Aegean Restaurant
72-74 Whitchurch Road
Heath
Cardiff
CF14 3LX
Phone: 02920 345114
http://aegean-restaurant.co.uk/
Open Tues-Sat 6-10pm
After a successful holiday to Zante a few years ago, my partner and I have developed a bit of a taste for Greek cuisine. We were, therefore, delighted when Groupon offered a recent deal of a two course dinner and a glass of wine for two people for a reasonable price of £16(total value of £40).
The Aegean restaurant on Whitchurch Road is a long walk or a short bus ride from the city centre (depending on your laziness) but we found it well worth the effort to trek out a little further.
The place looks authentic, with plain white walls, tiles and some Greek music for atmosphere. It has an open kitchen, which I always like, and the staff were plesant and attentive throughout the evening.
We kicked off with some calimari for me and saganaki cheese (Kefalotyri cheese fried with honey) for the mister. Without the Groupon deal these would set you back £4.80 and £4.50 respectively. My calimari wasn't the best I've ever eaten but it was piping hot, plentiful and just the right side of chewy and certainly better than some I've had in other Cardiff places. The cheese and honey, however, was delicious, both sweet and dry and the portion was very generous. It was divine with a squeeze of lemon. We also ordered some houmous with pitta (£3.90) which was clearly home-made and full of chunky chickpea. Our only issue was that the starters took quite a while to arrive - almost 30 minutes which was a little too long. However, the dishes were worth the wait and the main courses suffered from no such time delay.
When in Zante I had become addicted to Kleftiko, a dish of lamb, vegetables and cheese. The Aegean version was different to what I'd had in Greece but was delicious, offering diced leg of lamb, cooked with in the oven in greaseproof paper with carrot, potato thyme and garlic, topped with melted mature cheese (£13.50). Opening the greaseproof paper to reveal the dish inside was a nice moment of anticipation and the lamb and potatoes were perfectly cooked, moist and tender with a good amount of flavour from the herbs and garlic. It took me back to balmy evenings on the Greek island, as did the dry Greek wine we ordered with the meal. The Mister opted for Lamb Souvlaki, which came served with pitta bread, salad, and a healthy dollop of tzaziki, and was equally well cooked.
Although full I couldn't resist the dessert of champagne and raspberry torte (£4.50), which was full of creamy mousse, sponge and raspberried. Not too sweet but with a kick of champagne, it was a good end to the evening.
Overall, aside from the slightly disappointing calimari and the longer-than-average wait for the starters, the Aegean was a good experience. The food reminded us of the dishes we'd tried in Greece, suggesting a good level of authenticity, and the cheese and honey starter and my Kleftiko were particularly tasty. We'll definitely be back for another visit to try some of the other Greek dishes or the mezze.
Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label restaurant. Show all posts
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
Sunday, 13 November 2011
Days out don't get better than this: Experiencing Masterchef Live
MasterChef Live
11-13 November, 2011
Olympia London
http://www.mastercheflive.com/
Like many people with more than a passing interest in food, I am a self-confessed Masterchef addict. I'll watch any version; the normal one, the celebrity one, the Professionals, heck, I've even enjoyed John Torode praising spag bol on the Children's Masterchef. It follows then, that I've wanted to visit Masterchef Live for a few years but have never quite managed it. This year, however, my trusty friend Project: Goddess and I set off for Kensington Olympia armed and ready for a day of foodie fun.
Offical publicity shot of day one
The basic ticket cost around £20 but we also signed up for sessions in the Chef's Theatre where Gold tickets set you back a tenner and the back rows a fiver. Our first session was with Michel Roux Jr, a man we both love to watch on the Professionals. His recipe of gnocchi with wild mushrooms looked delicious and easy to replicate. He was interesting and informative as well as being much funnier in the flesh than he is allowed to be on Masterchef where he is positioned very much as a man to be feared.
Waiting for Roux
At the end of the half hour slot, it was announced that Michel Roux would be doing a book signing which led to an enthusiastic stampede of foodie fans rushing to purchase copies of his 'Cooking With the Masterchef' tome. Meeting him was a true delight, he's genuinely a lovely bloke and this was the undoubted (and unexpected)highlight of our day.
After this, we tried out the Masterchef Restaurant Experience which offers the chance to sample small plates of dishes from a range of restaurants. Firstly we tried the Cola-Braised Pork Belly, Carmelised Celery, Fondant Squash, Roasted Baby Turnips, Shelled Peas, Miso Mustard and Dashi Sauce from 2011 Masterchef champion Tim Anderson which was flavoursome and well cooked.
I then tackled a Cape Sante in Padella – pan fried scallops served in their shell with lentils de Castelluccio, pancetta, red chilli, parsley and chopped wild rocket (5DC) from Theo Randall and was especially thrilled to see Randall himself cooking away in the tiny kitchen! Project Goddess sampled an apple crumble and custard from Gregg Wallace's Wallace & Co and reported it to be delicious, as you might expect from a man so famously in love with puddings. The restaurant experience isn't cheap - the dishes we tried were 5 DC (dining currency) each which equates to £5 of normal money, and the accompanying wines are also priced at 5 per glass. It's a fun experience though, allowing you to work out what types of food you want to try, and which restaurants you'd like to add to the do-to list.
Scallop by Theo Randall
Our second chef's theatre session was a cook-off between Tim Anderson and 2010 Professionals winner Claire Lara. It was hosted by Gregg Wallace and John Torode and characterised by a great deal of banter between the two. Claire cooked a red mullet dish with potatoes and braised lettuce whilst the ever-quirky Tim produced an edible hen's nest (!). He was judged the winner and we were just disappointed that we didn't get to try either of the dishes for health and safety reasons.
After this we wandered the veritable banquet of stalls and suppliers on offer, sampling a good range of cheeses, wines, liquers and oils. It's tempting to spend hundreds of pounds on the produce but I came away with some artisan chocolate, some Shropshire blue cheese, and some banana and garlic chutney from The Garlic Farm for the other half. You can easily while away several hours on the producers' stalls, and if you're in the market for gifts it does offer some unusual options.
Our final chef's session was a cook-off between John and Gregg. Both made fairly predictable dishes - John went for beef and Gregg a pudding, knocking up a fabulous looking Christmas Yule Log. Like the earlier session, they were hilarious, keeping the audience entertained whilst also offering some good tips on how to cook perfect steak or whip up the ideal butter cream.
The show at dusk
As the day wore on we began to flag a little but found the Masterchef demonstation stage to be a little oasis of calm. At this point, many people were starting to leave but we enjoyed demos from recent Masterchef contestants Sara Danesin, who created a venison and chocolate dish, and James Perry who produced some interesting looking chocolate spring rolls. Feeling a little peckish again, I tried a Rice Noodle & Beef Salad with Mint & Peanuts from the stand from John Torode's Smiths of Smithfield restaurant and found this full of fresh mint and crunchy nuts.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the day and were especially impressed with how much contact you can have with the stars of Masterchef. Admittedly, whilst John and Gregg and possibly Michel Roux Jr are recognisable to the wider public, not everyone would be as excited as we were to see Tim Anderson or Alexis Gauthier walking around or to have a photo taken with Monica Galetti. Throughout the day we caught sight of these and others including Michael Caines, Nick Pickard, Andi Peters, Jackie Kearney, and Tim Kinnaird and even John Torode was freely roaming around, giving us a cheery "hello" at the book stand. If you know who all these people are then you can see why we had such a good time. If you don't, then I think you'd still enjoy the live shows, the competitions and the food stalls.
We're already planning next year's trip and maybe this will inspire some of you to go along as well.
PS - Apologies for the cheesy title but I couldn't resist.
11-13 November, 2011
Olympia London
http://www.mastercheflive.com/
Like many people with more than a passing interest in food, I am a self-confessed Masterchef addict. I'll watch any version; the normal one, the celebrity one, the Professionals, heck, I've even enjoyed John Torode praising spag bol on the Children's Masterchef. It follows then, that I've wanted to visit Masterchef Live for a few years but have never quite managed it. This year, however, my trusty friend Project: Goddess and I set off for Kensington Olympia armed and ready for a day of foodie fun.
Offical publicity shot of day one
The basic ticket cost around £20 but we also signed up for sessions in the Chef's Theatre where Gold tickets set you back a tenner and the back rows a fiver. Our first session was with Michel Roux Jr, a man we both love to watch on the Professionals. His recipe of gnocchi with wild mushrooms looked delicious and easy to replicate. He was interesting and informative as well as being much funnier in the flesh than he is allowed to be on Masterchef where he is positioned very much as a man to be feared.
Waiting for Roux
At the end of the half hour slot, it was announced that Michel Roux would be doing a book signing which led to an enthusiastic stampede of foodie fans rushing to purchase copies of his 'Cooking With the Masterchef' tome. Meeting him was a true delight, he's genuinely a lovely bloke and this was the undoubted (and unexpected)highlight of our day.
After this, we tried out the Masterchef Restaurant Experience which offers the chance to sample small plates of dishes from a range of restaurants. Firstly we tried the Cola-Braised Pork Belly, Carmelised Celery, Fondant Squash, Roasted Baby Turnips, Shelled Peas, Miso Mustard and Dashi Sauce from 2011 Masterchef champion Tim Anderson which was flavoursome and well cooked.
I then tackled a Cape Sante in Padella – pan fried scallops served in their shell with lentils de Castelluccio, pancetta, red chilli, parsley and chopped wild rocket (5DC) from Theo Randall and was especially thrilled to see Randall himself cooking away in the tiny kitchen! Project Goddess sampled an apple crumble and custard from Gregg Wallace's Wallace & Co and reported it to be delicious, as you might expect from a man so famously in love with puddings. The restaurant experience isn't cheap - the dishes we tried were 5 DC (dining currency) each which equates to £5 of normal money, and the accompanying wines are also priced at 5 per glass. It's a fun experience though, allowing you to work out what types of food you want to try, and which restaurants you'd like to add to the do-to list.
Scallop by Theo Randall
Our second chef's theatre session was a cook-off between Tim Anderson and 2010 Professionals winner Claire Lara. It was hosted by Gregg Wallace and John Torode and characterised by a great deal of banter between the two. Claire cooked a red mullet dish with potatoes and braised lettuce whilst the ever-quirky Tim produced an edible hen's nest (!). He was judged the winner and we were just disappointed that we didn't get to try either of the dishes for health and safety reasons.
After this we wandered the veritable banquet of stalls and suppliers on offer, sampling a good range of cheeses, wines, liquers and oils. It's tempting to spend hundreds of pounds on the produce but I came away with some artisan chocolate, some Shropshire blue cheese, and some banana and garlic chutney from The Garlic Farm for the other half. You can easily while away several hours on the producers' stalls, and if you're in the market for gifts it does offer some unusual options.
Our final chef's session was a cook-off between John and Gregg. Both made fairly predictable dishes - John went for beef and Gregg a pudding, knocking up a fabulous looking Christmas Yule Log. Like the earlier session, they were hilarious, keeping the audience entertained whilst also offering some good tips on how to cook perfect steak or whip up the ideal butter cream.
The show at dusk
As the day wore on we began to flag a little but found the Masterchef demonstation stage to be a little oasis of calm. At this point, many people were starting to leave but we enjoyed demos from recent Masterchef contestants Sara Danesin, who created a venison and chocolate dish, and James Perry who produced some interesting looking chocolate spring rolls. Feeling a little peckish again, I tried a Rice Noodle & Beef Salad with Mint & Peanuts from the stand from John Torode's Smiths of Smithfield restaurant and found this full of fresh mint and crunchy nuts.
Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed the day and were especially impressed with how much contact you can have with the stars of Masterchef. Admittedly, whilst John and Gregg and possibly Michel Roux Jr are recognisable to the wider public, not everyone would be as excited as we were to see Tim Anderson or Alexis Gauthier walking around or to have a photo taken with Monica Galetti. Throughout the day we caught sight of these and others including Michael Caines, Nick Pickard, Andi Peters, Jackie Kearney, and Tim Kinnaird and even John Torode was freely roaming around, giving us a cheery "hello" at the book stand. If you know who all these people are then you can see why we had such a good time. If you don't, then I think you'd still enjoy the live shows, the competitions and the food stalls.
We're already planning next year's trip and maybe this will inspire some of you to go along as well.
PS - Apologies for the cheesy title but I couldn't resist.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
The Garden by the Sea - Penarth dining to-do list
Since moving to Penarth last year, I've tended to frequent the same few places to eat; the new Pier 64 in the Marina, the tiny Japanese San Kai which I constantly rave about, La Marina at the Custom House, and Ocho Lounge in the town centre.
However, Penarth is teaming with other places to visit so in the interests of research, I'm going to make a more concerted effort to try some new places and report on their foodie offerings.
So far, I've amassed the following. Do let me know if there's anywhere brilliant you think that I should try.
* The Fig Tree - I've heard mixed reviews but am intruiged by their chef's evenings and vegetarian Mondays. I'm also a sucker for places with sea views so their spot, on Penarth Esplanade, is enough to tempt me in.
* Cafe des Amis - Only noticed this place nestled next to the Washington Gallery a few weeks ago. Tea and cakes by day, candlelight and some tasty-sounding dishes by night mean that this is probably number one on my list.
* North Meets South cafe - Located at the top of Windsor Arcade this offers a range of interesting burgers and dishes from various cuisines and South African theming. Intruiging.
* Villa Napoli at the Glendale Hotel - The website promises an award-winning Italian experience whilst the menu offers a comprehensive range of dishes and a well-priced set menu.
* Neale's Restaturant at Holm House Hotel - A confession: I've looked for this hotel on Marine Parade a few times and never been able to find it. But once I do I'll be raring to try their Welsh inspired menu including dishes like Wild Sewin, or Welsh Pork Filler with Gwnt Y Draig cider, Carmarthen ham and mushrooms.Grady Atkins was their Head Chef before his recent move to the Park House in Central Cardiff.
* Jaflon - A Bangladeshi restaurant on Albert Road that was recommended in a Wales Online survey of best Indians in the area. They say "The lamb tikka starter is beautifully sweet and crispy on the outside and tender all the way through. The side salads are perfectly presented, the main course curries all haveconspicuously different, and interesting flavours and the service is polite and friendly". And that's good enough for me.
* Last but not least, The Olive Tree on Glebe Street. Recommended in the 2011 Michelin Guide and with a Head Chef trained by a chef from Le Gavroche, it's certainly on my do-to list asap. There are the usual A La Carte menus, an epic looking Sunday Lunch, and an early-bird option of 2 Courses £13.50 and 3 Course £17.50 before 7pm or 2 Courses £18.50 3 Courses £22.50 after 7pm.
If you've never ventured to Penarth to eat before, I recommend it. There's a range of choice and cuisine on offer as well as some great places to drink. That, however, is for another post...
However, Penarth is teaming with other places to visit so in the interests of research, I'm going to make a more concerted effort to try some new places and report on their foodie offerings.
So far, I've amassed the following. Do let me know if there's anywhere brilliant you think that I should try.
* The Fig Tree - I've heard mixed reviews but am intruiged by their chef's evenings and vegetarian Mondays. I'm also a sucker for places with sea views so their spot, on Penarth Esplanade, is enough to tempt me in.
* Cafe des Amis - Only noticed this place nestled next to the Washington Gallery a few weeks ago. Tea and cakes by day, candlelight and some tasty-sounding dishes by night mean that this is probably number one on my list.
* North Meets South cafe - Located at the top of Windsor Arcade this offers a range of interesting burgers and dishes from various cuisines and South African theming. Intruiging.
* Villa Napoli at the Glendale Hotel - The website promises an award-winning Italian experience whilst the menu offers a comprehensive range of dishes and a well-priced set menu.
* Neale's Restaturant at Holm House Hotel - A confession: I've looked for this hotel on Marine Parade a few times and never been able to find it. But once I do I'll be raring to try their Welsh inspired menu including dishes like Wild Sewin, or Welsh Pork Filler with Gwnt Y Draig cider, Carmarthen ham and mushrooms.Grady Atkins was their Head Chef before his recent move to the Park House in Central Cardiff.
* Jaflon - A Bangladeshi restaurant on Albert Road that was recommended in a Wales Online survey of best Indians in the area. They say "The lamb tikka starter is beautifully sweet and crispy on the outside and tender all the way through. The side salads are perfectly presented, the main course curries all haveconspicuously different, and interesting flavours and the service is polite and friendly". And that's good enough for me.
* Last but not least, The Olive Tree on Glebe Street. Recommended in the 2011 Michelin Guide and with a Head Chef trained by a chef from Le Gavroche, it's certainly on my do-to list asap. There are the usual A La Carte menus, an epic looking Sunday Lunch, and an early-bird option of 2 Courses £13.50 and 3 Course £17.50 before 7pm or 2 Courses £18.50 3 Courses £22.50 after 7pm.
If you've never ventured to Penarth to eat before, I recommend it. There's a range of choice and cuisine on offer as well as some great places to drink. That, however, is for another post...
300 Dishes Around the World: Red Hot World Buffet
Red Hot World Buffet
03-06 Hills Street
St David's
Dewi Sant
Cardiff CF10 2LE
Tel: 029 2034 2499
http://www.redhot-worldbuffet.com/redhot_cardiff.html
We all have our expectations of all you can eat buffet restaurants. They often involve lukewarm food congealing slowly under hot lamps, being elbowed out of the way by people jostling for tepid onion rings, and dishes often lacking their key component due to people shovelling the best bits of the dish onto their plates with gusto. A king prawn noodle dish without any king prawns, anyone?
Along with a range of other guests, I was invited to the launch night of Cardiff’s latest buffet restaurant Red Hot World Buffet but, due to other commitments, was unable to attend. You can read some thoughts on the launch on the blogs Cardiff Bites and Corpulent Capers . However, I was invited back to try the place on another evening and so ventured along with my other half last Friday night.*
Although located down on Hill Street, which is primarily an walkway linking the original St David’s shopping centre with the monolith that is the newer St David’s 2, Red Hot looks inviting from the outside with some dramatic flames and the ability to see inside through the huge glass windows. It was busy throughout the evening but didn’t feel too cramped, despite its size and capacitty. We were greeted by Sachin Bajpai, the Head of Brand and Corporate Marketing at the Red Hot company, who gave me a tour of the restaurant and introduced the mission statement of wanting to take all the good elements of a buffet and make them better. The emphasis is on service and quality of food, and he illustrated the ways in which the food is replenished and cooked with a focus on the customer being able to watch the dishes being created in front of their eyes.
In comparison to other Cardiff buffets there is logic to Red Hot that seems designed to prevent you from the usual all you can eat sin of throwing together random dishes onto a plate. A macaroni cheese taco experienced this year in America is a fine example of such culinary confusion. The flow of the food area presents salads and the sushi and fish first, before moving fairly logically from the Italian section of fresh from the oven pizzas and a live cooking pasta bar through to the British section (including some tasty cottage pie), the more typical fare of Indian and Chinese dishes, to the Tex Mex section and to the ready prepared desserts. The only lack of logic seemed to me to be that the live cooking dessert section was oddly located on the opposite side of the food area to the smaller desserts.
So, to the food. In the press release before the launch Helen Dhaliwal, Director of Red Hot World Buffet & Bar gave this comment; “At Red Hot, we aim to turn the image of the all-you-can-eat buffet on its head. Many people associate buffets with sub-standard cuisine, with vast vats of food that have been stewing all day. At Red Hot, our five-star chefs will cook food freshly to order in front of our customers’ eyes, so they can enjoy food of a very high standard.” How much does the restaurant live up to this aim?
Well, it's certainly better than any current buffet in Cardiff. Some dishes are obviously better than others but highlights were a freshly prepared creamy pesto pasta, the fresh salads, the Tex Mex tacos, and a small dish of lamb with spicy couscous. The sushi was slightly disappointing, however, and was the only thing that seemed like it had been sat out on display for a while. There had also been a case of shrimp theft by over-zealous eaters since the mooted shrimp and vegetable noodle dish only contained vegetables when I began to eat it. Not being a dessert lover I don’t feel qualified to pass judgement but my partner enjoyed the fresh waffle and banana ice-cream.
I’d return to Red Hot again in the future and its certainly somewhere I’d chose to go for a meal before the theatre or cinema, or whilst on a shopping trip. I like the policy of offering dishes in small ready-sized portions in bowls , like canapés, and there’s enough variety to ensure that a future visit would allow me to try the other cuisines on offer. It seemed to be very busy and I’m sure it’ll be a success. It may not be to everyone’s taste but it’s certainly a promising alternative to the existing buffets in the Cardiff area.
Costs: from £7.99 for lunch and from £12.99 for dinner.
• In the interest of transparency, our food and drink was complimentary on the night of our visit.
03-06 Hills Street
St David's
Dewi Sant
Cardiff CF10 2LE
Tel: 029 2034 2499
http://www.redhot-worldbuffet.com/redhot_cardiff.html
We all have our expectations of all you can eat buffet restaurants. They often involve lukewarm food congealing slowly under hot lamps, being elbowed out of the way by people jostling for tepid onion rings, and dishes often lacking their key component due to people shovelling the best bits of the dish onto their plates with gusto. A king prawn noodle dish without any king prawns, anyone?
Along with a range of other guests, I was invited to the launch night of Cardiff’s latest buffet restaurant Red Hot World Buffet but, due to other commitments, was unable to attend. You can read some thoughts on the launch on the blogs Cardiff Bites and Corpulent Capers . However, I was invited back to try the place on another evening and so ventured along with my other half last Friday night.*
Although located down on Hill Street, which is primarily an walkway linking the original St David’s shopping centre with the monolith that is the newer St David’s 2, Red Hot looks inviting from the outside with some dramatic flames and the ability to see inside through the huge glass windows. It was busy throughout the evening but didn’t feel too cramped, despite its size and capacitty. We were greeted by Sachin Bajpai, the Head of Brand and Corporate Marketing at the Red Hot company, who gave me a tour of the restaurant and introduced the mission statement of wanting to take all the good elements of a buffet and make them better. The emphasis is on service and quality of food, and he illustrated the ways in which the food is replenished and cooked with a focus on the customer being able to watch the dishes being created in front of their eyes.
In comparison to other Cardiff buffets there is logic to Red Hot that seems designed to prevent you from the usual all you can eat sin of throwing together random dishes onto a plate. A macaroni cheese taco experienced this year in America is a fine example of such culinary confusion. The flow of the food area presents salads and the sushi and fish first, before moving fairly logically from the Italian section of fresh from the oven pizzas and a live cooking pasta bar through to the British section (including some tasty cottage pie), the more typical fare of Indian and Chinese dishes, to the Tex Mex section and to the ready prepared desserts. The only lack of logic seemed to me to be that the live cooking dessert section was oddly located on the opposite side of the food area to the smaller desserts.
So, to the food. In the press release before the launch Helen Dhaliwal, Director of Red Hot World Buffet & Bar gave this comment; “At Red Hot, we aim to turn the image of the all-you-can-eat buffet on its head. Many people associate buffets with sub-standard cuisine, with vast vats of food that have been stewing all day. At Red Hot, our five-star chefs will cook food freshly to order in front of our customers’ eyes, so they can enjoy food of a very high standard.” How much does the restaurant live up to this aim?
Well, it's certainly better than any current buffet in Cardiff. Some dishes are obviously better than others but highlights were a freshly prepared creamy pesto pasta, the fresh salads, the Tex Mex tacos, and a small dish of lamb with spicy couscous. The sushi was slightly disappointing, however, and was the only thing that seemed like it had been sat out on display for a while. There had also been a case of shrimp theft by over-zealous eaters since the mooted shrimp and vegetable noodle dish only contained vegetables when I began to eat it. Not being a dessert lover I don’t feel qualified to pass judgement but my partner enjoyed the fresh waffle and banana ice-cream.
I’d return to Red Hot again in the future and its certainly somewhere I’d chose to go for a meal before the theatre or cinema, or whilst on a shopping trip. I like the policy of offering dishes in small ready-sized portions in bowls , like canapés, and there’s enough variety to ensure that a future visit would allow me to try the other cuisines on offer. It seemed to be very busy and I’m sure it’ll be a success. It may not be to everyone’s taste but it’s certainly a promising alternative to the existing buffets in the Cardiff area.
Costs: from £7.99 for lunch and from £12.99 for dinner.
• In the interest of transparency, our food and drink was complimentary on the night of our visit.
Sunday, 9 October 2011
Happy birthday ffresh
ffresh restaurant
Wales Millennium Centre
Cardiff Bay
Tel no: 029 2063 6465
http://www.wmc.org.uk/eatanddrink/ffresh/45151/
Despite only being what can loosely be called a 'food blogger' for a few months, I was lucky enough to be invited along as a guest to ffresh restaurant in the Wales Millennium Centre to celebrate the restaurant's second birthday. I've only visited once before - at an academic conference dinner - but had been impressed by the quality and consistency of the food and the helpful staff both before and after the evening.
I was also very excited to hear that the meal would be overseen by the restaurant's consultant chef Shaun Hill, from the Michelin-starred Walnut Tree in Abergavenney. I hoped we'd be in for a special night and were not disappointed.
The evening kicked off with some gorgeous canapaes of crisp warm blue cheese and sesame biscuits (as my Cheese loving other half exclaimed " you can actually taste the cheese!") and warm and moist Arancini with a lovely taste of mushroom. This was served with a fruity and fizzy wine from the Ancre Hill Vineyard and kicked the evening off in style.
We were lucky enough to have a seat in front of the kitchen and, along with chatting to fellow bloggers and other guests, this provided a great deal of entertainment. It was wonderful to see the chefs working and to feel part of the action.
The first course was red mullet with anchovies and herb crème fraiche. It was my first experience of this fish and I was impressed; the creme fraiche was creamy but light and the dish was a wonderful introduction to red mullet.
The main course consisted of roasted partridge with its own pudding, hispi cabbage and lentils and what I think, in my ignorance, was a potato fondant. Whilst I'm sure the cooking skills here were good I wasn't taken with the taste of partridge (another first for me), finding its gamey meatiness too strong for my palette. Strangely, it reminded me of liver in its strength and I'm not sure I'd order it from a menu out of choice. The sauce with the dish was lovely and rich but a little more would have been nice - the meat was also a little dry for me and some more sauce would have compensated for this. I was also confused by the pudding - it seemed eggy in texture to me and, again, was too strong for my tastes.
The dessert of hot chocolate fondant, hazelnut praline sauce and vanilla ice cream however, was a masterpiece. A hush descended on the room as we ate the soft pudding, oozing with chocolate sauce and the sticky nut sauce. Despite the apparent obsession of Masterchef contestants with making chocolate fondant I had never had one before. Even as a non-dessert lover I was utterly converted. Truly one of the best puddings I've ever experienced.
Overall, the evening was a great experience and it was also lovely to see and meet some of the Cardiff foodies I follow or chat to on Twitter in the flesh. As a newbie to the world of food blogging - and as something I do for fun - I felt privileged to have been allowed to go along to this. Whilst I'm not sure I'll try partridge again, I'm now on the hunt for a chocolate fondant to rival Shaun Hill's and am also about to place an order for some Welsh wine from Ancre Hill. We'll also be returning to ffresh in the very near future to try out some more of their food. I sincerely hope they get to celebrate more birthdays in the coming years.
Wales Millennium Centre
Cardiff Bay
Tel no: 029 2063 6465
http://www.wmc.org.uk/eatanddrink/ffresh/45151/
Despite only being what can loosely be called a 'food blogger' for a few months, I was lucky enough to be invited along as a guest to ffresh restaurant in the Wales Millennium Centre to celebrate the restaurant's second birthday. I've only visited once before - at an academic conference dinner - but had been impressed by the quality and consistency of the food and the helpful staff both before and after the evening.
I was also very excited to hear that the meal would be overseen by the restaurant's consultant chef Shaun Hill, from the Michelin-starred Walnut Tree in Abergavenney. I hoped we'd be in for a special night and were not disappointed.
The evening kicked off with some gorgeous canapaes of crisp warm blue cheese and sesame biscuits (as my Cheese loving other half exclaimed " you can actually taste the cheese!") and warm and moist Arancini with a lovely taste of mushroom. This was served with a fruity and fizzy wine from the Ancre Hill Vineyard and kicked the evening off in style.
We were lucky enough to have a seat in front of the kitchen and, along with chatting to fellow bloggers and other guests, this provided a great deal of entertainment. It was wonderful to see the chefs working and to feel part of the action.
The first course was red mullet with anchovies and herb crème fraiche. It was my first experience of this fish and I was impressed; the creme fraiche was creamy but light and the dish was a wonderful introduction to red mullet.
The main course consisted of roasted partridge with its own pudding, hispi cabbage and lentils and what I think, in my ignorance, was a potato fondant. Whilst I'm sure the cooking skills here were good I wasn't taken with the taste of partridge (another first for me), finding its gamey meatiness too strong for my palette. Strangely, it reminded me of liver in its strength and I'm not sure I'd order it from a menu out of choice. The sauce with the dish was lovely and rich but a little more would have been nice - the meat was also a little dry for me and some more sauce would have compensated for this. I was also confused by the pudding - it seemed eggy in texture to me and, again, was too strong for my tastes.
The dessert of hot chocolate fondant, hazelnut praline sauce and vanilla ice cream however, was a masterpiece. A hush descended on the room as we ate the soft pudding, oozing with chocolate sauce and the sticky nut sauce. Despite the apparent obsession of Masterchef contestants with making chocolate fondant I had never had one before. Even as a non-dessert lover I was utterly converted. Truly one of the best puddings I've ever experienced.
Overall, the evening was a great experience and it was also lovely to see and meet some of the Cardiff foodies I follow or chat to on Twitter in the flesh. As a newbie to the world of food blogging - and as something I do for fun - I felt privileged to have been allowed to go along to this. Whilst I'm not sure I'll try partridge again, I'm now on the hunt for a chocolate fondant to rival Shaun Hill's and am also about to place an order for some Welsh wine from Ancre Hill. We'll also be returning to ffresh in the very near future to try out some more of their food. I sincerely hope they get to celebrate more birthdays in the coming years.
Wednesday, 28 September 2011
A hidden gem: San Kai, Penarth
San Kai
46 Plassey Street
Penarth
Vale of Glamorgan CF64 1EL
Phone: 029 2070 8357
Website: http://www.sankai-restaurant.com/
Closed Mondays
San Kai is something of a hidden gem in Penarth which already has its fair share of well-known restaurants including The Custom House and the new Pier 64 at the Marina and The Fig Tree on the seafront. It’s therefore easy to overlook San Kai which occupies an unobtrusive corner of Plassey Street in the town centre. At first glance one would assume that it was just another Chinese takeaway. It does offer a takeaway service but this tiny restaurant offers much more than that.
Promising that it is Penarth’s only sit-down Chinese restaurant it also offers some delicious Thai dishes and Japanese offerings that rival those I’ve had at Canton/Roath’s Ichiban and City Road's Tenkaichi. It’s usually the Japanese that draws my partner and I to San Kai every few months. The place itself is housed in a former corner-shop and is intimate without meaning you have to listen to every word the couple seated next to you are saying. It’s decorated with colourful lanterns and has the unique distinction of playing karaoke videos of pop classics in the corner. On weekends, the opportunity to sing karaoke presents itself although there’s no pressure to do so and this doesn’t happen until very late into the evening. Having visited 4 times, I've never actually seen anyone partake in this! The staff is also friendly and efficient; the owner remembers you and details about you and visiting is always a hugely welcoming experience.
What, then of the food? My partner and I are creatures of habit and almost always opt for the cucumber (£3.50) or California maki (£4.50) from the sushi menu and the Ebi Tempura (prawn) (£5.50) or vegetable tempura (£4.95). The sushi is always fresh and the vegetables crisp and textured. The tempura is equally good with a light crisp batter and huge prawns. On our last visit we added some Nama Hotate (breaded scallops) to the mix which, at £5.95 were a little more pricey than our usual choices. However, they were a revelation; meaty and well cooked and served with a spicy sauce and we'll certainly be ordering them again. There’s also a complimentary bowl of prawn crackers and sweet chilli sauce if you decide to espouse starters altogether.
For the main course I usually plump for some form of udon dish – so far I’ve tried the chicken (£7.95), seafood (£9.50) and pork (£7.95) options and all curried favour although the seafood dish was a little too heavy on salmon for my tastes. The other half always choses the spicy pork yaki soba (£7.95), so convinced is he of its quality. All the noodle dishes are plentiful and full of flavour and good value for money .
Pork yaki soba
Yaki udon
In the past, we’ve also shared the set Chinese menu for two which offers mixed hot starters of spare ribs, prawn toasts, chicken satay, spring roll, deep fried squid) and mains of sizzling beef in satay sauce, Kung Po pork, chicken in honey and lemon, and egg fried rice all for £13.95 per head. This was also really impressive and offered more food than the two of us could reasonably consume without losing flavour and quality. It’s not the Chinese menu that draws us back to eat out at San Kai but we’d certainly try it again or order it to take-away. There is also a more elaborate set menu for £19.95 for those with even bigger appetites.
Overall, a meal in San Kai for two people, with starters, noodle main courses and two drinks each will set you back around £20 a head. If you’re in Penarth it’s well worth a visit. But don’t tell *too* many people about its secret…
46 Plassey Street
Penarth
Vale of Glamorgan CF64 1EL
Phone: 029 2070 8357
Website: http://www.sankai-restaurant.com/
Closed Mondays
San Kai is something of a hidden gem in Penarth which already has its fair share of well-known restaurants including The Custom House and the new Pier 64 at the Marina and The Fig Tree on the seafront. It’s therefore easy to overlook San Kai which occupies an unobtrusive corner of Plassey Street in the town centre. At first glance one would assume that it was just another Chinese takeaway. It does offer a takeaway service but this tiny restaurant offers much more than that.
Promising that it is Penarth’s only sit-down Chinese restaurant it also offers some delicious Thai dishes and Japanese offerings that rival those I’ve had at Canton/Roath’s Ichiban and City Road's Tenkaichi. It’s usually the Japanese that draws my partner and I to San Kai every few months. The place itself is housed in a former corner-shop and is intimate without meaning you have to listen to every word the couple seated next to you are saying. It’s decorated with colourful lanterns and has the unique distinction of playing karaoke videos of pop classics in the corner. On weekends, the opportunity to sing karaoke presents itself although there’s no pressure to do so and this doesn’t happen until very late into the evening. Having visited 4 times, I've never actually seen anyone partake in this! The staff is also friendly and efficient; the owner remembers you and details about you and visiting is always a hugely welcoming experience.
What, then of the food? My partner and I are creatures of habit and almost always opt for the cucumber (£3.50) or California maki (£4.50) from the sushi menu and the Ebi Tempura (prawn) (£5.50) or vegetable tempura (£4.95). The sushi is always fresh and the vegetables crisp and textured. The tempura is equally good with a light crisp batter and huge prawns. On our last visit we added some Nama Hotate (breaded scallops) to the mix which, at £5.95 were a little more pricey than our usual choices. However, they were a revelation; meaty and well cooked and served with a spicy sauce and we'll certainly be ordering them again. There’s also a complimentary bowl of prawn crackers and sweet chilli sauce if you decide to espouse starters altogether.
For the main course I usually plump for some form of udon dish – so far I’ve tried the chicken (£7.95), seafood (£9.50) and pork (£7.95) options and all curried favour although the seafood dish was a little too heavy on salmon for my tastes. The other half always choses the spicy pork yaki soba (£7.95), so convinced is he of its quality. All the noodle dishes are plentiful and full of flavour and good value for money .
Pork yaki soba
Yaki udon
In the past, we’ve also shared the set Chinese menu for two which offers mixed hot starters of spare ribs, prawn toasts, chicken satay, spring roll, deep fried squid) and mains of sizzling beef in satay sauce, Kung Po pork, chicken in honey and lemon, and egg fried rice all for £13.95 per head. This was also really impressive and offered more food than the two of us could reasonably consume without losing flavour and quality. It’s not the Chinese menu that draws us back to eat out at San Kai but we’d certainly try it again or order it to take-away. There is also a more elaborate set menu for £19.95 for those with even bigger appetites.
Overall, a meal in San Kai for two people, with starters, noodle main courses and two drinks each will set you back around £20 a head. If you’re in Penarth it’s well worth a visit. But don’t tell *too* many people about its secret…
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
An uneven evening: Crown Social, Cardiff
Crown Social
The Parc Hotel
Park Place
Cardiff
CF10 3UD
Tel. No: 029 2078 5593
Email: crownsocial@thistle.co.uk
http://crownsocial.co.uk/
In many ways, writing a review of the Crown Social, housed within Cardiff's Parc Hotel, seems slightly redundant. Firstly because, as most Cardiffians with an interest in food and dining will know, the partnership between the Crown group (who also run the Michelin-starred Crown at Whitebrook and the Crown restaurant within the Celtic Manor) and the Parc is due to finish at the end of the month.
Chef Martin Blunos is to look for another Cardiff location to open a Crown restaurant within the city and the hotel is to resume running of the Social. This is, apparently, all very amicable. I had hoped that this might be the place to finally bring a coveted Michelin star to the city and it's disappointing to see a place that had that promise (and managed to acrue 2 AA rosettes so quickly) has apparently not taken off.
The excellent local food blog Corpulent Capers also last week posted a thorough review of the Crown Social and some musings on the reasons for its failure. I'm not sure how much I can add to those thoughts but I'd suggest checking out the post.
My rush to visit the Social this week was, thus, born from the fact that I was in possession of a Travel Zoo dining voucher that I wanted to cash in before the opportunity to sample the place was forever gone. The voucher offered £90 worth of food for £45 for two - including two nibbles, four starters, two mains, two sides, and two desserts. On the face of it, this sounds like incredible value but when you consider the small plate sharing ethos of the Crown Social, it becomes less of a bargain.
Nevertheless, despite the news about the imminent parting of the ways between the Parc Hotel and Crown and despite some of the less than positive reviews and comments I've read on Twitter and other blogs, my partner and I set off to try it out for ourselves.
The first thing we were suprised by was how busy it was for a Monday night. Although I've seen many people comment that the place is like a ghost town on their visits, the place was around half full when we attended. How much of this is due to Travel Zoo punters rushing to use their coupons is unclear but it did add some atmosphere to the dining room. I can easily see how a quiet evening would seriously detract from the experience of the visit.
We started with drinks - an Oriental Sparkle cocktail was surprisingly small for its £8 cost and lacked the kick of lychee and mandarin I was promised. We thus opted for a bottle of wine with our meal which was perfectly servicable (but, hey, we're on a budget!).
The sharing concept has also come in for some critique and again I can understand this. We ordered our 2 nibbles and 4 starters and agreed that these would all be brought at the same time. This allowed some sharing between the two of us but it also meant that some of the dishes were less than warm by the time we tasted them.
Cheese fondue
The cheese fondue was my favourite of the starters that we tried. I'm a massive fan of this anyway but the cheese was gooey and just strong enough. We had to order a side of bread to finish it all off but at 90p for a fairly substantial loaf (nicely presented on a bread board with a knife) it didn't break the bank.
Beer battered whiting with tartare sauce & Grilled mackerel with Russian salad
Apparently the whiting was mostly pointless, providing some nice tartare sauce but little in the way of flavour or texture. The mackerel was reported to be well cooked but uninspiring, with the Russian salad really being a tarted-up coleslaw. Not excellent on the fish nibbles/starters front at all.
Leek and potato terrine, roast garlic and toasted hazelnuts
This was another missed opportunity; cold and bland with a fairly unpleasant texture and the toasted hazelnuts didn't add anything at all to this dish. We both sincerely wished that we had ordered something else.
Welsh pork boudin and shallot piccalilli
This was tasty and, sadly, as a nibble, too small for much of a sharing experience. Nicely seasoned meat and a very pleasant mouthful.
Seared lambs liver, cauliflower and hot caper butter
This was my partner's highlight of the meal. Having never tried liver before he was impressed with the flavour and the combination of the liver with the capers and cauliflower. I hate liver but tried it and found it better than most other livers I've tasted. Well cooked and interesting, this was one of the best dishes of the night.
For the mains we went for one fish and one meat dish and ordered them with sides of a salad and chips. The chips were chunky and soft on the inside but could have done with being crispier on the outside.
Crab tortellini and crab cream sauce
The crab tortellini looked pretty but was pretty much what it said on the menu: 5 piece of pasta with a little sauce. The tortellini had a good fish flavour but my partner reported the odd bit of shell in the dish - a cardinal sin at any restaurant but especially one aiming for such high levels!
Slow cooked lamb shoulder and crisp lamb breast
My lamb dish was very good, the meat was well cooked and tender and the sauce that accompanied it was rich. Aside from the fondue, this was my favourite dish of the evening - with a slightly larger portion and some extra garnish I would happily eat this as a main course in any restaurant.
For dessert we chose the honeycomb souffle which was light and fluffy and full of delicious surprise honeycomb textures. The lime sorbet didn't really add much to it though and the flavours didn't really match up. The souffle itself more than made up for it though.
Honeycomb souffle and coconut lime sorbet
The salted caramel chocolate slice was also very good. My only critique was the presentation - no matter how you look at it, a brown smear on a plate is not attractive. It's one of my pet hates. But the slice itself was both salty and sweet and a good size for the end of a meal.
Salted caramel chocolate slice
Overall, we enjoyed the experience at the Crown Social but there were a number of flaws. We both agreed that whilst there were flashes of excellence (the fondue, liver, the lamb dish, the desserts) there was also a great deal of mediocracy (the shell in the crab dish!, the bland lifeless potato terrine, the whiting) which made the food quality very uneven. I can see how the concept of sharing such small dishes might also be off-putting to some people and how the usually high prices also seem to jar with the concept. If we hadn't used the Travel Zoo voucher the meal would have easily set us back nearly £150. At that price, it just isn't worth it.
I think the concept of 'fine dining tapas' could work if prices were lower, portions were larger, or both. I also do hope that the Crown finds a suitable location in Cardiff although I'd wager that this won't be in the city centre. The success of more 'high-end' restaurants such as Bullys, Woods and Oscars outside of the main areas suggests that punters don't always associate the city centre with this type of place. I may well be proven wrong though (and the recent buzz around the Potted Pig does offer a counterpoint) and I'm interested to see whether that is the case.
At the moment, though, the search for a restaurant to bring Cardiff its first Michelin star goes on...
The Parc Hotel
Park Place
Cardiff
CF10 3UD
Tel. No: 029 2078 5593
Email: crownsocial@thistle.co.uk
http://crownsocial.co.uk/
In many ways, writing a review of the Crown Social, housed within Cardiff's Parc Hotel, seems slightly redundant. Firstly because, as most Cardiffians with an interest in food and dining will know, the partnership between the Crown group (who also run the Michelin-starred Crown at Whitebrook and the Crown restaurant within the Celtic Manor) and the Parc is due to finish at the end of the month.
Chef Martin Blunos is to look for another Cardiff location to open a Crown restaurant within the city and the hotel is to resume running of the Social. This is, apparently, all very amicable. I had hoped that this might be the place to finally bring a coveted Michelin star to the city and it's disappointing to see a place that had that promise (and managed to acrue 2 AA rosettes so quickly) has apparently not taken off.
The excellent local food blog Corpulent Capers also last week posted a thorough review of the Crown Social and some musings on the reasons for its failure. I'm not sure how much I can add to those thoughts but I'd suggest checking out the post.
My rush to visit the Social this week was, thus, born from the fact that I was in possession of a Travel Zoo dining voucher that I wanted to cash in before the opportunity to sample the place was forever gone. The voucher offered £90 worth of food for £45 for two - including two nibbles, four starters, two mains, two sides, and two desserts. On the face of it, this sounds like incredible value but when you consider the small plate sharing ethos of the Crown Social, it becomes less of a bargain.
Nevertheless, despite the news about the imminent parting of the ways between the Parc Hotel and Crown and despite some of the less than positive reviews and comments I've read on Twitter and other blogs, my partner and I set off to try it out for ourselves.
The first thing we were suprised by was how busy it was for a Monday night. Although I've seen many people comment that the place is like a ghost town on their visits, the place was around half full when we attended. How much of this is due to Travel Zoo punters rushing to use their coupons is unclear but it did add some atmosphere to the dining room. I can easily see how a quiet evening would seriously detract from the experience of the visit.
We started with drinks - an Oriental Sparkle cocktail was surprisingly small for its £8 cost and lacked the kick of lychee and mandarin I was promised. We thus opted for a bottle of wine with our meal which was perfectly servicable (but, hey, we're on a budget!).
The sharing concept has also come in for some critique and again I can understand this. We ordered our 2 nibbles and 4 starters and agreed that these would all be brought at the same time. This allowed some sharing between the two of us but it also meant that some of the dishes were less than warm by the time we tasted them.
Cheese fondue
The cheese fondue was my favourite of the starters that we tried. I'm a massive fan of this anyway but the cheese was gooey and just strong enough. We had to order a side of bread to finish it all off but at 90p for a fairly substantial loaf (nicely presented on a bread board with a knife) it didn't break the bank.
Beer battered whiting with tartare sauce & Grilled mackerel with Russian salad
Apparently the whiting was mostly pointless, providing some nice tartare sauce but little in the way of flavour or texture. The mackerel was reported to be well cooked but uninspiring, with the Russian salad really being a tarted-up coleslaw. Not excellent on the fish nibbles/starters front at all.
Leek and potato terrine, roast garlic and toasted hazelnuts
This was another missed opportunity; cold and bland with a fairly unpleasant texture and the toasted hazelnuts didn't add anything at all to this dish. We both sincerely wished that we had ordered something else.
Welsh pork boudin and shallot piccalilli
This was tasty and, sadly, as a nibble, too small for much of a sharing experience. Nicely seasoned meat and a very pleasant mouthful.
Seared lambs liver, cauliflower and hot caper butter
This was my partner's highlight of the meal. Having never tried liver before he was impressed with the flavour and the combination of the liver with the capers and cauliflower. I hate liver but tried it and found it better than most other livers I've tasted. Well cooked and interesting, this was one of the best dishes of the night.
For the mains we went for one fish and one meat dish and ordered them with sides of a salad and chips. The chips were chunky and soft on the inside but could have done with being crispier on the outside.
Crab tortellini and crab cream sauce
The crab tortellini looked pretty but was pretty much what it said on the menu: 5 piece of pasta with a little sauce. The tortellini had a good fish flavour but my partner reported the odd bit of shell in the dish - a cardinal sin at any restaurant but especially one aiming for such high levels!
Slow cooked lamb shoulder and crisp lamb breast
My lamb dish was very good, the meat was well cooked and tender and the sauce that accompanied it was rich. Aside from the fondue, this was my favourite dish of the evening - with a slightly larger portion and some extra garnish I would happily eat this as a main course in any restaurant.
For dessert we chose the honeycomb souffle which was light and fluffy and full of delicious surprise honeycomb textures. The lime sorbet didn't really add much to it though and the flavours didn't really match up. The souffle itself more than made up for it though.
Honeycomb souffle and coconut lime sorbet
The salted caramel chocolate slice was also very good. My only critique was the presentation - no matter how you look at it, a brown smear on a plate is not attractive. It's one of my pet hates. But the slice itself was both salty and sweet and a good size for the end of a meal.
Salted caramel chocolate slice
Overall, we enjoyed the experience at the Crown Social but there were a number of flaws. We both agreed that whilst there were flashes of excellence (the fondue, liver, the lamb dish, the desserts) there was also a great deal of mediocracy (the shell in the crab dish!, the bland lifeless potato terrine, the whiting) which made the food quality very uneven. I can see how the concept of sharing such small dishes might also be off-putting to some people and how the usually high prices also seem to jar with the concept. If we hadn't used the Travel Zoo voucher the meal would have easily set us back nearly £150. At that price, it just isn't worth it.
I think the concept of 'fine dining tapas' could work if prices were lower, portions were larger, or both. I also do hope that the Crown finds a suitable location in Cardiff although I'd wager that this won't be in the city centre. The success of more 'high-end' restaurants such as Bullys, Woods and Oscars outside of the main areas suggests that punters don't always associate the city centre with this type of place. I may well be proven wrong though (and the recent buzz around the Potted Pig does offer a counterpoint) and I'm interested to see whether that is the case.
At the moment, though, the search for a restaurant to bring Cardiff its first Michelin star goes on...
Monday, 8 August 2011
Restaurant review: L'Escargot, London
L'Escargot
48 Greek Street
Soho
London W1D 4EF
Tel:(0) 20 7439 7474
Web: http://www.lescargotrestaurant.co.uk/Lescargot/HOME.html
Over the weekend, a very hectic and tiring daytrip to London to meet up with a visiting friend from overseas led to a surprising and very welcome trip to Marco Pierre White's once Michelin-starred L'Escargot restaurant in Soho. A friend has been raving about the combination of fabulous food, atmosphere and the reasonable prices for a while so we took a chance on tables being available and managed to get in for the pre-theatre menu on Saturday evening.
Fortunately, we were not disappointed and my expectations were more than met. The restaurant is unassuming from the outside, located in a street just off the bustling Old Compton Road.
Inside, however, the place is tastefully decorated and intimate; the only moment of over-the-top opulence was a gold dinosaur with glittering teeth located in one corner of the dining room. I'm sure it's worth a fortune but it did elicit some bewilderment on our entry.
Of the four in our party, three of us opted for the pre-theatre option at an amazing £15 for two courses or £18 for three. Our vegetarian companion went for the veloute of carrot soup, ginger and creme fraich which was reportedly smooth and sweet but with a nice punch of ginger. We chose the duck rilette served with cornichons and pickled onions with melba toast. As a bit of a duck fan (in all its forms) this was, for me, the standout course of the meal. The duck rillette was full of texture and flavour, and the pickled accompaniments added a sharpness and a tang that complemented the richness of the duck perfectly. I could easily have eaten another of these and been more than happy.
The person in our party who chose from the a la carte menu selected the Carpaccio of Scottish Beef Fillet with Parmesan, with Aged Balsamic Dressing (£9.75) and we were all surprised by the size of the plate which was full of beef and a generous portion of Parmesan.
The mains were equally outstanding; the slow roasted pork belly with fricassee of peas, beans and carrot that I chose boasted the best crackling I have ever tasted; crisp and salty with real bite, whilst the pork belly was soft and melted in the mouth. The sauce was also rich and strong but didn't overpower the taste of the meat itself; a genuinely delicious and well presented dish.
The other dish of roasted vegetable and mozzarella tart with balsamic reduction from the set menu was apparently also very good whilst the a la carte diner decided to push the boat out and opt for half a lobster. This dish was smaller than the others but looked amazing. However, the accompanying chips were the only disappointment of the meal, lacking crunch and texture.
Finally, desserts were ordered and I decided to sample the selection of cheeses with raising bread and chutney. At first the sweetness of the bread tasted odd against the cheeses but as I continued with the dish, the tastes and textures worked well, especially when paired with the chutney.
The other desserts of summer berries and elderflower jelly with sauce cardinal and a creme brulee (£7.50) looked pretty and were reported to be very good. Sometimes I curse my lack of a sweet tooth.
Overall, the bill for 2 three-course dinners, 1 two-course dinner, a starter, main and dessert with three glasses of wine, a kir royale and a glass of champagne came to £137 including service. We were not charged for coffee and the service throughout was faultless. In an experience earlier this year at Michel Roux at Parliament Square I found the staff to be efficient but cold, whereas the staff at L'Escargot were more friendly and the atmosphere was slightly more relaxed.
The website promises fine dining and affordable glamour and it certainly delivers both. If slightly limp chips and a strange gilded dinosaur are the only issues I can find with the place, then that's fine with me.
48 Greek Street
Soho
London W1D 4EF
Tel:(0) 20 7439 7474
Web: http://www.lescargotrestaurant.co.uk/Lescargot/HOME.html
Over the weekend, a very hectic and tiring daytrip to London to meet up with a visiting friend from overseas led to a surprising and very welcome trip to Marco Pierre White's once Michelin-starred L'Escargot restaurant in Soho. A friend has been raving about the combination of fabulous food, atmosphere and the reasonable prices for a while so we took a chance on tables being available and managed to get in for the pre-theatre menu on Saturday evening.
Fortunately, we were not disappointed and my expectations were more than met. The restaurant is unassuming from the outside, located in a street just off the bustling Old Compton Road.
Inside, however, the place is tastefully decorated and intimate; the only moment of over-the-top opulence was a gold dinosaur with glittering teeth located in one corner of the dining room. I'm sure it's worth a fortune but it did elicit some bewilderment on our entry.
Of the four in our party, three of us opted for the pre-theatre option at an amazing £15 for two courses or £18 for three. Our vegetarian companion went for the veloute of carrot soup, ginger and creme fraich which was reportedly smooth and sweet but with a nice punch of ginger. We chose the duck rilette served with cornichons and pickled onions with melba toast. As a bit of a duck fan (in all its forms) this was, for me, the standout course of the meal. The duck rillette was full of texture and flavour, and the pickled accompaniments added a sharpness and a tang that complemented the richness of the duck perfectly. I could easily have eaten another of these and been more than happy.
The person in our party who chose from the a la carte menu selected the Carpaccio of Scottish Beef Fillet with Parmesan, with Aged Balsamic Dressing (£9.75) and we were all surprised by the size of the plate which was full of beef and a generous portion of Parmesan.
The mains were equally outstanding; the slow roasted pork belly with fricassee of peas, beans and carrot that I chose boasted the best crackling I have ever tasted; crisp and salty with real bite, whilst the pork belly was soft and melted in the mouth. The sauce was also rich and strong but didn't overpower the taste of the meat itself; a genuinely delicious and well presented dish.
The other dish of roasted vegetable and mozzarella tart with balsamic reduction from the set menu was apparently also very good whilst the a la carte diner decided to push the boat out and opt for half a lobster. This dish was smaller than the others but looked amazing. However, the accompanying chips were the only disappointment of the meal, lacking crunch and texture.
Finally, desserts were ordered and I decided to sample the selection of cheeses with raising bread and chutney. At first the sweetness of the bread tasted odd against the cheeses but as I continued with the dish, the tastes and textures worked well, especially when paired with the chutney.
The other desserts of summer berries and elderflower jelly with sauce cardinal and a creme brulee (£7.50) looked pretty and were reported to be very good. Sometimes I curse my lack of a sweet tooth.
Overall, the bill for 2 three-course dinners, 1 two-course dinner, a starter, main and dessert with three glasses of wine, a kir royale and a glass of champagne came to £137 including service. We were not charged for coffee and the service throughout was faultless. In an experience earlier this year at Michel Roux at Parliament Square I found the staff to be efficient but cold, whereas the staff at L'Escargot were more friendly and the atmosphere was slightly more relaxed.
The website promises fine dining and affordable glamour and it certainly delivers both. If slightly limp chips and a strange gilded dinosaur are the only issues I can find with the place, then that's fine with me.
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Good wine is a good familiar creature, if it be well used: Some foodie treats from Stratford-Upon-Avon
If there's one thing I enjoy as much as trying new eateries and drinking spots, it's travelling and exploring new places. I suppose the two are very closely intertwined since the memory of a good dinner or even a suprising snack can evoke strong feelings; the smell of certain foods or colours can be incredibly evocative (I'm thinking of a food memories series of posts at some point).
There is also something nice about returning to the same places again and again, developing routines and habits and I recently returned from a weekend in Stratford to see 'Midsummer Night's Dream' with one of my closest friends. It's an annual jaunt and we tend to visit the same lovely places for food. This year, however, we branched out a little and found two very good restaurants to try if you're ever in the area.
Shakespeare himself had a lot to say about food and drink (the quote that forms the title of this post is from Othello: act 2, scene 3) and dining out is always a big part of our trips away.
This time we opted to try the new RSC Rooftop restaurant in the recently renovated RSC Theatre.
RSC Rooftop Theatre
Tel: 01789 403449
http://www.rsc.org.uk/visit-us/stratford/rooftop-restaurant/menus.aspx
The theatre itself is a beautiful building, with faithful use of the older elements and some intruiging new design features. There's a lovely little tribute to Shakespeare near the Riverside Cafe part of the building which was especially interesting to me, as a big Shakey fan.
We opted to eat in the Rootftop restaurant because of the ease of getting from there into our seats for the performance and also because the online pre-theatre menu had sounded both intruiging and value for money. The restaurant itself has amazing views of the river and the park in Stratford and also boasts a round room for private hire. The bar is also worth a visit for one of the lovingly made cocktails (I sampled a very fine and very peachy bellini).
Menu
We both chose the three course set menu, and plumped for the confit duck with peach and shaved fennel to start. The duck was tender and well cooked, moist but not greasy, and the taste combination of the sweet peach with the aniseed taste of the fennel was a new one for me. As a starter it was perfect; light but with enough different tastes and textures on the plate to keep you interested.
As both of us have foodie interests (my companion is more of a baker and cake maker than I) we opted for different main courses to better sample the menu. I went for roast hake which came on a tower of crushed potatoes and with a gorgeous creamy pea, lettuce and bacon sauce. The other main was corn-fed chicken with turnip, broccoli and wild mushrooms which recieved glowing praise for the tenderness of the chicken and the general quality of the dish.
Hake
Chicken
We were encouraged to order sides by our server and went for french fries and vegetables. These were very tasty but not really necessary and in future, I'd avoid the tendency to fall for the encouragement of the waiting staff to add a few sides to the order.
For dessert, we went for different forms of cheese based dish; I went for a selection of local cheeses which were served with some unusual crackers, a fruity and spicy chutney and some small shards of fruity marmalade. My friend (a confessed lemon addict) went for the lemon cheesecake with raspberry compote which was wonderfully presented with a tuile and some creme fraiche.
Cheese
Cheesecake
Overall, the set three courses for £18.50 is an absolute bargain. The service is attentive and polite, the views are lovely, and the food is good quality but with a few extra details that make it something a little special. There's also a good range of wines and a premium wine and champagne list for those celebrating a special occasion.
A quick visit to the website shows that the set menu has now changed with the season but, either way, the dishes on the new menu sound equally delicious as the ones we sampled on the weekend.
Moons Restaurant
9 Chapel Street
Stratford-upon-Avon
Tel: 01789 267069
Foregoing our usual Sunday lunch at The Dirty Duck (see below) we tried out Edward Moon's Brasserie , foregoing the assumption that this was in any way related to David Essex's character in Eastenders. This branching out from our usual routine turned out to be an excellent idea - Moon's offered a reasonable set lunch of £11.99 for two courses and its a la carte menu is also very well priced with starters averaging at £5 and mains starting at around a tenner for sausage and mash and rising to £15-£16 for steak or duck.
The Sunday lunch menu was concise but tempting and I opted for a goats cheese and beetroot salad to start whilst my companion forewent the starter option. The salad was light and fresh with a slightly acidic dill dressing. The cheese was soft and plentiful (I always worry with a cheese-based salad that I'll be faced with two slices and that's it!) and worked well with the beetroot. It's a tried and tested combo and this one did not disapppoint.
For the mains I went with beef and all the trimmings which was also very good. The portions were'nt huge which was a relief and contained two well cooked and still pink slices of roast beef, a lovely herby yorkshire pudding, perfect roasties and a selection of vegetables. The other dish sampled was roast pork with crackling and roast apple which recieved equally high praise from my friend.
There are no photos of this meal, sadly, but for a well-priced and well cooked Sunday lunch with friendly service, we'd certainly return there on a future trip.
Other recommendations:
The Dirty Duck - a lovely old-fashioned pub which serves huge Sunday lunches and can often be a watering hole for the actors from the RSC. David Tennant was spotted here several times during his tenure as Hamlet in 2008.
Will's Place -The restaurant of the outstanding Legacy Falcon hotel, this place offers some excellent food and good pre-theatre set dinners.
Ettington Chase Not strictly in Stratford but only a short drive away (around 7 miles) this is a stunning country house location that offers some divine and reasonably priced afternoon teas (with or without champagne but, let's face it, why say no to champers?)
There is also something nice about returning to the same places again and again, developing routines and habits and I recently returned from a weekend in Stratford to see 'Midsummer Night's Dream' with one of my closest friends. It's an annual jaunt and we tend to visit the same lovely places for food. This year, however, we branched out a little and found two very good restaurants to try if you're ever in the area.
Shakespeare himself had a lot to say about food and drink (the quote that forms the title of this post is from Othello: act 2, scene 3) and dining out is always a big part of our trips away.
This time we opted to try the new RSC Rooftop restaurant in the recently renovated RSC Theatre.
RSC Rooftop Theatre
Tel: 01789 403449
http://www.rsc.org.uk/visit-us/stratford/rooftop-restaurant/menus.aspx
The theatre itself is a beautiful building, with faithful use of the older elements and some intruiging new design features. There's a lovely little tribute to Shakespeare near the Riverside Cafe part of the building which was especially interesting to me, as a big Shakey fan.
We opted to eat in the Rootftop restaurant because of the ease of getting from there into our seats for the performance and also because the online pre-theatre menu had sounded both intruiging and value for money. The restaurant itself has amazing views of the river and the park in Stratford and also boasts a round room for private hire. The bar is also worth a visit for one of the lovingly made cocktails (I sampled a very fine and very peachy bellini).
Menu
We both chose the three course set menu, and plumped for the confit duck with peach and shaved fennel to start. The duck was tender and well cooked, moist but not greasy, and the taste combination of the sweet peach with the aniseed taste of the fennel was a new one for me. As a starter it was perfect; light but with enough different tastes and textures on the plate to keep you interested.
As both of us have foodie interests (my companion is more of a baker and cake maker than I) we opted for different main courses to better sample the menu. I went for roast hake which came on a tower of crushed potatoes and with a gorgeous creamy pea, lettuce and bacon sauce. The other main was corn-fed chicken with turnip, broccoli and wild mushrooms which recieved glowing praise for the tenderness of the chicken and the general quality of the dish.
Hake
Chicken
We were encouraged to order sides by our server and went for french fries and vegetables. These were very tasty but not really necessary and in future, I'd avoid the tendency to fall for the encouragement of the waiting staff to add a few sides to the order.
For dessert, we went for different forms of cheese based dish; I went for a selection of local cheeses which were served with some unusual crackers, a fruity and spicy chutney and some small shards of fruity marmalade. My friend (a confessed lemon addict) went for the lemon cheesecake with raspberry compote which was wonderfully presented with a tuile and some creme fraiche.
Cheese
Cheesecake
Overall, the set three courses for £18.50 is an absolute bargain. The service is attentive and polite, the views are lovely, and the food is good quality but with a few extra details that make it something a little special. There's also a good range of wines and a premium wine and champagne list for those celebrating a special occasion.
A quick visit to the website shows that the set menu has now changed with the season but, either way, the dishes on the new menu sound equally delicious as the ones we sampled on the weekend.
Moons Restaurant
9 Chapel Street
Stratford-upon-Avon
Tel: 01789 267069
Foregoing our usual Sunday lunch at The Dirty Duck (see below) we tried out Edward Moon's Brasserie , foregoing the assumption that this was in any way related to David Essex's character in Eastenders. This branching out from our usual routine turned out to be an excellent idea - Moon's offered a reasonable set lunch of £11.99 for two courses and its a la carte menu is also very well priced with starters averaging at £5 and mains starting at around a tenner for sausage and mash and rising to £15-£16 for steak or duck.
The Sunday lunch menu was concise but tempting and I opted for a goats cheese and beetroot salad to start whilst my companion forewent the starter option. The salad was light and fresh with a slightly acidic dill dressing. The cheese was soft and plentiful (I always worry with a cheese-based salad that I'll be faced with two slices and that's it!) and worked well with the beetroot. It's a tried and tested combo and this one did not disapppoint.
For the mains I went with beef and all the trimmings which was also very good. The portions were'nt huge which was a relief and contained two well cooked and still pink slices of roast beef, a lovely herby yorkshire pudding, perfect roasties and a selection of vegetables. The other dish sampled was roast pork with crackling and roast apple which recieved equally high praise from my friend.
There are no photos of this meal, sadly, but for a well-priced and well cooked Sunday lunch with friendly service, we'd certainly return there on a future trip.
Other recommendations:
The Dirty Duck - a lovely old-fashioned pub which serves huge Sunday lunches and can often be a watering hole for the actors from the RSC. David Tennant was spotted here several times during his tenure as Hamlet in 2008.
Will's Place -The restaurant of the outstanding Legacy Falcon hotel, this place offers some excellent food and good pre-theatre set dinners.
Ettington Chase Not strictly in Stratford but only a short drive away (around 7 miles) this is a stunning country house location that offers some divine and reasonably priced afternoon teas (with or without champagne but, let's face it, why say no to champers?)
Thursday, 28 July 2011
Small plates: Devon & Newcastle eateries
I've spent the last few weeks on what has felt like an endless train journey, visiting family in Devon and them travelling to Newcastle for work. I've had no time to stop and pause, let alone sample any of the Cardiff/Penarth area's finest eateries. I do, however, have some brief (hence, 'small plates') recommendations and reviews of two places I was very impressed with on my travels.
The Old Pottery
House of Marbles
The Old Pottery
Pottery Road
Bovey Tracey
Devon
TQ13 9DS
p: +44 (0)1626 835285
e: enquiries@houseofmarbles.com
http://www.houseofmarbles.com/hom/caferest
The first is The Old Pottery, a cafe and licensed restaurant in the House of Marbles tourist attraction in Bovey Tracey, around 30 minutes outside of Exeter.
Cafes in such places can often be disappointing but this was a real find, with a cosy atmosphere, an excellent choice of food and some good wines. There was a real emphasis on local produce with local sausages and salmon on the menu and Brixham dab on the specials board. The prices were also very reasonable with a main course costing around £8.00. There's a tempting cava afternoon tea for two on offer as well, which will set you back a moderate £30 for two.
Pie of the day
Penne with chicken and cream pesto sauce
Thai green curry
Silk Room
Trinity Gardens
Newcastle Quayside
NE1 2HF.
Telephone: 0191 260 3506
http://www.silkroom.co.uk/
The Silk Room claims to be the 'only restaurant and champagne bar in the North East' and there's certainly a clear emphasis on champagne with a range of champers and bubble cocktails on offer. The lemon refresher of Moet and limoncello was delicious and there are options for all tastes and budgets from £8 glasses of Moet or Lanson through to £250 bottles of Dom Perignon.
The starters were well priced and we sampled the Duck & Champagne terrine with English fruit chutney (£6.50) and poached hens egg with proscuitto and watercress (£5.95).
The big draw for the main course (which approximately 80% of the diners opted for when we were there) was a Kobe Wagyu Burger which was priced at £19.99 and came with salad, relish and some delicious fries. Having never tasted this beef before, the price tag made it too good to pass up and we were not disappointed. The meat was beyond tender, more like a very well cooked piece of ground steak than a usual burger, and it was more than filling.
The overall bill for two startes, two Kobe burgers, two beers, two glasses of Moet and a champagne cocktail was £93.00 which we felt was excellent given the surroundings, the food and the experience. If you're ever in Newcastle, I recommend that you wander down to the Quayside and give this place a go.
The Old Pottery
House of Marbles
The Old Pottery
Pottery Road
Bovey Tracey
Devon
TQ13 9DS
p: +44 (0)1626 835285
e: enquiries@houseofmarbles.com
http://www.houseofmarbles.com/hom/caferest
The first is The Old Pottery, a cafe and licensed restaurant in the House of Marbles tourist attraction in Bovey Tracey, around 30 minutes outside of Exeter.
Cafes in such places can often be disappointing but this was a real find, with a cosy atmosphere, an excellent choice of food and some good wines. There was a real emphasis on local produce with local sausages and salmon on the menu and Brixham dab on the specials board. The prices were also very reasonable with a main course costing around £8.00. There's a tempting cava afternoon tea for two on offer as well, which will set you back a moderate £30 for two.
Pie of the day
Penne with chicken and cream pesto sauce
Thai green curry
Silk Room
Trinity Gardens
Newcastle Quayside
NE1 2HF.
Telephone: 0191 260 3506
http://www.silkroom.co.uk/
The Silk Room claims to be the 'only restaurant and champagne bar in the North East' and there's certainly a clear emphasis on champagne with a range of champers and bubble cocktails on offer. The lemon refresher of Moet and limoncello was delicious and there are options for all tastes and budgets from £8 glasses of Moet or Lanson through to £250 bottles of Dom Perignon.
The starters were well priced and we sampled the Duck & Champagne terrine with English fruit chutney (£6.50) and poached hens egg with proscuitto and watercress (£5.95).
The big draw for the main course (which approximately 80% of the diners opted for when we were there) was a Kobe Wagyu Burger which was priced at £19.99 and came with salad, relish and some delicious fries. Having never tasted this beef before, the price tag made it too good to pass up and we were not disappointed. The meat was beyond tender, more like a very well cooked piece of ground steak than a usual burger, and it was more than filling.
The overall bill for two startes, two Kobe burgers, two beers, two glasses of Moet and a champagne cocktail was £93.00 which we felt was excellent given the surroundings, the food and the experience. If you're ever in Newcastle, I recommend that you wander down to the Quayside and give this place a go.
Thursday, 14 July 2011
Restaurant Review: Pier 64
Pier 64
Penarth Marina
Penarth
Phone: 02920 000064
Website: http://www.pier64.co.uk/index.html
Pier 64 exterior
There are two, slightly different, reasons why I have been especially excited about the opening of Pier 64 in Penarth Marina since I first witnessed the construction beginning on the venue earlier this year.
Firstly, as a resident of Penarth Marina the options for drinking and eating that don’t involve long walks across the barrage or up to Penarth town centre have, so far, been fairly limited. At one end of the Marina you have The Oystercatcher, a Hungry Horse chain pub serving up BBQs on a plate and sickly flavoured shots (not that there aren’t some evenings when this is exactly what you want). At the other you have The Custom House which, whilst offering excellent food, is not somewhere you can frequent too often without taking out a loan to buy a round of drinks. The option, therefore, of something both geographically and, possible, economically ‘in the middle’ was of particular interest.
Secondly, I’ve yet to get over the disappointment of the fact that, mere months after my belated first visit to Le Gallois in Pontcanna and the outstanding set dinner we had there, the restaurant closed, forever preventing a repeat experience. So, the involvement of Le Gallois’ Francis Dupuy in Pier 64 gave me optimism that the menu on offer would be similarly excellent.
So, how did Pier 64 measure up to these weighty expectations? We visited a week and a half after its grand opening and the place still felt very new. Not in terms of any issues with the staff, service or the food but the building itself which still smelled of paint in the stairwell leading to the bathrooms and the fact that, for example, whilst the cocktail menu is available on the website, printed copies were not yet available at the bar. “On the to-do list”, apparently. None of this in any way took away from the experience which I’m happy to say more than lived up to my hopes about the venue.
The dining room isn’t huge but makes great use of space with mirrors and clean fresh lines; the mirrors ensure that all diners have a view of the marina outside, even if they are facing away from the windows. We also lucked in by being upgraded to a booth; worth requesting one of these when you book since they are much more spacious and feel more luxurious then the ordinary dining tables. The staff are polite and efficient but also friendly and willing to engage with the diners making the service here less formal than at Le Gallois. The waiting staff was attentive and keen to ensure that our evening was going to plan.
In terms of the most important thing, then: the food. Not sure if my waistline will forgive me but, despite my best attempts to be healthy and ‘good’ one must, when faced with a menu of such temptation, give in and throw caution to the wind for one evening. The menu here is concise, offering a few salads, eight or so starters, a wide range of steaks and some other options including lamb, chicken, sea bass, and a vegetarian option. As an avid fan of The Restaurant Inspector and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares I’ve learned to be suspicious of the freshness and providence of ingredients in restaurants with extensive menus so the brevity here was very welcome.
Menu
To start I ordered the pork belly ribs, using middle white pork (£6.95). These were delicious and without a doubt the best ribs I have ever eaten. The pork was moist and tender, a world away from previous ribs I’ve eaten where one has to prise the meat away from the bone. My only slight issue here was that the ribs came smothered in a wholegrain mustard crust which wasn’t mentioned on the menu. The mustard was tasty and offered a tangy counterpoint to the pork but was slightly overpowering. Just a little less mustard would improve the balance of flavor with the pork.
Pork belly ribs
The soup of the day – asparagus with white truffle oil – was outstanding; full of fresh flavour and depth and came with a large portion of bread which was more than adequate for the amount of soup provided (£4.95).
Soup of the day
For the main I went for lamb (always a favourite on a menu); a rump of salt mash lamb served with dauphinois potatoes, samphire and a red wine jus (£17.95). The portion of lamb was generous and cooked to perfection - I ordered it ‘pink’ and it was tender and soft. This was my first experience of samphire and I was impressed, finding that it offered a salty earthiness to the dish and the richness of the jus and the creamy dauphinoise. The Pembrokeshire sea bass with shallot mash, baby leeks and cream (£16.95) was apparently excellent – I didn’t manage to sneak a sample off the plate!
Salt marsh lamb
Pembrokeshire sea bass
Finally, the rib eye steak (which at £17.95 just for the steak is fairly pricey) was also a delight; well cooked and generous. My companion ordered it with blue cheese sauce (£2.00) which worked well with the meat and French fries which lived up to the criteria of being crisp on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside (£3.00). If you’re in the market for more pricey cuts the restaurant offers 600g chateaubriand for £40, ideal for sharing judging by the amount of fellow diners who were ordering this. They also offer wagyu beef if you fancy paying nearly £100 for a steak.
Steak with cheese sauce & French fries
By dessert time I was too full of tasty treats to have a dessert but got some samples from the other diners at our table. The strawberry cheesecake was a revelation. I love strawberries and I love cheesecake but strawberry cheesecake always leaves me cold – I find it quite mushy and lacking in substance. This, however, was quite different; both sweet and tart with a crumbly base and served with a strawberry sorbet on a tuile and strawberries sprinkled with mint. I’d certainly order it in the future. The summer pudding with clotted cream was less to my tastes but was apparently also very good with a particularly sharp blackcurrant kick.
Strawberry cheesecake
Summer pudding
Overall, the evening was almost faultless and reasonably priced with the bill coming in at £130 for 2 starters, 4 mains, 2 desserts, a bottle of wine and a couple of beers (including service as well). I’d return in the evening to sample some of the other options and will be trying out the breakfasts and the reasonable set lunch offer (2 Courses £12.95 3 Course £15.95) very soon. I’m also yearning for a visit to try out the cocktails once they finally put together the finishing touches and tick everything off the to-do list.
Guests expecting a mini Le Gallois will be disappointed but for those looking for a stylish dining experience with fresh well-prepared food, attentive service and a wonderful view there is much to recommend it.
Penarth Marina
Penarth
Phone: 02920 000064
Website: http://www.pier64.co.uk/index.html
Pier 64 exterior
There are two, slightly different, reasons why I have been especially excited about the opening of Pier 64 in Penarth Marina since I first witnessed the construction beginning on the venue earlier this year.
Firstly, as a resident of Penarth Marina the options for drinking and eating that don’t involve long walks across the barrage or up to Penarth town centre have, so far, been fairly limited. At one end of the Marina you have The Oystercatcher, a Hungry Horse chain pub serving up BBQs on a plate and sickly flavoured shots (not that there aren’t some evenings when this is exactly what you want). At the other you have The Custom House which, whilst offering excellent food, is not somewhere you can frequent too often without taking out a loan to buy a round of drinks. The option, therefore, of something both geographically and, possible, economically ‘in the middle’ was of particular interest.
Secondly, I’ve yet to get over the disappointment of the fact that, mere months after my belated first visit to Le Gallois in Pontcanna and the outstanding set dinner we had there, the restaurant closed, forever preventing a repeat experience. So, the involvement of Le Gallois’ Francis Dupuy in Pier 64 gave me optimism that the menu on offer would be similarly excellent.
So, how did Pier 64 measure up to these weighty expectations? We visited a week and a half after its grand opening and the place still felt very new. Not in terms of any issues with the staff, service or the food but the building itself which still smelled of paint in the stairwell leading to the bathrooms and the fact that, for example, whilst the cocktail menu is available on the website, printed copies were not yet available at the bar. “On the to-do list”, apparently. None of this in any way took away from the experience which I’m happy to say more than lived up to my hopes about the venue.
The dining room isn’t huge but makes great use of space with mirrors and clean fresh lines; the mirrors ensure that all diners have a view of the marina outside, even if they are facing away from the windows. We also lucked in by being upgraded to a booth; worth requesting one of these when you book since they are much more spacious and feel more luxurious then the ordinary dining tables. The staff are polite and efficient but also friendly and willing to engage with the diners making the service here less formal than at Le Gallois. The waiting staff was attentive and keen to ensure that our evening was going to plan.
In terms of the most important thing, then: the food. Not sure if my waistline will forgive me but, despite my best attempts to be healthy and ‘good’ one must, when faced with a menu of such temptation, give in and throw caution to the wind for one evening. The menu here is concise, offering a few salads, eight or so starters, a wide range of steaks and some other options including lamb, chicken, sea bass, and a vegetarian option. As an avid fan of The Restaurant Inspector and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares I’ve learned to be suspicious of the freshness and providence of ingredients in restaurants with extensive menus so the brevity here was very welcome.
Menu
To start I ordered the pork belly ribs, using middle white pork (£6.95). These were delicious and without a doubt the best ribs I have ever eaten. The pork was moist and tender, a world away from previous ribs I’ve eaten where one has to prise the meat away from the bone. My only slight issue here was that the ribs came smothered in a wholegrain mustard crust which wasn’t mentioned on the menu. The mustard was tasty and offered a tangy counterpoint to the pork but was slightly overpowering. Just a little less mustard would improve the balance of flavor with the pork.
Pork belly ribs
The soup of the day – asparagus with white truffle oil – was outstanding; full of fresh flavour and depth and came with a large portion of bread which was more than adequate for the amount of soup provided (£4.95).
Soup of the day
For the main I went for lamb (always a favourite on a menu); a rump of salt mash lamb served with dauphinois potatoes, samphire and a red wine jus (£17.95). The portion of lamb was generous and cooked to perfection - I ordered it ‘pink’ and it was tender and soft. This was my first experience of samphire and I was impressed, finding that it offered a salty earthiness to the dish and the richness of the jus and the creamy dauphinoise. The Pembrokeshire sea bass with shallot mash, baby leeks and cream (£16.95) was apparently excellent – I didn’t manage to sneak a sample off the plate!
Salt marsh lamb
Pembrokeshire sea bass
Finally, the rib eye steak (which at £17.95 just for the steak is fairly pricey) was also a delight; well cooked and generous. My companion ordered it with blue cheese sauce (£2.00) which worked well with the meat and French fries which lived up to the criteria of being crisp on the outside and fluffy and soft on the inside (£3.00). If you’re in the market for more pricey cuts the restaurant offers 600g chateaubriand for £40, ideal for sharing judging by the amount of fellow diners who were ordering this. They also offer wagyu beef if you fancy paying nearly £100 for a steak.
Steak with cheese sauce & French fries
By dessert time I was too full of tasty treats to have a dessert but got some samples from the other diners at our table. The strawberry cheesecake was a revelation. I love strawberries and I love cheesecake but strawberry cheesecake always leaves me cold – I find it quite mushy and lacking in substance. This, however, was quite different; both sweet and tart with a crumbly base and served with a strawberry sorbet on a tuile and strawberries sprinkled with mint. I’d certainly order it in the future. The summer pudding with clotted cream was less to my tastes but was apparently also very good with a particularly sharp blackcurrant kick.
Strawberry cheesecake
Summer pudding
Overall, the evening was almost faultless and reasonably priced with the bill coming in at £130 for 2 starters, 4 mains, 2 desserts, a bottle of wine and a couple of beers (including service as well). I’d return in the evening to sample some of the other options and will be trying out the breakfasts and the reasonable set lunch offer (2 Courses £12.95 3 Course £15.95) very soon. I’m also yearning for a visit to try out the cocktails once they finally put together the finishing touches and tick everything off the to-do list.
Guests expecting a mini Le Gallois will be disappointed but for those looking for a stylish dining experience with fresh well-prepared food, attentive service and a wonderful view there is much to recommend it.
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