Pan-Asian Food at Beautiful Bronte on The Strand, London

In this age of social media it’s kind of sad that sometimes people are choosing restaurants based on how Instagram-worthy they are rather than quality of food. Well the other day I visited a restaurant that has both and I’m excited to tell you about it! Bronte on The Strand is not only a supermodel of a restaurant but the location is flawless and the food is great too!
Forget pretty floors, nowadays it’s doorways that are all the rage. #Ihavethisthingwithdoors…and restaurants are making themselves Instagram-ready with beautiful floral archways at the entrance. Bronte is no exception with blossoms at the door and a stunning terrace.
On a warm day, the perfect place to take a seat and watch London buses plough through Charing Cross and people flocking to Trafalgar Square. Speaking of which, the restaurant is actually named after the Square’s most famous figure (not Charlotte Bronte as I’d thought), Lord Nelson also known as the Duke of Bronte.

Flowers in the lobby, palm fronds, copper hanging lights and a pink bar are more ticks for the ‘gram but it’s no surprise the restaurant is this beautiful having been designed by the legendary Tom Dixon.

Green leather booths, an eclectic combination of tables and a pewter bar further add to the gorgeous design…
And a Cabinet of Curiosities is inspired by the history of The Strand and 16th Century explorers. Bronte had actually been on my radar for a while given it’s Instagrammability but I’d assumed that given the name and location it served British food. Wrong! It’s actually Pan-Asian – a fact that made me very happy.
I invited Emma from Adventures of a London Kiwi along as my plus one and we both ordered blog appropriate cocktails. The Falling Star contains Veuve Cliquot Grand Brut, Cointreau and Bitters and the Green with Envy is made up of vodka, St Germain and kiwi.
My favourite thing about Pan Asian food is sharing lots of delicious small plates. Black cod and saffron dumplings were perfectly made and served with a finely balanced lemon ponzu and chilli garlic sauce whilst tempura squid was a delicious comfort food option with sweet chilli sauce.

I loved the yuzu ponzu on the yellow tail sashimi as well as the good hit of spice from the jalopeño.
Oh and we threw in some edamame beans for good measure too.
My sea bass was beautifully cooked and I enjoyed the accompaniments of baby beetroots but I would have preferred a crisper skin and the pink champagne sauce was a little watery.
Emma really enjoyed her lamb cutlets which were big on flavour with crushed wasabi pea and coconut jus.
I also really enjoyed a refreshing dish of ‘seven types of tomato’ I’m not sure that there were actually seven but I enjoyed the zesty ceviche dressing.
We went light on our dessert choices and I opted for one of my favourites; pineapple carpaccio with lime, coconut crisp and coconut sorbet. A super refreshing option and a delicious variety of textures.

Emma chose a classic Arctic roll made with kaffir lime which she loved; though she wasn’t quite so sure about the side dish of kumquats with yuzu dressing which was a slightly odd combination.