Bluebird is cool. It offers a variety of cool spaces to eat, drink and people watch in – from its café, restaurant and bar; to forecourt and barbecue; four private rooms; and
food store, bakery and wine cellar. But it's not quite too cool for school. The forecourt is comfortable and quite relaxed - even if its a bit of a mystery what it might have been in its past life - and the café is the kind of place that young, hip parents feel its OK to bring their stroller-clad offspring.
Its OK to come here for a special meal out, a post-work beverage (and more), or for a quick coffee headed for the school run. The trick to how Bluebird caters to this many different types of drinkers and diners is in the variety of its hospitable venues. On a standard Saturday afternoon, Bluebird can be all-things to all-people: from twentysomethings laden with shopping taking a break on stools at the bar, to toddlers in high chairs, to rather formal occasion lunchers.
Outside, even when the barbecue season is through, the menu is laidback, casual and sunny, while the restaurant is a bit more formal in chrome and dark red: the kind of place to take your Mum for her birthday if she likes feeling like she's in the centre of things.
Outside expect a cheeseburger 'cut from English rump, kraft, crisp pancetta, relish & french fries' or king sea scallops & pancetta skewers. And
inside expect fillets of lemon sole with pommes mousseline, brown shrimps, green beans and champagne velouté or wood pigeon salad.
If it's Mum's birthday and you're on a budget there's a set menu you might like to try at £17 for two courses and £21 for three in the restaurant, or, if you're confident about the weather, turn up early and bagsie a good table outside and treat her to a meal al fresco.
