Review | Chefs Warehouse at The Bailey
A triumphant return to Bree Street as Chefs Warehouse opens at The Bailey
The ground floor of Liam Tomlin’s Bree Street culinary hub, The Bailey, has reopened as an iteration of the chef’s much-loved Chefs Warehouse — just across the road from the first and original location of the eatery.
The space has been subtly redesigned, the flashier and ornate elements of what was The Bailey’s Café have been swapped out for a more urban and restrained feel. The once coffee and pastry station converted to a raw bar, featuring an impressive seafood display, theatrically prepared on order.
The menu, while still featuring the small plates for which Chefs Warehouse has become known, here takes shape in an à la carte offering, rather than the “tapas for two” set menu of its predecessor.
The move is well suited to the faster pace and style of dining favoured for weekday dining in the city. The extended menu also allows diners to mix and match dishes, creating an experience suited to their dietary requirements and eating preferences.
As any meal at a Chefs Warehouse should, we begin with the oysters dressed in a fragrant and textured Vietnamese dressing and a bread board including fresh-out-the-oven bread, cultured butter, olives, whole confit garlic cloves and the most delectable Jamon jam.
Next, it’s the linefish ceviche with a fresh ponzu dressing and thinly sliced daikon, it’s a clean, refined and flavourful dish. The same is true for the tuna tartar — the fresh, tender, fish served with a fragrant spring onion and ginger dressing with crispy fish skin adding an extra dimension to the dish.
The ratatouille tart is not to be missed, a fantastic exercise in texture, the crisp pastry case breaking open to reveal the gorgeously caramelised roast vegetable filling topped with creamy mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and a 15-year aged balsamic vinegar. It’s a dish that has you reaching for seconds.
Dessert could call for another signature, the lemon posset (here served with a tequila-soaked pineapple — which errs on the side of too tart for my tastes), though I’d certainly recommend the carrot madeleines — cooked to order and served piping hot. The perfect accompaniment to a post-dinner coffee, tea or digestif. You won’t be blamed for ordering seconds — we certainly did.
A fantastic meal, matched with attentive service and a solid drinks offering. Chefs Warehouse’s return to the foodie-centric Bree Street is no doubt a triumph for Tomlin, Abramowitz and team.