I want to make this review short and punchy, but Emily Scott, of Cornwall in England, has such a great story.

Let’s start with ‘where’ – Emily’s restaurant is in the cool, beautiful and surfing haven of Watergate Bay, Cornwall. It started as a pop-up in 2020 in the failed Jamie Oliver Fifteen Cornwall restaurant – before they were turned into luxury sea view rooms for the Watergate Bay Hotel. In 2020 the Watergate Bay Hotel launched The Watchful Mary, a bar overlooking one of the finest beaches in Cornwall if not Britain – that bar, in 2021, has now been taken over with a permanent residency by Emily Scott – who started life, as a caterer.

So – caterer, pop-up restaurant, permanent restaurant and then, Emily Scott was asked to cook for the 2021 G7 summit leaders at the Eden Project in Cornwall followed by TV appearances. So is Emily now at the top of her game…I don’t think so, there even more to come.

 

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This restaurant certainly has the views, the chef has the reputation but does the food, experience and value match up?

You have to know before you continue, that this location, these views and the accolades come with a hefty price tag – this is an exclusive experience. It’s like surfing at Watergate Bay, if you’re not careful you’ll get into a spot of bother, same here with your bill and the RNLI won’t be able to save you.

The Restaurant only opens Wednesday to Saturday which is smart thinking bearing in mind Jamie Oliver’s’ Fifteen Cornwall bombed (and I actually liked it there).

There were 6 of us for Dinner – 3 adults, two teens and one 10 yr old – families are welcome, but I would advise against going too young.

The bar and staff are excellent, very well made cocktails, I ordered off menu – no problem. Grab a cocktail whilst you take a look at the intentionally small food menu. Some people like a big menu, and with that comes risk of poor food quality. Emily is clearly an astute business person, limited menu, carefully selected ingredients and focus on the final dish – a good combo.

You can grab some nibbles whilst you wait such as Nocellara Olives (Jamie Oliver’s favourite ironically) or whipped cod’s roe or lump in at £40 for some Exmoor caviar.

Starter wise we went for Sashimi of Scallops with Yuzu Ponzu (a citrus soy sauce) and Tempura Turbot in masala sauce. I’ll focus on the Scallops, which are are great fun. Yeah, it’s sliced raw Scallop, but the Yuzu and sesame really lift it, served in the shell and it looks great too. A good start.

Now, I did slag off the bill a bit, but our drinks bill wasn’t cheap, and that’s on us. After our £10+ cocktails we ordered some Billecart-Salmon which you don’t see often on menu and it is premium, but it’s a cracking champagne and in a seafood restaurant, that looks this good, in Cornwall, you just gotta.

Moving on to the main – no meat, just two fish options or a single vegetarian. Both fish dishes were selected and the price is going to come up again I am afraid. Either a small Lobster at £48 plus sides or Butterfly Mackerel roasted over coals with salami and green olives.

Let’s be honest, the Lobster is just Lobster, it does come with Seaweed Butter which I am fairly sure I saw a junior chef collect from the beach that day (that’s cool), burnt lime and some salad. We spent £4 on New Potatoes in Pesto.

The mackerel, one of the cheapest and most abundant fish in the sea took more cooking and flair at £25. Just because it’s cheap and easy to catch, doesn’t mean it’s a poor ingredient. Smoked Mackerel, in a packet found in your supermarket is poles apart from fresh Mackerel – when fresh the meat is white and fluffy, almost Bass like – wouldn’t think it from such an oily fish, but take my word for it, when fresh, it’s insane.

Carrying on with the bar tab, a bottle of Chablis (two actually) at £42 went with these guys nicely – fresh fish, sunset and Chablis.

The kids food by the way made them happy, normal stuff you’d expect for fussy little palates. They did try one of the desserts, and Lemon Almond Cake with Limoncello Cream for £8.50.

We visit Watergate Bay every year, cause I’m such a shit hot surfer (when I manage to stay on the board that is) and we will go back. Emily is an exceptional chef and the kitchen benefits from that. The front of house weren’t always 100% sure on the dishes when I asked probing questions, but they were so lovely, it didn’t matter.

But if I am honest, it would have taken a lot to ruin this experience and that’s with the pricing – the views soften everything, you sit and just let it take you. The worst thing about the bill…just means that it’s over!

Emily Scott’s Restaurant in Watergate Bay is the real deal and getting a reservation will be a big deal, huge.

PRICE: £££

WEBSITE AND RESERVATIONS: emilyscottfood.com

TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 1637 818184

EMAIL: reservations@emilyscottfood.com

LOCATION: On the sea wall, Watergate Bay, Cornwall, TR8 4AA

The post Fresh Fish, Sunset and Chablis | Emily Scott Watergate Bay Restaurant Review appeared first on National Dish.

Can a boozer, owned by a renowned, 2 Michelin Star Chef be a success? Not just as a business, but as a genuine local pub, for local people (and all of our very welcome tourists, of course)?

The operating company, The White Brasserie Company, has a fair number of other pubs like this. Raymond Blanc is rather shrewd not adding his name to The Kings Arms, especially in light of the collapse of Jamie Oliver’s restaurant empire. Add to that, you have The Brasserie Blanc restaurant chain, one of which we have here in Cheltenham. He doesn’t need to splash his name all over it, we all know they are his – apart from a few closeted folk – more about that below.

If The Kings Arms is to work long term, it needs to deliver as a pub and not have punters worrying that it’s too posh for them – even in Prestbury, which is in Cheltenham, which is in The Cotswolds…OMG, one can’t get away from posh.

Let’s explore in three simple questions:

1. Is it a Pub – a genuine, meet your mates down the boozer type place?
2. Will it be a nice place to spend time – the decor, comfort and vibe?
3. What is the food like, do they give a shit, and can us muggles afford it?

A little history

The Kings Arms is a Grade II listed 16th century Tudor building, which prior to Raymond Blanc and his team getting hold of it, was a Carvery.

No matter how lovely the building is, a carvery is an offence to food and dining. Having to queue for someone to offer you a slice of meat, no, meats (oh god), some over-cooked vegetables whilst you watch in horror as the person in front of you piles their plate so high that you wanna to vom – it smells like farts and tastes like feet.

They actually took a booking from people who still thought it was a carvery whilst I was waiting at the front of house “two carveries please” – ugh. Let’s never speak of this again.

This wonderful building, in this superb location, has in actual fact been saved, nice one Team Blanc.

History lesson over.

Question One – Is it a Pub?

To test this, rather than me reviewing it alone, I went with some buddies, 4 of us, so that we might have a few beers and a laugh. They were instructed to ignore the review, that took half a cocktail.

The Kings Arms is split in two – a Pub and Restaurant, and split rather well. The restaurant is out the back and pub toward the street. The buildings’ low ceilings, exposed beams, open fires and superb low lighting makes for a perfect country pub blessed with little areas to hide in – there’s even a TV in one area.

If you want to just go to the pub, with your mates, you totally can. If you get hungry, you can get something the impressive looking Bar Menu, slightly lower pricing than the restaurant.

It is an actual pub, very accessible as a local pub, but if you felt that you might go out of your way, you’d be happy too. Dog walkers (and their dogs), people taking on The Cotswold Way, cyclists, Cheltenham race goers and families are all welcome and will all fit together nicely.

1 out of 1.

Question Two – Is it a nice place?

They, Raymond Blancs’ team, have finally unlocked the potential of this building.

The interior design is perfectly and consistently executed by their own head designer, Inge Watrobski with the garden area enjoying the work of local favourite, Dee Campling.

The decor in the restaurant follows on from the pub, much like a DJ mixing their next track, aiming to maintain the same key and tempo before they take their audience off in a slightly different direction. As you are shown to your table you start to notice the subtle transition from pub to restaurant.

There are two main dining rooms with a private dining room thrown in too. We ate in The Barn, high apex-ed ceiling adorned with horse related decor. Everywhere in Cheltenham is covered in horses, but at least we were in a barn and the building was in fact once used as a stable.

The other room, The Garden Room, was more open and relaxed, a rather large French Dresser served as a focal point before you notice the nicely painted murals around the walls. Slightly more formal than the bar area – and an impressive bar it is.

2 out of 2.

Question Three – What is the food like?

The menu is large enough to provide variation without the fear of them not being able to deliver quality. There are also two kids menus – for little ones and not so little ones – smart move.

The wine list is nicely varied, only a smidge leaning toward France providing something for everyone. A bottle of house will set you back £19.95 leading up to a £70 Burgundy. Interestingly, they don’t put the strength of the wine on the menu.

The bar serves a decent selection of lagers, ale and cider and is also a cocktail bar.

Once sat at the table we opened the innings with a £45.50 Californian Zinfandel – The Federalist, to test the honesty of the cellar. Incredible, naturally these guys have the knowledge and buying power to snaffle some good wine – to your benefit. We followed up with the cheaper Malbec at £32.50, not as good as the Zinfandel, which is reassuring.  If you can stretch to the top end, you’ll be very happy, but you can also feel confident enough that the house will be just fine too.

On to the food, they have a Cheese Souffle as a starter, thought I’d challenge them, its in ‘their favourite’ list after all. Pointless exercise really, the experience so far told me they weren’t going to mess this up. It arrives upside down, with a crunchy golden brown shell with a side of warm Cheddar Cheese Sauce that you pour into the centre. She was a beast – for a starter!

Fear not, so light and fluffy you’re eating air. The restaurant is definitely not pub grub – we’ve moved up a step.

My buddies went for salmon all round, one smoke grilled and two smoked cured  on rye bread off the specials menu. The latter felt they’d ordered wrong – it looked great, like a Danish open sandwich on rugbrød (thinly sliced Rye Bread) – which I love, but I can understand why they didn’t feel it for dinner.

They all followed that with a steak and all were happy – they couldn’t help it, I was out with Three Steaks Pam. One Ribeye, the Guest Steak and a Fillet at £25 each and both 8oz. Then Steak Frites as it’s called on the menu, is an 8oz sirloin for £20. They also ordered a side of Spinach and Kale with a cheese sauce and almonds at £4.25 – that’s a little steep for a side, it was like a chowder and a not so mini, masterpiece.

There is a chateaubriand up for grabs too at £25 per head, you guessed it, 16oz.

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I skipped the beef and asked the restaurant to order for me, the pricing isn’t too astronomical and it’s a good way to get their take on things. They ordered me Duck Leg Confit, which surprised me – listed at £18.95 on the menu.

Was very French indeed, no airs and graces – came with French beans, carrots, a slice, almost Millie-feuille of dauphinoise potato all covered in a cracking deep red wine and blackberry sauce. The Duck was light and easy to eat with a knife and fork, meat fell away so didn’t have to worry about the need to pick the leg up.

We’re getting a bit sozzled at this point, so upon ordering dessert I went for another Souffle, this time Pistachio and Chocolate, Doh! Served right side up, in a large ramekin with some chocolate ice cream on the side. Raymond’s team love a large souffle – but again light. The pistachio was right on the money, this is bloody good, like…real good.

Two of the others also went for Souffle, I think it was my little performance with the starter version. One of them went for the cheese board, which actually only has one whole (mini), soft and ripe, cheese on it, which was a little disappointing. Whilst it did come with some fun sides, a big dollop of quince jelly and some sort of fruit and nut cracker bread, when one orders a cheese board, a little selection is part of the fun.

The food in the restaurant at The Kings Arm is definitely high end pub grub. The menu vernacular skirts around the ‘pub grub’ genre, but the quality is most definitely restaurant, and good restaurant.

The food is good.

3 out of 3.

Pricing

This is a tricky, if you let it, the bill could very easily get out of hand – order to your intended budget and you will be fine.

Our bill, for 4 people, was £350 – bear in mind, that includes cocktails, cider, glass of Prosecco, a £50 bottle of wine and two £32 bottles of wine. I would say, we went slightly overboard but at £88 per head, that’s not the end the world. You could easily halve that by being more conservative with the booze – it is a pub though…

I hope the next pub that The White Brasserie Company opens won’t be straw that breaks the camels back. Prestbury is the most haunted village in Britain and whilst fitting, it would be a horror show if The Kings Arms in Prestbury returned to a carvery – let’s hope it here for good, because it is.

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

PRICE: ££ / £££

WEBSITE AND RESERVATIONS:  kingsarmsprestbury.com

MENUS: kingsarmsprestbury.com/#menus

TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 1242 520 012

EMAIL: kingsarms.prestbury@whitebrasserie.com

Location: High Street, Prestbury, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire GL52 3AR

The post Restaurant Review of The Kings Arms in Prestbury – Pub or Restaurant, or Both? appeared first on National Dish.

I’ve been dying to make Pink Grapefruit Gin, I think the colour would be attractive and relate completely to the flavour – Pink Grapefruit is a real treat just as grapefruit.

As with all our Gin recipes, you need to sterilise everything thoroughly, I mean it – don’t piss about here, you could be wasting good Gin.

This is easy to prep and nurture.

The post How do you make Pink Grapefruit Gin | National Dish Recipe appeared first on National Dish.

We like infusing our own Gin and have a growing number of flavours. Fennel Gin is a bit of a surprise – I wasn’t sure how it would turn out – it’s real good, it’s vegan and is a subtle version of Sambuca.

Unlike fruit based Gin infusions, which you would leave for 3 months, fennel needs to be rather quick, cause it goes brown…fear not, we made a recipe, so you’ll be fine.

Our Plum Gin – which is a thing to behold, was created in a very large Kilner Jar, I’ve moved down to 1 litre jars – I can then make more than one at the same time.

The post How do you make Fennel Gin? | National Dish Recipe | Gin Infusion appeared first on National Dish.

Some people find roasting and cooking beef a real challenge, ending up with a disappointingly tough result, especially a beef brisket.

All that is usually missing though, is a little patience and foresight.

Brisket is a cheap (although annoyingly, that is changing) cut of meat from the lower front chest of the cow, just above the front legs – so it gets worked hard and is therefore naturally tough.

Cook it right though and something miraculous happens.

The post Cook the perfect Beef Brisket and pull it with a fork | National Dish Recipe appeared first on National Dish.

It’s famous for being the centre of the West End social scene and lets be honest, complete and utter wanky bollocks. Originally that meant celebs everywhere, people like Vivien Leigh, Marlene Dietrich, Ant & Dec… You’ll probably only get a table if you’ve polished an Oscar. But you already knew that and most reviews you’ll read will want to provide you with loads more of that – here’s a link to the wiki page, fill your boots.

In short, big brand restaurant in London famous for being cool is acquired by some clever people, they invest in opening a load more outside of London. Are they any good though or just tricking us out of our hard earned cash by passing off? The anticipation has been very real and I think Cheltenham feels rather honoured to be have one of it’s own.

Bear in mind, whilst The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie Cheltenham is owned by the same company as The Ivy, it’s not strictly a sister restaurant. The ‘Grill and Brasserie’s are a separate chain of regional restaurants and at the time of writing there are 15, in places, amongst others, such as Bristol (my home town), Bath, Harrogate and Edinburgh. There are a further 7 planned in Dublin, Cambridge, Guildford, Winchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Brighton. The Ivy Cheltenham, I hope, is a good indicator of the rest.

Firstly, you have tip your hat to the building, the Rotunda in Montpellier was pretty special before they nabbed it off Lloyd’s Bank, but they’ve decorated and it now has to be one the finest looking dining establishments anywhere, not just Cheltenham. I hope they used Farrow and Ball – they’ll get found out around here.

The entrance, leading to a small vestibule (more like an air lock) adorned with the traditional Ivy stained glass hosts the maitre’d and cloakroom, you can’t see the main restaurant, raising your excitement levels. The expression ‘if your name’s not on the list you’re not coming in’ applies, so make sure you book. A gentry looking chap tried to shoot past to the bar, no chance – they politely, friendly and professionally asked him to book. It certainly made those of us with bookings feel extra special.

You’ll be led through double doors to the restaurant via a short corridor flanked by wings of intimate tables and then in to the centre piece itself, the rotunda. It’s not like when you walk in to Twickenham for the first time, but your neck will be craning to grab a look, it’s stunning. The dome loops itself around the bar, walls adorned with…horses, obvs, and it will be the area that most people request a table for, but don’t dismiss those wings, they look wonderfully private, comfortable and a great place to get some privacy.

Tables are ever so slightly close together, there can be a bit of bumping, mainly from the front of house guys, but as you’ll learn, that’s fine. This is my segue to the general vibe of The Ivy Cheltenham.

They’re famous for a vibrant social scene, that’s what it is. Don’t think this is Michelin Star fine dining, all stuffy and ONLY about the food. This is a lively and active cocktail bar and restaurant. The front of house are friendly first and foremost, they are knowledgeable about the menu and what’s behind it. I did ask, just to sense check the culture, if there was a sommelier, my guy didn’t know what that was – so what? The place was unexpectedly relaxed…to its credit.

Couple of cocktails to get going, they do have their own local signature cocktail English Spa Royale which is a Kir Royale created with Sipsmith sloe gin, Briottet Rose liqueur & hibiscus topped off with Champagne, had one of these at their pre-opening evening – they went fast. Tonight was a Pitsville Collins and a Buttered Manhattan, the latter being the best of the two.

A few of the cocktails have a local angle, which is a nice touch. The Pitsville Collins is a long vodka, elderflower and cider based drink with plenty of ice, cucumber, apple and lime. The voddie is Wyborowa, which is Polish and owned by the Absolut guys, I get that. But I was a little disappointed that the cider couldn’t be local, it was Aspel from Suffolk. I really like Aspel, but we’re in the west country, cider is a way of life. If it needs to be dry, Stowford Press, just 45 minutes up the road from Cheltenham would have done just as good a job, if not better.

In a tumbler over rocks arrived my Buttered Manhattan, which is really good, outstanding in fact. Its like a vodka earl grey tea with a touch of orange, almost lady grey without the spice. It’s dry with a smashing colour and great to sip whilst you look at surprisingly large menu of primarily modern British greats – I would call this traditional fair.

You can get their famous shepherds pie for £13.50 or a burger for £14.25, even fish and chips for £14.50. See what I mean, the food is incredibly British and traditional with only a few exceptions and priced quite reasonably? You can spend more on steak should you wish, topping out at £27.95 for a bone in rib-eye to which you can add a sauce for £2.75. I’ve forgotten the last time I got a sauce as an option included in the price. The point is though, you can spend lots or not – making the Cheltenham Ivy incredibly accessible.

Whilst you’re looking I recommend a bowl of Zucchini Fritti, they’re real good, Zoodles in tempura.

The bill was £144 for two people, 3 courses, with nibbles, sides, cocktails and a bottle of wine. I think that represents great value. I would normally save the price for the end, but it sets the tone for the whole experience. Here’s what you can get for the money:

Nibbles

• The bowl of Zucchini Fritti with the cocktails – there was a lot of em, enough for four people, tried not to eat too many, they were too good though.

Starter

• Took the Steak Tartare (featured image) for a spin, which was perfect, served with a nice bright egg yolk, couldn’t fault it – you gotta order this.
• Tuna carpaccio was another success, sliced super fine with a Japanese ponzu sauce with sesame flavour galore running through it. The little dollops of avocado gave it another little angle. This is one of those things that just worked.

Main

• Main course one was half a roast chicken, neatly removed from the bone in one piece. Could have done with a little more of the gremelata (like a salsa verde) and rosemary jus, but it was quite a large dish and couldn’t eat it all anyway. This was pure gold.

• Slow roasted lamb shoulder, which is unusual for me to order as I like to try different things, but if cooked well, should be great fun. I didn’t need a knife, just a fork, it fell apart. It came with the sauce on the side, in a little copper saucepan and it was gorgeous, had some carrots in there too, nice little surprise. The sauce allowed me to ignore the creamed potato it was sat on which was a little dry.

• Had a couple of sides – Truffle and Parmesan Chips, which were OK and green beans with almonds, which were a welcome to cut through all that meat and carb.
• Washed this down with a bottle of Malbec

I did ask my friendly waiter for his choice of main and he went for the duck curry, I felt bad for ignoring him so I let him pick desert and I’m glad I did.

Dessert – if you get this far

• Flourless cappuccino cake  – how great does that sound? It’s very light, almost mousse like, rich in coffee and very sweet. Big enough to share between two.
• My man arrived with his choice and a little performance. Apple Tart Fine, a baked apple tart with vanilla ice cream and Calvados flambé, the little show off. Once the flames had died down and the audience had dissipated, I got stuck in. It’s almost Tarte Tatin, the pastry was sublime, which after everything I’d eaten was dangerous, I could only manage about a third of it.

All in all, the atmosphere, reputation and the building makes this place and it doesn’t disappoint. The food is well executed in both flavour and presentation without being too over fussy, it is traditional stuff, but The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie Cheltenham pulls it off.

You can and should book up in the knowledge that you are coming to an exclusive restaurant which is incredibly laid back and not as expensive as you might have thought. Don’t worry about airs and graces, unless you want to, you can have that type of night if you like or you can just get your mates together and go out for a laugh, good food and cocktails.

It’s definitely pretentious, but in a good way.

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Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

 

PRICE: £ £ £

WEBSITE: theivycheltenhambrasserie.com

TELEPHONE: 01242 894200

Upcoming Ivy Restaurants:

• THE IVY CAMBRIDGE BRASSERIE, 16 Trinity St, City Centre, Cambridge CB2 1TB
• THE IVY VICTORIA QUARTER – LEEDS,Vicars Lane, LEEDS, LS1 6BB, West Yorkshire
• THE IVY WINCHESTER BRASSERIE, 103-104 High Street, Winchester, SO23 9AH, Hampshire
• THE IVY DAWSON STREET DUBLIN, 13-17 Dawson St, Dublin Southside, Dublin, Ireland
• THE IVY CASTLE VIEW – GUILDFORD,Tunsgate Square, 98-100 High Street, Guildford GU1 3HE
• THE IVY TEMPLE ROW BIRMINGHAM,67-71 Temple Row, Birmingham, B2 5LS
• THE IVY IN THE LANES – BRIGHTON, 51a Ship Street, BRIGHTON BN1 1AF

All prices correct at time of publication.

The post The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie Cheltenham Restaurant Review | What’s it really like? | National Dish appeared first on National Dish.

Poussin is a french word used exactly the same in English, which does not necessarily make this a french dish, so I have credited both countries. But – how do you cook Poussin?

Also known as Spring Chicken, Poussin basically means ‘young chicken’, which is less than 28 days old and half a kilo.

My two beauties are corn fed and were acquired from Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly, London – raaahhhh.

The post How do you cook Poussin? | Corn fed spatchcock Poussin with fennel | National Dish Recipe appeared first on National Dish.

I had the pleasure of being invited to the pre-opening night at The Ivy Montpellier Brasserie in Cheltenham, to get a look around the day before the action started.

On offer, around a spectacular bar in a spectacular room in a spectacular building was some plop and canapes and the great and good of the Cheltenham social scene.

Naturally, I can’t give you any real insight in to the food quality, but I did get to speak with some of the staff and get their take on what’s to come.

A quick review of the canapes – they were not too bad actually and plentiful. I wouldn’t say they were pieces of art, but they were appropriate. Arancini went down well, as did the duck pate on mini toasted brioche. Some chicory with quinoa (Keen-Wah) was fun and then some excellent pastry work, especially a raspberry tart-let – which actually was beautiful to look at.

By far and away the thing that stands out the most is the domed ceiling within the Montpellier Rotunda, in which The Ivy is located – and they have definitely spent a few bob on it.

The people, and this is so important in a restaurant aiming at the upper end of the market, the front of house need to know what the fuck they’re serving for every dish. It winds me up when they just look at you like a plum following a question about the menu. Less annoying, but a nice touch, is when they put the food in front of you without asking ‘who ordered the fish’? Speaking to these guys, I think we’re good.

They have all tried every dish and every cocktail over the preceding two weeks – they all seem to be foodies, I hope so. And do you know what? They actually have a personality.

I love the food that comes from fine dining, but sometimes I find the stuffiness takes some of the fun out of the night – I feel that The Ivy Cheltenham is going to strike just the right balance of formality and fun.

The layout is quite wondrous within this old Lloyds Bank – the rotunda atrium is the place to be, but some of the tables in other parts of the building look incredibly intimate and comfortable – so if you can’t get he rotunda, you’ll still be happy. I also understand, and I will confirm this, that from March 2018 they will also have a terrace outside in use.

Like I said, the full review from me is coming soon – follow us on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and we’ll send out the link. For now, take a look at the pics.

Follow buttons are top right.

To be continued…but one thing is for sure, The Ivy Cheltenham aren’t mucking about…

Some practical info

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE

WEBSITE: theivycheltenhambrasserie.com

TELEPHONE: 01242 894200

The post What is it like at The Ivy Cheltenham? | National Dish Preview appeared first on National Dish.

– we’re not 100% sure where this dish might originate.

I accidentally made it up, but that’s not to say it doesn’t exist. So in actual fact this could be a South East Asian ‘influenced’ English dish – Changlo food! You saw it here first.

Anyway, I fancied sweet and sour chicken, but wanted to add lots of chilli and forgot to buy pineapple, so used some mango I had – hence…

It’s really good – I also knocked up a cheats Mushroom Chow Mein on the side.

The post Sweet and Sour Chilli Mango Chicken | National Dish Recipe from South East Asia…maybe appeared first on National Dish.

I once watched an episode of one of Rick Stein’s shows, whereby our usually well mannered grandpa Cornish Chef and cookery teacher lost his temper over a badly cooked steak in a motorway services in France. At least I think it was in a motorway services in France, I tried to look it up but couldn’t find it – if you know, post it in comments and I’ll update this.

Anyway, I think he’d had a couple of glasses of wine but his grievance was perfectly reasonable “it’s not bloody hard to cook a steak well”. Now, for some reason I used to struggle with steak until my mother bought me the Morton’s Steakhouse Cookbook – probably because I cooked her a poor steak. I followed their opinion and now have perfect steak every time and it’s really not difficult.

I don’t cook many steaks compared to Orford Flat Iron’s Chef Patron, Thomas Aubrit. He must cook a lot of em, so it must have been a bad day.

Orford Flat Iron is on Orford Yard, Red Lion St and before you get near the door you’re feeling pretty good about what’s to come. The discreet door opens to a small (probably less than 30 covers) and potentially cosy restaurant. The decor is good, grey walls, loads of wood and a kitchen hatch to let you see the guys at work.

Problem! Why can’t some people get lighting right? This place was brighter than the sun, despite the good decor, it was like going in to your Nan’s lounge – there’s no need. If you’ve been to a Hawksmoor in London you’ll know what I mean, the only light that counts is at your table, giving you warmth and the perception of privacy – intimate, that’s the word.

The greeting by the front of house, without a reservation, went well. The girl that looked after us was delightfully polite and friendly, which continued throughout the visit – might have made a couple of silly mistakes though.

Menu’s are well presented on a clip board, separate food and wine list, but maybe not easy to follow – you’ll see why.

Drinks first, small glass of Merlot, which now of course means 125ml, which in my mind was only reserved for sparkling. In an age of drinking less, 125ml is a cracking measure, but are you paying 175ml prices – you know, a tactic? Nope – £3.50 – that’s spot on. I went for a Gin and Slim, only given two choices, Hendricks or Monkey 47 – don’t know how much it was going to be or if it was 25ml or 50ml. Also, no slimline tonic, full on fever tree.

Delivered to the table in a heavy scotch tumbler, with some ice but no lime (or lemon) – what’s all that about? Upon request a segment of lime duly arrived, quick squeeze and rub and I’m tasting one of the best G&T’s I’ve had in ages. Could have been the tonic, could have been the gin or could have been my ace lime squeezing skills – who cares, it was amaze. I didn’t know at the time it was £9 – but, hindsight is a wonderful thing.

Order consisted of two courses each, I kicked off with Chicken Livers in cognac and cream served on toasted ciabatta and rocket.

I followed that with steak and made a massive error – huge. I didn’t notice, this is my fault, so be warned OK? They don’t give you a price. They have a Flat Iron Steak, this is a cheap cut from the shoulder, more like a chunk of steak for £9 – that’s clear.

Above that is something called ‘Speciality Steak of the Week’, whatever that means because the choice was Sirloin, Fillet, Rib-eye or even a T-bone. So normal ‘non speciality’ steaks then? Maybe it’s the way they cook it – nope.

I chose a rib-eye RARE and didn’t ask how much it was, they also didn’t tell me – the menu does say ask. It’s a menu so I don’t want to ask, unless it’s lobster maybe. I’m not signing a contract – (although strictly speaking you are making one)….but come on, that’s not fair. The mains didn’t come with sides, so you have to wang that on top. I went with Garlic Sauteed Mushrooms for £3 and Asian Som-Tum Slaw for £3. I added a blue cheese sauce for £2.

I’ll just say it now, the sides were excellent and the slaw was off the scale good – order that for sure. My blue cheese sauce was rather thin and lacking a bit of punch.

My buddy went for some non-sizzling – sizzling prawns with garlic butter and chilli and a Flat Iron Steak MEDIUM RARE with Thrice Cooked Fries (drowned in oil more like) and ‘that’ Asian slaw.

Starters – both dry. My chicken livers must have been sat for a little while as the cream sauce has formed a little skin on the top and wasn’t ultra hot. The prawns, were just dry. He did say they tasted good though. The chicken liver was really overcooked, they should melt in the mouth, but you know when liver takes on that dry and grainy texture, I got a beak full of that? Not a great start.

The steaks – OMG – they were cooked so poorly. My RARE rib-eye was medium-well at best and for some reason it got rarer toward one end even though it was the same thickness throughout. The MEDIUM RARE Flat Iron came big time rare – I was well miffed. It is very possible and likely that the waitress got them the wrong way round – but mine was still beyond medium and if the orders were mixed, my pal wanted medium-rare.

When you’re ordering steak you want it perfect, especially in a steakhouse – there is no room for error, it’s just not on.

They serve the steaks up in a skillet that could have been hotter, which would only have cooked them even more of course. Ironically the sizzling prawns was also served on a warm skillet, but on a bed of rocket – eh?

Coffee and the bill. My share of the bill was £43.50 before a tip – with one alcoholic drink I felt that was a little steep, bearing in mind I’d just eaten at Rambla in Soho for less than that.

I feel bad about this review, it’s a new place and I would love it to be amazing – but Norwich does have a lot of competition. I think they made a few mistakes, that’s all and had I been more savvy about the menu, like you now are, I could have managed the budget a little better.

Tripadvisor has them running at 4.5 stars, that’s amazing and I do think they are capable of delivering that – let’s put it down to a bad night and give them the benefit of the doubt. I even feel they could be worth a second chance.

Therefore, I wouldn’t go as far as to say this is a bad place to visit. If you fancy it, you should give it a go for sure, but keep your wits about you…and wear shades.

We paid the bill to keep it real.

PRICE: £ £

WEBSITE: orfordflatiron.co.uk

TELEPHONE: 01603 764441

Atmosphere
Food
Drink
Staff
Value
Overall
Average

 

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