Blixen

Quite simply, YES to Blixen. Especially for lunch/​brunch. The décor is gorgeous and the menu had me hemming and hawing over what to have (which isn’t ever a bad thing). Eventually, I settled for the burger — with raclette. Basically the most epic cheeseburger I’ve ever had. Loved the crunchy pickle it came with, plus the crispy fries. It’s the place to take friends/​family you want to impress, and the prices aren’t that bad either. Coffees looked great (though I didn’t have any, my dining companions ordered refills).

I have been to Blixen a number of times now and always enjoyed the experience. Two of us have sat in the dining area, the garden and the kitchen counter, and can say that each of these areas has been rather enjoyable. If you like seeing the kitchen in action, the middle of the kitchen counter is particularly recommended.
As another Unilocaler has mentioned, you do tend to get seated at the counter on weekends if you haven’t made a booking, even if there are a number of open tables around.
I’ve enjoyed the food. The brunch menu is good — not just the same dishes that every other upmarket diner has. I’ve had the baked eggs and the potato rosti, and they were both delicious. Portions look small, but are actually just sufficiently filling.
Service — and this is where I’m taking one star away — is very enthusiastic. On our most recent visit, we were served by four different people, which led to repeated enquiries as to whether we wished to order and how we were finding the food. It was all very American and there’s a limit to the number of times my meal can be interrupted without my being annoyed.
The toilets are nice. They smell nice and the ongoing art exhibition make visiting the restrooms rather pleasant really.

Their pancakes are top notch and their smoothies are as fresh as it gets, but what’s really striking about this place is its lovely back garden. Great place for brunch!

Super Ort um zu brunchen! Die location ist schön und das Essen ist sehr lecker und wird von den freundlichen Bedingungen schnell an den Tisch gebracht.
Auf jeden Fall ist das Blixen immer einen Tipp wert.
Probiert die Panecakes! :)

We just stumbled upon this place while walking around Shoreditch area looking for a place to eat. The exterior looked snazzy enough so we decided to pop in. Overall I enjoyed our time at Blixen. The service was super attentive — we had a very chatty and funny Irish server. I have mixed feelings about the food, because I think I liked my husband’s meal more than my own (isn’t that always the case?!). I had the squid, chorizo and chickpea starter, which was reaaalllllllyyyy good and I basically was three seconds from licking the bowl, but I wasn’t too enthused by my salmon main or its presentation. My husband had a courgette and goats cheese fritter which I stole a little bit of and a really juicy steak. His steak was on point and the tiny sliver he shared with me melted in my mouth. The wine list is pretty vast and prices are overall reasonable based on the food quality. I would definitely recommend!

Blixen is a great place for a good wine with some tasty food. It’s definitely a place I will keep in mind when in the area.
Located at Old Spitalfields Market, Blixen is a beautiful restaurant with a friendly, upmarket touch. I especially liked the wood-​panelled ceiling, as it somewhat contrasts the shiny design with a bit of rustic-​looking wood.
All staff, from the door to all other people who came past my table, were overly friendly and professional — it was a joy to eat there.
When browsing through the menu, I found it difficult to choose. Not so much because I wanted to eat everthing, more because I am a bit picky sometimes and most dishes did not really appeal to me. On the other hand, the wine list is great with a few options I would like to try.
After making up my mind, I ordered an Austrian 2013 Grüner Veltliner, Huber, Traisental — a very refreshing and tasty white wine with a good balance between light and fruity. The wine worked well alone, but also with a little bit salty food or a fruity dessert.
I decided to go with the crispy pork belly, spaetzle, kale & quince as main. The plate looked nice and the skin was indeed very crispy. The finely salted pork was great together with the sweet quince. I was excited to taste the spaetzle — and they disappointed me and also made me happy. As someone who knows how do prepare proper spaetzle by hand, they simply did not look right. They were more like knoepfle than spaetzle. Spaetzle should usually be a bit bigger, longer. Also, they were very crispy, all of them, which is not quite what I had expected. But that said, these little things added a nice texture and spaetzle flavour to the dish. I could have done with a bit more sauce, but altogether, the dish was accomplished and very tasty.
The side of cheese and chive mash did not convince me. It is something different, yes, but I thought it was a bit too bland. Nice together with the salty pork, but simply a bit boring on its own. When I go again, I will definitely check out the chips.
To conclude my early dinner, before dashing off to a concert, I opted for the passion fruit tart with raspberry sorbet as recommended by my very helpful and nice waitress. I was not entirely sure about this dish, because passion fruit and raspberry are both acidic — I should not have worried, it was simply a very refreshing summer dessert. Not sweet at all, but two strong fruits and just a beautiful combination.
I wondered a little bit that they did not serve some bread to start with. By the end of my meal, I was full, no bread needed, still this was a small let down for me.
Blixen is a stunning restaurant with well-​prepared food, a great wine list and very friendly, helpful staff. Definitely a place I am happy to visit again.

I’ve wandered past this place a few times recently when in Spitalfields and thought 1, menu looked good, 2, décor looked great so added it to my list of must try’s!
After stupidly early morning yesterday with long work hours, bf and I had s lovely lie in then decided to get a late breakfast Spitalfields way before getting a train to his parents.
I was umming and ahhing about where to go as I really fancied granola, fruit and yog then remembered this place.
We rocked up just before 12 and I was hoping they still had their full breakfast menu on however this is only served until 11.30
They did have their brunch on and had a table in their ‘garden’ area which is where I wanted to sit so we sat down and ordered 2 coffees — flat white and latte (both good). Seating area was lovely and light, with lots of trees, fairy lights and comfy cushions. Overall a really relaxed vibe.
Brunch menu looks pretty good so I had picked between the pancakes or the croque madam however when the waiter came I asked if by any chance id be able to have the granola yog and fruit. She asked the kitchen (they were pretty busy) and low and behold they said yes! Morning (midday) made! Bf ordered baked eggs and Boston beans.
Food came in ¹⁰⁄₁₅ mins, not rushed but not waiting and it looked good! Massive bowl of granola with berries banana and rhubarb on top and a big pot of Greek yoghurt. Bf had two big slices of sour dough toast and a casserole dish full of beans, confit duck, lardons and a baked eggs on top. Massive (and tasted good too). My granola was so good — nice and sweet with plenty of crunch and stuffed with nuts!
In all with tip just over the £20 mark at £22.50.
We both came away absolutely stuffed and satisfied. Will be trying the dinner menu soon!
Overall lovely brunch, good service and relaxed atmosphere. Recommend!

Met a long lost friend here for dinner late on a Friday night. Being two touring Americans, we took her suggestion in hopes of finding a fun, trendy local place away from the camera toting crowds. This place did not disappoint. Had to ask her what a few things on the menu meant, but after trying three appetizers (all amazing) and the chicken I was amazed. The use of unique ingredients (beet hummus!?) and cool atmosphere made this an amazing treat for us. Had the Adubato for dessert — small but SO good.

We had a really good meal here. The martini was stirred not shaken (a much more visual experience) and a labor of love by the barkeep.
Pork belly was sublime, just a notch below was a simple but elegant pasta dish and the braised lamb. Attentive service too.

The newest family member to the Clive Watson group of Riding House Café, Village East & Garrison fame– Blixen has a similar feel but with a unique Spitalfields makeover. It’s not a terribly huge venue but it feels spacious; the tables are well-​spaced, the ceilings are high and it feels like a slower pace than the immediate market outside. Perhaps that’s due to a fully-​booked first-​weekend seating but I like to think it couldn’t possibly be annoyingly rammed. If you come in the future and that’s the case, then I’m sorry!
The brunch menu was simple but has just about something for anyone from the dish-​of-​the-​moment avocado on toast with smoked trout to pancakes and potato hash with salt beef. I had read a couple of sneak-​peek reviews of the dinner menu and have to say I’d be a bit more interested in coming back for mains as I think that’s where they’ll really shine but the easy breezy atmosphere makes it a place that you could really kill some time at any time of day…
Or less than two hours as the booking times dictate, but you know what I mean.
I went with the croque madame with duck egg as my first choice was sold out and smoothie to match.
For those who love the details, we took a liking to the glassware that was really well-​coordinated. Great stemware, rocks glasses, etc. apparently there’s a basement bar in the works as well that wasn’t yet open… again, if you’re reading this in the future, I’m sorry for the lack of insight into this or if it turns out I’m lying to you altogether.
Go check it out. To be honest… and maybe because I’m used to their other venues, I’m a little surprised about the location of this one (do you know what I mean without spelling it out?)… but it’s a bright and airy stop filled with the stylish people of Spitalfields. Really, everyone in here when we went had their eyewear game on-​point. Fellow Unilocaler Emma C was a little jealous.