I ate inside Bridget Jones’ flat in London – and had a blue soup cocktail
Fans of Bridget Jones and the excellent new film will be delighted to learn that her London flat is open to visitors, and you can even order some of her famously abysmal blue soup.
The Khao Bird restaurant occupies the same first floor space where Bridget’s Borough Market flat is in the films.
There’s never actually been any filming inside the space, that was done in a studio, but Bridget fans will remember countless tracking shots of Renee Zellweger walking around near the flat; wandering around the market looking sad, running after Mark Darcy and scenes at the front door leading up to the apartment above The Globe Tavern pub.
With windows overlooking the market, it’s nice to go at lunchtime when it’s daylight to get the best views, up above the heaving tourist masses.
The restaurant has a stripped-back design ethos, with the odd neon lighting installation for pops of colour as well as rustic wooden furniture. It feels casual enough to be someone’s actual living space.
Read more: Bridget Jones director on finding ‘real heat’ between Leo Woodall and Renee Zellweger
The restaurant specialises in the food of Northern Thailand and everything is designed to share. The name Khao Bird is a reference to the barbecue chicken dish from Shanghai. We started off with gently sweet corn ribs with coconut relish and a nicely heated, brilliantly fresh pad phrik king with brussels sprouts, wild ginger and coconut oil, then moved onto the khao soi curry with egg noodles and a Burmese curry with slow roasted pork, peanuts, wild ginger and pickled garlic. This, with great clumps of meat given a good seeing to by a role call of boisterous flavour profiles, was the best.
It’s all fiery and authentic and served by switched-on waiting staff who are more than happy to tell stories about Bridget Jones, from the fans who drop by to the film companies who have thrown Bridget themed parties here.
I couldn’t resist ordering the restaurant’s one westernised homage to Bridget: the Bridget’s Blue cocktail, a reference to the scene in the first film where the beloved singleton invites her friends around for dinner but has ruined the food she’s cooked by staining everything blue. With Koko Kanu, vodka, coconut and lime, it has a decent tang but is palatable enough for every fan to enjoy. It’s an ode to a woman who has found herself back in fashion over two decades since the first movie came out.
Much like Bridget, I f*cked everything up: trying to sip from the coupe glasses, my cocktail spilled all over the table. The napkin, my clothes and much of the food was drenched in bright blue.
Let’s face it, Bridget would have been proud.
khaobird.com/drinks; Upstairs at The Globe, 8 Bedale Street Borough Market London SE19AL