A leisurely lunch at Blackbird

It was a Thursday.
Lunch was beckoning.
And it was too nice a day to be inside. So my packed lunch went in the fridge for another day, and a colleague and I walked down to grab a bite to eat.

We spotted Blackbird, and even though I have a phobia of actual birds, birds in name only don’t scare me.
We had a look at the menu on the window (always a good start), found something that we liked and so decided to stay.

We were both delighted. The service was fantastic, the food was divine, and it really made the most of the view.

It’s not generally a good sign when there’s no one else in the resteraunt but it really didn’t matter, we both had a thoroughly enjoyable lunch.
In particular what impressed me was the attention to detail. The waiter (silly me, forgot to catch his name) really made us feel welcome.
It’s not often I notice someone’s professionalism, but that’s what he had. Customer service was excellent, he had a light, jokey manner without being too over the top and made us feel comfortable and at home. You could tell that he more-than-likely enjoyed his job, which is a pleasure.

And then the food, was so much more than I was expecting.
I ordered the steak sandwich, having some preconceived expectations about steak sandwiches in general and baulking a little at the price ($23 is on the expensive side for a sandwich). This should not be called a steak sandwich. A sandwich it was not. This was a little slice of heaven on ciabatta.
The steak was cooked just the way I like it. Drag a cow past a heater once or twice (go on picture it). With the combination of the dressing and the rocket, and the really thick frites was just divine.

My colleague had the barley risotto, with beetroot and parmesan. Which apparently was wonderful as well. The bright pink dish was a little off-putting at first, but once we asked the waiter what was going on (and he knew what he was talking about) it made perfect sense.

And then we ordered desert.
Chocolate Fondant with chocolate syrup and white chocolate ice-cream.
We really should have shared desert.
I now understand what recipes talk about when they say the centre should be gooey. This was soo gooey.
I gained 5 kilos while eating it, and enjoyed every one of them.

The drinks list was very extensive, however being during the working day it wasn’t that kind of work lunch.
I think the next after-work drinks party will have to be held there. Even if it’s just to see the interior of the place.

With the location on the water, the service, the chocolate!, it’s a pity that I’m leaving this job soon and I won’t be able to have lunch there.
Definitely a keeper.
It was a little on the expensive side, but worth every penny.