If you manage to escape the hellscape that is the east side of Oxford Street, and dash down Poland Street, you will find an entirely unexpected and very pleasant surprise. Firebird, a smart Mediterranean restaurant, has all the atmosphere and style of a hip East London establishment, but it’s been transplanted a couple of miles west, and so now sits snugly in the area between the centre of Soho and the evils of commerce.
Once you step inside, you find yourself in a small, cosy space, where a fire grill does wonderful things to various cuts of meat and fish, and a well-curated bar, with similarly well-curated barmen, serve up superb cocktails alongside a carefully chosen natural wine list.
We kick off with a couple of snacks, a very fine focaccia and a ham hock and guinea fowl terrine, which were beautifully complemented by a couple of superbly crafted cocktails, a Baked Banana Old Fashioned and an Amalfi Sour; mine was the former and, for once, I think I chose wisely.
It seemed right and proper to opt for fish and vegetarian starters followed by carnivorous mains, and so an excellent tuna tartare and a truly fine halloumi was accompanied by a glass apiece of a superb natural Gruner Veltliner.
Natural wines have a mixed press in some places, but this one was absolutely divine, as well as a similarly well-chosen Sangiovese, which accompanied beautifully cooked pork and duck, to say nothing of some of the best mashed potato I’ve ever tasted.
The only dish that we weren’t fully enamoured by was a tiramisu which comes coated in pistachio, making it a curiously heavy dessert, rather than the gossamer-light delights that some other places offer. But this is a minor quibble, and the peerless espresso martinis that we round the meal off with more than compensate.
Firebird is truly, if you’ll pardon the pun, firing on all cylinders, being intimate and friendly and serving truly five-star food. Truly, a treat by anyone’s standards.
Firebird restaurant and wine bar, 29 Poland St, London W1F 8QR. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.firebirdlondon.co.uk.
