Love at The Foundry

Sipping Champagne cocktails to the tune of As Time Goes By, while warming myself on the radioactive heat emitted from Bogart and Bergman’s electromagnetic energy, I could almost be in Rick’s Café Américain – rather than The Foundry on a rainy night in Camden.

As part of its run up to Valentine’s Day, restaurant and cocktail bar The Foundry was screening the much-loved classic Casablanca, which turns 70 this year. It  also created a special cannoli menu – a classic Sicilian dessert consisting of tubes of pastry filled with delicious flavoured ricotta cream. Treats which were accompanied with a live jazz performance from the Jo Caleb Duo and matched with chosen Italian dessert wine on The Day of Love itself – a high point of romantic anxiety for singletons and couples everywhere.

But judging from the quality of the food and drinks, which had a strong emphasis on being locally sourced and seasoned with herbs and spices grown in the venue’s courtyard, any night would be a special occasion here. The dining area is light and airy complete with its very own Hanging Gardens of Babylon in the form of an impressive wall-to-ceiling vertical garden, making it the perfect retreat from urbanity.

Despite its Sicilian cannoli theme, the menu was subject to a relaunch embracing seasonal British dishes such as homemade granary breads, apple and celery salad, onion marmalade, an array of British cheeses, ham hock terrine, honey roast British ham and chicken liver pate. But some Mediterranean favourites were kept – such as the melt-in-the-mouth pumpkin ravioli.

Even the drinks had a make-over with a British influenced Mojito using strawberries and fresh basil and, wait for it, an Earl Grey Martini.

And for those who enjoy dancing as well as various fragrant alcoholic infusions, The Foundry regularly opens its collapsible wall into sister music venue The Forge next door to create a much larger ground floor. This is a truly versatile space.

To critique, Valentine’s Day has almost become as clichéd as the Teddy Bear holding a love-shaped box of chocolates. So my nod to the event involved a meal and bottle of wine at home – although I’ve no doubt this space is a great choice for those inclined to celebrate the occasion with a bit more style than myself.

Having said that The Foundry is somewhere I’ll certainly be returning soon. In fact, I think this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship…

The Forge & The Foundry
3-7 Delancey Street
Camden
NW1 7N

Tel: 02073875959