Apostrophe Overview
Certainly not! That’s the kind of response most ‘normal’ Londoners would give when asked if they’d like to go shopping on Oxford Street this Saturday. Unless, of course, they enjoy the suffocating feeling that’s created by a stampede of shoulder-barging consumers who have "just come down from Essex for the day".
Yeh, mmmaybe…. That’s the reaction any sane Londoner would have when similarly propositioned about Covent Garden. Just as long as they don’t mind the odd fallible juggler, questionable performance artist or wide-eyed tourist with a real knack for giving these people their money.
Ummm, I haven’t the faintest idea….. That’s the confused answer that practically anyone would give when likewise approached with The Brunswick as a Saturday afternoon venue. So why the indecisiveness? Well, do YOU know where (or what) The Brunswick is? See, you’re as clueless as everyone else.
Here, then, are a few clues:
It’s a Grade II listed building in the locality of Bloomsbury and has recently been blessed with a £24 million facelift. And as facelifts go, the ones in Bloomsbury are usually pretty snazzy. Stores such as Benneton, Office, Joy and Hobbs give The Brunswick a boutique facade whilst the presence of Waitrose ensures high levels of “Tally-ho”, “Ra-Ra” and “Jolly good show, old chap”.
Affluence is everywhere on this new development. It’s peering through the windows from behind celebrity glasses. It’s tottering along the walkways in Gucci stilettos. It’s thumbing through its French dictionary before entering The Renoir. Occasionally though, even affluence has to stop and eat. Nandos chicken? Very Peri spicy. Yo! Sushi’s sushi? Too raw and slimey. Affluence wants something more suitable, something with a little punctuation. Like Apostrophe.
French in style and inclination, The Brunswick’s Apostrophe (pronounced A-poss-troaf) is the eleventh of its kind in London. Equal parts café to boulangerie-patisserie, it exudes quality inconspicuously for the area. It’s no coincidence that the word connoisseur is French.
There’s une grande emphase on everything that’s healthy and organic. The baguettes wont bleed your gums with their toughness. The sourdoughs put the art into artisan. The freshly-squeezed carrot juice is a favourite of the SAS for its nighttime capabilities. The crème fraiche and chilli jam battle for supremacy along the Lyon, which is a sandwich, not a place. In fact Normandy, Lille and Marseille are no longer locations at the end of an Easyjet flight, but instead hearty lunch options resplendent with filling. And then there’s the savoury tarts, the salads, the soups, the sweet pastries and the even sweeter cakes. With the addition of free wifi, free newspapers and covered exterior seating there’s almost no need to work at the office.
If it were a French footballer it’d be Eric Cantona at his most haughty and debonair, circa the ‘seagull’ era. Otherwise 8 out of 10
Christian Rose-Day (Updated 10/07/2007)
Additional Info: Food, Non-Smoking Area
Nearby Venues:
- China House - The Orient Restaurant, Chinese (0.14km)
- Virginia Woolf's Bar & Bistro, [Other/Unclassified] (0.19km)
- Hare and Tortoise Noodle & Sushi Bar (Bloomsbury), Oriental (0.26km)
- North Sea Fish Restaurant, Fish (0.27km)
- Golden House, Chinese (0.27km)
- Cagney's, American (0.34km)
- Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes, American (0.38km)
- Trattoria Verdi, Italian (0.43km)
- Salaam Namaste, Indian (0.43km)
- Boonchoo Authentic Thai Cuisine, Thai (0.44km)
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