Description

This Restaurant is sited in a flash eating area of town with some real classy but well-priced restaurants. I was on one of my stroll about town evenings and stumbled across it so, wanting to try somewhere different, I decided to give it a whirl.

I was promptly welcomed by one of the well dressed waiters who offered me the chance to eat downstairs (this is a narrow bar area, with around 8 tables), but I preferred to go upstairs which turned out to have more of a restaurant feel to it. Up here wasn’t huge (around 18 tables) and for early evening it was relatively busy. Not packed out but a steady flow of diners. It was dimly lit with a plethora of candles and although I had a little difficulty in reading the menu the lighting and the contemporary furnishings and decoration gave the place a pleasing ambiance. Of course the tables with couples seemed to appreciate this more than me, a single diner.

I started the meal with a bottle of Brazilian beer called Brahma. It was served with a section of lime thrust into the bottle top and, as I’d been served with a similar bottle when I dined at the Mexican restaurant last week, I now felt accustomed to this presentation. Still I prefer beer in a glass, but this seemed the trendy way to drink so I persevered. I’d already made up my mind what I was going to eat and nothing was going to dissuade me. I promptly ordered salmon fishcakes with “homemade” tartar sauce to be followed by a Goat’s cheese lemon and herb risotto. They both sounded good to me so I settled back to enjoy the “cool jazz” that was being piped through the restaurant.

The fishcakes were delivered promptly – two of them one stacked jauntily on the other – with a small dish full of crunchy tartar obviously mixed in with pieces of walnut. The fishcakes were piping hot, beautifully prepared and real tasty and I’d soon devoured them. The only problem was that it left me wanting more.

After a few seconds the waitress appeared from nowhere to collect my empty plate and shortly after was returning with my cutlery for the main course. I was really pacing myself with the beer (I had actually had a fairly heavy weekend so was ready for a light diet the Monday night) and promptly the waitress was returning with my risotto. As with the fishcakes I accepted the offer of a decent crushing of black pepper. The strong and healthy sized portion of cheese sat on top of the moist risotto rice and I was soon tucking into this flavoursome dish. My only criticism was that the portion was a little small, but I was pleasantly surprised when bill arrived as a deduction of £5.25 had been applied to the meal. “Meal promo” the bill said and effectively I had received my started free.

Overall I reckon I’d eat here again.