Victoria Station is surrounded by safe but predictable dining options, but walk north for just a couple of minutes and you’ll be rewarded with something altogether classier and more unusual.

The Venue
If taking a South African safari is out of your price range, dinner at BBar and restaurant is the next best thing with its wicker chairs, leopard print cushions, zebra-esque striped table tops and dark wood shutters. Even the placemats and menu backs feature animals from the bush, so expect to be confronted by a lion or rhino every time your waiter clears the plates, or by an antelope or lemur as you close the drinks list. At the front, there’s a smart but relaxed bar with ever-changing coloured lights then, up a few steps, is a dining area of two connected rooms with well-spaced tables. There’s a second bar in the basement with similar decor but a cosier feel which would be ideal for private functions.

The Atmosphere
Upwardly-mobile 30-somethings, either in pairs or in large groups straight from the office, make up much of BBar’s clientele. The vibe is buzzy and fun but with a touch of style. It can get extremely noisy despite the generous spacing of the tables. The waiting staff are knowledgeable, friendly and uber-professional (except when an eager waitress declares one of the dishes to be her favourite, then admits she has never tried it. Still, it’s charmingly forgivable and raises a smile).

The Food
There are four dishes for sharing, five starters, six salads (four of them available as starters or main courses), eight mains, four items “From The Grill”, ten side dishes like broccoli, mash, mixed leaf salad or chips with sweet chilli mayonnaise (£3-£3.25), seven desserts, and a cheese selection. South African touches pop up here and there: you could share bobotie spring rolls, or discover how Cape Malay chicken satay differs from satay from elsewhere. Boerewors are traditional South African farmers’ sausages, and ostrich steak appears as an alternative to beef.

Any thoughts that BBar is just another gimmicky themed joint are dispelled by the quality of the starters. Chickpea, carrot and coriander soup (£6) is outstanding: a generous bowl of perfectly smooth, vibrantly-hued comfort food, the graininess of chickpea and sweetness of carrot combining with a surprisingly bold chilli kick. A beetroot and goats’ cheese salad (£8) also delights, not least because of the interesting selection of leaves including red cress, pea shoots and tiny rocket leaves. A scattering of pine nuts and fennel seeds provides further interest. A touch more dressing would have made it even better, but that’s to be hypercritical: it’s a lovely dish.

It’s all smiles when the mains arrive, too. Crayfish tail and tiger prawn salad with sauteed scallops (£14) is an inviting tangle of high quality seafood, leaves and cherry tomatoes. There are unadvertised, big, juicy prawns and tiny, tasty shrimps. The salad is lightly dressed but there’s also a little pot of saffron aioli (which just tastes like perfectly okay mayo). Ostrich steak, it transpires, is very like beef, arrives cooked as requested, and is deliciously juicy and tender. Its accompaniments of smooth sweet potato mash, pureed spinach and a grilled field mushroom make perfect sense. A piquant dollop of spiced currant chutney turns a good dish into a great one. At £19, it’s no bargain but it’s certainly value.

Onto the puds. Amid more modest options like fresh fruit salad or honeycomb ice cream (both £5.50) lurks a trio of South African desserts at £6.50: Rooibos (Redbush tea) and apricot ice cream tastes like high-quality vanilla and sits on a crisp, flattened gingersnap. Malva pudding is a little sponge, its dense, syrupy texture not unlike that of a French savarin. A tiny creme brulee, flavoured with Amarula, the liqueur made from the fruit of Africa’s marula tree, is faultless with its delicate custard and crisp, caramelised top. From the imaginative cheese selection (£5.50 for two varieties, £8 for three, £10 for four), Lincolnshire Poacher is like a top-end mature cheddar whilst Flower Marie is akin to a soft, deep-flavoured Brie. The accompanying grapes, biscuits, quince jelly and unadvertised date chutney are all top-notch.

If you don’t want a full meal, lounge amid the squashy, animal-print cushions in the bar and enjoy items from the separate snack menus for day and evening, like scrambled eggs on toast with smoked salmon (from the day menu) or feta samosas with apricot chutney (from the evening menu, both £8) or just some thick cut chips (£3.50) or olives (£3), which appear on both.

The Drink
Wine buffs will enjoy wading through the full list of well over 100 options, approachably divided into categories like ‘crisp and fresh’, ‘aromatic’ and ‘full bodied and full flavour’. For those who just want a glass of something nice to glug, a severely abridged version is thoughtfully provided. Prices start at £11.50 for an Argentinean malbec and rise to three figures. Commendably, a huge amount is available by the 175ml or 250ml glass. There’s plenty of fizz, plus dessert wines, ports, digestifs, spirits and liqueurs, not forgetting cocktails, lagers, ales, stout and cider.

Outstanding drink of the night was Elysium Black Muscat Quady Winery 2005 (an absolute steal at £23.50 per 375 ml bottle, £6.80 for a 100 ml glass), a deep purple-hued delight of a dessert wine with a giddily intense fragrance and flavour of tropical fruit.

The Last Word
Why settle for Victoria’s ubiquitous, formulaic pizza and pasta options when slick and glossy BBar with its friendly service, comprehensive drink selection and truly impressive food is but a three-minute stroll away?

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