Someone should suggest to tell the folks at the Barbican Centre to bring on a third-party to manage their kitchen at the Barbican Food Hall.
We had brunch last month before heading to the Marcel Duchamp exhibition. The interiors of the Barbican Food Hall is gorgeous, just like the building that houses it. Very contemporary chic: ‘waffle-like’ ceiling (as AB refers to it) with huge glass jars used as light furnishings, shiny white wall tiles juxtaposed against matt brown ones on the floor, and long wooden benches suited for communal dining. The food on display looked delectable and we were looking to a good meal before the exhibition.
Except that everything we had was awful, be it the (pseudo) bagel sandwich, (soggy) fish and chips that tasted like leftovers and were not even properly reheated, or the bland chocolate cherry cake. Astounding bad.
Were our expectations too high? I think not. It’s a shame that the food was not at least of decent quality and paled tremendously in comparison with its stylish interiors. Certainly a case of style over substance.
Angelina Hue 