Family Dining in London: A Review of The Refinery Bankside by Drake & Morgan
The Refinery Bankside review: By Rachel Ducker
As a family of five you just have to accept that having to eat out in London is pretty much like a small military operation at times. You need somewhere that still has that stylish edge without being in a restaurant that you walk into with your three children and feel like you’re ruining everyone else’s Saturday night.
We had the pleasure of visiting The Refinery Bankside by Drake & Morgan last weekend and I was honestly totally in love with it.
The restaurant is situated on Southwark Street, behind Tate Modern, and within walking distance of London Bridge and Blackfriars tube stations. The Refinery is a sizeable restaurant and bar with an airy, industrial look. There’s a lounge, semi-private dining areas and a mezzanine to choose from, but even though the overall decor is distinctly cosmopolitan, it was very child-friendly.
A London restaurant that really accepts families
We went on a Saturday evening and in a busy London evening and it was really nice that we felt comfortable taking the kids with us.
Friendly staff, relaxed atmosphere and although busy with the usual pub crowd drinking and dining we didn’t get the feeling that we didn’t quite belong with our three small kids in tow.
That sweet spot is more elusive than you expect. Parents, sometimes you want to get a little fancy, a little special, without the whole time spent worrying about how the kids can’t wiggle while you eat.
The Refinery managed to give us both.
Top of the Annabel Karmel children’s menu was the main event!
One of my highlights was learning that Drake & Morgan has collaborated with Annabel Karmel MBE, one of the UK’s leading children’s food experts, to develop a series of dishes especially for children.
Family Menu: The new family menu has been created to cater for everyone from babies having some of their first foods to older children up to the age of 12, such a genius idea when all families can have very different needs around one table.
Some ingredients are more familiar for children’s dishes though there are a few that sound just that little bit more considered. Current dishes include Annabel Karmel’s hidden vegetable tomato pasta and spaghetti bolognese, as well as battered fish, cheeseburgers and buttermilk chicken bites. Baby food options include chicken and vegetable, and salmon with tomato and sweet potato.
You can also check out what my kids thought of Annabel Karmel meals here.
It’s a simple thing, but the fact that our children’s meals all came out with their own little bowl and cutlery made them feel very special indeed. Rather than them just having a reduced version of the adult experience, it was as if they were having their own experience designed specifically for them.
In the parent’s eye it also removes some of the typical stress, you already know your child’s going to like the taste, the portion sizes are safe, and it’s designed with kids in mind, so you don’t have to spend half the meal working out what adult plate you can negotiate them with.
And anything that makes eating out with three little ones easier definitely gets my vote.
We’re not leaving the adults out!
I was most impressed by the children’s offerings, but I certainly haven’t forgotten the adult menu.
Drake & Morgan’s menus change with the seasons and go from tapas, sharing plates and enticing comforting mains to lighter bites and puddings. The new menus feature a variety of dishes to share including steak bites and hot honey popcorn chicken as well as lighter dishes like roast chicken and seafood linguine and more decadent puddings.
There is enough choice to appeal just as much to those wanting a full three-course meal or something a little lighter or to share over the table.
And we enjoyed being able to see into the open kitchen. For the kids, its things like that make a big difference, there’s always a little something going on for them to look at while you wait for your food.
Suitable for a Saturday night out, relaxing enough for children
I suppose this was ultimately my favourite part about The Refinery.
Feels more like a ‘family eatery’.
The atmosphere is cool, vibrant and quintessentially London, and it could be a go-to spot for cocktails with friends, dinner for two, or a special celebration. Drake & Morgan says The Refinery Bankside is ‘a modern all-day drinking, dining and social destination’ – and that rings true as soon as you step inside.
Yet at the same time, that we all managed to sit there as a family of five on a busy Saturday evening seemed a bit surreal.
Not all parents are after somewhere draped in brightly coloured plastic just because there are children in tow. Occasionally, you still want a beautiful setting, good food and that experience of actually going out for dinner.
The Refinery is what you get, and your little ones will love being a part of it.
Would we revisit The Refinery Bankside?
Absolutely.
Great for those families who are looking for things to do with kids in London particularly if they’re in and around Bankside, Tate Modern or the South Bank.
We departed thinking it felt like we’d actually enjoyed an authentic Saturday-night dinner in London, as opposed to just stumbled upon an easy spot to feed the kids – a very different experience.
The Annabel Karmel menu is another particularly great touch and really shows that Drake & Morgan do appear to have considered what makes dining out easier for families.
It was a lovely find for our family, stylish surroundings, a varied menu, children’s food that takes into account the whole family and a really chilled out atmosphere.
