It’s the restaurant everybody’s talking about, the ultimate place to be, the new trend that has bumped being a vegan down in the charts, what’s that? It’s all about the cheese. Putting the ‘ease’ in Cheese, the up and coming Cheese Bar is the talk of the town and if you’re in the know you’ve been, and if you don’t then you better get your butt’s down there because it is unbelievable!
Let’s start off with the original hipster joint, forget Shoreditch, forget Peckham, the Cheese Bar resides in Camden, the area which invented the hipster and a quirky escapade to treat yo’self is what you get. The love child of The Cheese Truck, The Cheese Bar refashions dining culture in London by hosting a menu of all dishes that are magical. The hint is in the name, the restaurant sells goodies such as mouth-watering cheese toasties, to camembert dipping delight, to a style of multiple cheese that oozes with that first bite. Not to mention a delightful variety of high quality wine, making it the perfect cheese and wine night for you vino lovers. Cheese tapas is the way forward, and the Cheese Bar has gotten there first.
The atmosphere was vibrant, bustling with exciting chatter between friends, and soft murmurs of lusting couples on dates, and the quixotic dimmed mood lighting lifting a high-flying ambience, completely setting the scene. A complex menu where most of the cheeses had fanciful linguistics, and after choosing three dishes in the dark and a bottle of red wine we patiently (eagerly) waited for the most talked about dishes to arrive.
Our three carefully chosen delights consisted of a crispy Keen’s Cheddar, Ogleshield, Mixed Onions toastie – simple yet brilliant. The kick of the onions gave the toastie it’s own individual flavour, whilst the traditional cheddar cheese melted on the lightly toasted crunchy bread. Followed by Baked Bix, Bread, Chutney which was a pot of camembert, served with four small portions of mini bread to dip. The camembert was strong creamy texture, and although miniature in size, it makes a great filler to kick start the cheese fest. Last, but not least, my favourite dish of the three, Queso Fundido, Chorizo, Tortillas. Culturally inspired, the Quesadilla dish had a combination of a peppery chilli, juicy chorizo and soft cheese which melted into string when filled in a wrap. It was phenomenal.
Although disappointed I couldn’t order the whole menu, those three delectable dishes sufficed. Perhaps they should introduce a tasting menu to receive the ultimate cheese experience. But £47 for a bottle of wine and three cheese dishes to share and an evening to remember is a bargain, and I definitely will be returning.