Foodie Review: Giraffe World Kitchen, Southbank Centre

Back again with another foodie review and today I'm pleased to be sharing my experience of Giraffe on London's famous Southbank and their latest menu. Here's my review...

Located just a short walk from Waterloo station on the Southbank, is one of Giraffe's many London chains. Serving a selection of food from around the globe, the brand incorporates a blend of fresh hearty, comfort food with a friendly, family environment. I had only visited Giraffe* once previously, many years ago but had no idea that their menu changes with the seasons. Having been invited along to sample their latest Spring menu, I was excited to see what else it had to offer and was already eagerly planning my meal online...

The Giraffe menu is pretty much the ideal for someone like myself as it features so much variety. My typical dream meal consists of a seafood starter, a meaty main and something sweet for dessert and...they had just that.

To start, I went with an old favourite in the form of the Salt & Pepper Squid (pictured above) - crispy battered squid served with chili jam and fresh lime. The chili jam was really enjoyable and the squid was fried just to my liking. I think the portion size was ideal for a starter - just enough to be pleasantly satisfied without spoiling my main. Jack opted instead for the Chicken Yaki Gyozas (pictured above) which were delicious but much more like a spring roll than a gyoza as they appeared to have been deep fried instead of steamed and then lightly fried. The texture was much crunchier than the more authentic dumplings he usually prefers which was a little disappointing but they were delicious all the same; served with an orange and miso glaze which was fantastic.

I'll be honest, when it came to mains I was pretty torn between trying something new or sticking to what I know best but, as a rather boring individual, I decided to go for my usual favourite of steak. The Grilled Sirloin Steak is a 8oz, 21 day aged Irish-reared beef steak which comes served with skin-on fries, a dressed green leaf salad and an option of garlic butter or peppercorn sauce. The steak itself was cooked to perfection and I could not fault the cut of the sirloin. The seasoning on top, again, was just right and it made for a brillant steak. However, the chips served with it were very plain and rather tasteless which I soon solved with some salt, pepper and vinegar. This did mean that I did leave most of them but overall, I was very pleased with my choice.

Jack, being a burger king, opted for the Harissa Chicken Burger; Harissa marinated chicken breast, pink onion, coriander, mint, rocket, cucumber and lemon yoghurt. To top it off, he then also added bacon to it - because, why not? Having tried a bite myself, the lemon yoghurt and coriander is really what made this burger so great. It had so much flavour, the chicken was wonderfully seasoned and overall, it looked fantastic on the plate. He also added a side order of vegetables, pinching some of my garlic butter to add yet more flavour. Overall, I think Jack was pretty pleased with his choice and the random decision to add some bacon was a good one. 

To finish up our rather extravagant meal, our waitress tempted us with some Churros to share; a portion of churros in cinnamon sugar, served with chocolate dipping sauce. Having chowed down a huge meal already, we did not conquer the churros but they were very tasty all the same. The chocolate sauce did not taste very chocolatey in all honestly and I think I would have preferred something more caramel or a bit sweeter just to bring it home.

Overall, I can honestly say that our visit to Giraffe was very pleasant. Despite it being a very busy Saturday on the Southbank, all staff members were attentive, incredibly friendly and could not of been more helpful. Our food arrived promptly and we left feeling satisfied, if not very very full. A main and starter with drinks at Giraffe is likely to average around £25-30 per head and I think it makes for an excellent lunch stop with friends or early evening meal for groups with children.

Well, that's it for another foodie review. Thanks so much to Giraffe, Southbank Centre for having us this weekend - have you been Giraffe? What were your thoughts? As always, I love reading your comments so please do leave me lots of lovely ones below.

Until next time fellow food lovers,

*Disclaimer: This post was created in collaboration with Giraffe. All product mentioned in this post was provided to myself in return for review; all opinions are my own and do not reflect those of the brand.