meringue.  Although a little messy to serve, it was creamy. Fudge is one of my favourites, so I really enjoyed this contrast. There’s also a vegan menu with mille-feuille, coffee rubbed cauliflower and vanilla ice cream.

We were able to sample all 3 new flavours of the Winter drinks menus. I’m still a newby when it comes to matcha so  I preferred the other two over the velvety vanilla fudge matcha, though this was a firm favourite at the table. Lattes are my go to, so I really enjoyed the honey macadamia one. It wasn’t overpowering but added a little something different to my usual latte and I’d buy this when purchasing a coffee out. My favourite one was the chocolate orange mocha. This felt so much like a warming hot chocolate- I just wanted to be at a Christmas market or curled in bed with a good book whilst sipping it. All can be served hot or cold and are available at Blank Street UK now for £4.20/£4.70.

Blank Street also has some seasonal limited edition merchandise. Their Secret Family recipe tin (£18) houses their limited seasonal dark roast with notes of mince pie, biscotti and mulling spices. The Matcha Tin (£20) is a premium, ceremonial-grade matcha in a luxe, giftable tin.

Blank Street TV will be hosting two evenings of ticketed dinners on Wednesday 20th and Thursday 21st November from 6:30pm-10:30pm. Tickets are £45. Tickets are available: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/80884696073

Address: 83 Rivington St, EC2A 3AY

Website: https://www.blankstreet.com/en-GB

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blankstreet

Written by Caitlin Neal