Bar Crispin, right in the heart of Soho, is a place that looks effortlessly charming, warm, minimal, and focused on natural wines. It feels like it wants to be part of London’s modern gastronomic scene, and at first glance, it absolutely deserves to be… But behind this confident image was, for me, a somewhat underwhelming experience.

Today, I used the good weather as an excuse to head straight to Soho. It was a Friday evening, and I didn’t really expect to get a table without a reservation, worst case, I’d just move on to Counter. But to my surprise, a very kind staff member welcomed me warmly and even found me a table outside. That generous gesture set the tone beautifully.

Before even looking at the menu, my eyes went straight to the Old Fashioned. It arrived just how I like it , simple and elegant. I took a sip, sunglasses off, ready to enjoy it. But the sweetness was overwhelming; the bourbon flavour was nowhere to be found. I didn’t finish it.

By then,  Bal came , and we moved on to the wine list. They offered us the wines of the day, and I went with a glass of Beaujolais Blanc. £15 for a glass felt like a lot , not completely unjustified in Soho, but still oddly priced.

Next came the bread and butter. I noticed they work with Toklas Bakery, so naturally, I wanted to try it. The sourdough was truly excellent, aromatic even before it hit your mouth. It was served with cultured butter, a thoughtful touch, but unfortunately, it got completely overshadowed by the bread. There was no real harmony between the two. I couldn’t help but wonder if a simple salted butter might have been more effective.

Then came the hand-cut steak tartare, which was actually great, well-balanced and full of flavour. The crispy polenta with parmesan was also satisfying. But things went downhill with the fried prawn sando: flat in both presentation and taste. The burrata was similarly bland and unmemorable.

I was still up for a second glass of wine, but I couldn’t find anything on the menu that I actually wanted to pair it with. The food menu as a whole felt uninspired, monotonous, and forgettable .

To be fair, maybe I’m being overly critical of a place with a “snack-style” bar menu. But when you price things at the level of some Michelin-starred tapas bars, the expectations naturally follow. The issue wasn’t just the lack of flavour or excitement m, it was a sense of imbalance between concept, product, and price. Something felt off.

Eventually, I asked for the bill and walked straight to Chinatown, knowing exactly what would fix things: dim sum. And sure enough, it did.