Giraffe Bar & Grill

I recently attended a Flatbread event courtesy of the one and only Qype hosted by the lovely Nathan at Giraffe. It was the first time I had visited Giraffe and it is a lovely restaurant/bar. Great location – I have to be honest I was a bit sceptical at the possibility of a Giraffe restaurant being in the very unique arms of Soho, but this branch has done it justice. It is very different from the other restaurants – it has a very Raymond Revue styled neon light adorning the wall for a start. The red room adds another unique element, the personalities of the staff is another, finally the cocktails…. Oh the cocktails. Yum. Happy hour between 5 and 7 there – all the “bar buddies” are HALF PRICE. What more could you ask for? I feel very privileged to have had a peek at Giraffe courtesy of Qype and the opportunity to try my hand at baking flatbreads, you can read my review accompanied with yummy looking photos here: http://foodieclaire.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/flatbread-ma...

Although I know that ‘flatbread isn’t pizza’ I will still ridiculously excited to be chosen for what, in my mind, was going to be a night of wine and pizza with Qype– pizza being my culinary speciality. Although I wasn’t disappointed with the night this was maybe my downfall to flatbread making as my flatbread essentially just looked like a pizza. However, the dough and sauce provided by giraffe was delicious, and the advice presented on flatbread making showed that the staff really had an insight into what was needed to make the perfect flatbread. The wine and nibbles (dips, bread, skewers) that were available were delectable (especially the deep fried prawns).
I was hoping the private ‘Red Room’ would be a little more exciting – the black corridor leading up to it certainly suggested something more than we found. But the rest of the decor was fabulous, the seating comfy and I really enjoyed the people watching from the big windows in the upstairs lounge.

I too, like the others listed here have tried giraffe for its great breakfasts (is it cool to admit they’re the ultimate hangover place? No? Oh, ok) well, this is a slight change of direction for the hangover-addressing stalwart, and a fresh twist it is too. Our concentration was on flatbreads for the evening (think pizzas with super-thin toppings) amongst the funkipeeps of sohoville. Fresh flavours, but it doesn’t weigh you down like a deep pan would. Hang on. There might just be something in this.Great food with a buzz to it. Give it a try.

When I used to work in Clapham, the Battersea Rise branch of Giraffe was a regular lunchtime haunt, especially after I first got my gob round one of their chicken and mango salads. Then we had a Qype shindig at the one in Spinningfields in Manchester, where I tried their burgers for the first time (anywhere that puts avocado and chorizo in their burgers will always be onto a winner with me). But although the swish new Soho branch has been open since June, until last night I hadn’t had a chance to investigate it.

With swish red decor and a gorgeous upstairs lounge which is the perfect place for people-watching on the busy Soho streets below, the Soho branch of Giraffe does a fine line in boozy cocktails and tasty bar snacks as well as main meals. The Red Room is usually only seen by private parties, but last night a team of intrepid Qypers monopolised it for an exclusive flatbread-making session, in which we got to learn all the secrets of the perfect flatbread, and try making our own. Although some of them ended up more like pizzas than flatbreads, they were all delicious, and a testament to the quality of the fresh ingredients involved. The staff were all warm and friendly too – a plus in somewhere as busy and usually brusque as Soho!

This is completely different to any of the other Giraffes that I’ve been to, and truth be told I only tend to go for their breakfast. Credit is deserved here as they have tailored this relatively new venue perfectly to its Soho locality: the downstairs has a terrace bang in the middle of the local hustle and bustle and ideal for summer, when summer comes; upstairs is airy, plush and comfortable and with its own bar at the end (where you can also get some fine coffo).

For our recent event, we were hosted in the private dining area towards the rear of the upstairs, the Red Room (fact fans), and it’s a genuinely cool private function area. We were treated to some delicious dips and then given an insight into the most effective way to create some fine flatbreads. Even though some of the attempts weren’t without their shortcomings, the results were mostly delicious.

This Giraffe does most definitely challenges any ideas or pre-conceptions you may have about the company, they’re offering a far more upmarket experience and in a killer location.

Giraffe has definitely gone a lot more ‘upscale’ and stylish with this new branch, which (fortunately, given its reputation) is extremely ‘Soho’ and feels quite different from what I’ve come to expect from the rest of the chain. Giraffe’s always good for a wide selection of options, but there are some additional ones here.

It’s not just the decor that is different: the menu holds some surprises, too. Alongside all the usual favourites from around the world, this branch is a bar and grill, serving freshly-baked flatbread pizza which is really quite yummy: slimmer than a full-on pizza and packed with flavour. The bar area also serves a huge range of cocktails, which are spot on for Soho nightlife!

I went here to try they’re epic Flat bread Pizza and came away very happy indeed. Service was quick and friendly. Price was reasonable and portion was inbetween a snack and a meal. Just right. Spicy Chicken (called the Wiseguy) is my pick!

Trendy place in the skirts of soho’s busy areas, big restaurant with a nice deco, they have a good range of cosmopolitan food, i tried the set menu and had the chicken skewers with habanero sauce, nice and tender chicken and the sauce was very good as well, for mains i went for the minute steak with skin on chips and peppercorn sauce, the meat had good quality it was nice and tender, the fries were really good and the sauce tasty and full flavoured. Although the food is good and reasonable priced the staff is really slow serving, nice people really attentive but it takes aaaages for them to serve you every time you order something, the music is really annoying rock and roll and very loud!! you have to raise your voice to be able to have a conversation. Overall good but really really slow service, i wouldn’t go back there because of that knowing i have so many options in soho, i think they have a busy restaurant but it could be better!