On a day that was rather cold and unnecessarily rainy outside, we found ourselves being teleported into what seemed to be a Californian paradise when stepping foot in Bucket London. Warm, yellow lighting and LA-inspired cabanas greeted us upon entry, making us instantly forget about the miserable weather we’d just braved to get there. It’s as they say: it’s always summer at Bucket.
Ever so aptly named ‘Bucket’, this Notting Hill restaurant bares its title after the delicious buckets of fresh seafood on offer. Being the seafood fanatics we are, Bucket had already won our hearts at first glance of the menu with offerings of mussels, calamari, prawns, seafood linguine, fish pie and so much more. However, looking deeper into the menu, we were beyond excited to see that Bucket was experimenting with some sea-riously unconventional pairings.
A Christmas feast at Bucket London.
While we were absolutely dying to get a hold of unconventional pairing number 1 – Lobster, prawn and cheese TOASTIE with fries?! – we ended up siding with unconventional pairing number 2: crab mac ‘n’ cheese. Both were fusing our two foodie loves together and we couldn’t be more happy about it. Thank you Bucket for making seafood and cheese a thing.
Now, bearing in mind this was a winter menu for seafood, one was not to expect typical lightweight dishes. Straying from the traditional refreshing lobster and prawn cocktail or raw seafood over ice, Bucket was experimenting with heavier styles of seafood dishes such as squid on crispy roast potatoes and mussels in a tomato, chorizo and pancetta sauce. Rather than light, zesty flavours, we were tucking into rich and creamy styles.
Sautéed Prawns with Samphire and Tomatoes.
For starters, we enjoyed warm, dense bread and butter with taramasalata, grilled squid steak atop patatas bravas and tuna tartare with pickled radish, avocado mayo and seaweed crisps. Mains consisted of sautéed prawns with samphire and tomatoes and mussels in a white wine, garlic, parsley and cream sauce. To finish, a dessert of chocolate soup with sponge cake croutons and vanilla ice cream, and coconut rice crème brûlée hit just the spot.
Food and atmosphere were both a strong tick, and customer service was well up there too. We were greeted with such warm smiles by our waitresses, both of who ensured we were looked after from start to finish. Our waitresses also engaged in light conversation, which is a simple gesture we always love to see when dining out.
Coconut Rice Crème Brûlée.
Seafoodies, this one’s for you. Check out Bucket London’s menu online here and treat yourself to a slice of tropical paradise in the quaint London burb of Notting Hill. Yeah, buoy.
