So on to the food. We skipped on starters so for a main course I went for the ribeye steak (£12.95). I was also offered a choice of sauces that weren't shown on the menu (peppercorn, diane and blue cheese) but declined as I prefer my steak au naturale or with a garlic butter. It was accompanied by handcut chips, slow roast tomato, baked field mushrooms with a kind of mustard drizzle over them plus some watercress. Also included was what was described as a shallot tarte tatin - a nice idea but the pastry was undercooked and there wasn't really a caramelised top as I'd perhaps expect for something described as a tarte tatin. It was very neatly presented and the steak was, despite being fairly thin (which probably explains the reasonable price), cooked rare and to my taste (something that many of the establishments you visit round here seem unable to do!) We also got a fennel and mascarpone coleslaw side (£2.50) and this was excellent. I'm not the biggest fan of coleslaw especially not when its the mass-produced muck that is usually trotted out. But this was very tasty and more-ish and I could've eaten another helping. The slow roast tomato was very tasty and along with the mushrooms and watercress accompanied the steak very well. The only thing I wasn't too enamoured by were the chips - they were a bit too thick cut which meant they were a little dry (if I wasn't such a 'gutsy bam' as my wife calls me I probably would've left them), nice idea though.
My wife didn't fare so well as I did however. She ordered the tandoori chicken salad with mint and red onion (can't recall the price). She unfortunately found the salad quite bland and the chicken was very dry, it did have quite a nice spicy coating however. It was a bit of a disappointment though.
For dessert I went for a peanut butter and banana mousee, with a crunchy peanut wafer and caramelised banana and a chocolate drizzle. This was very tasty and it all married up to create a very satisfying whole. The only thing I will say about it is to watch the texture of the mousse - it still has some of the 'stringy bits' of the banana throughout which doesn't really make for a satisfying texture. My wife's dessert was also quite impressive. It consisted of an orange, rosemary and poppy seed sponge with a burnt orange custard. The custard was "amazing, beautiful" according to my wife and I'd have to agree, she said she could've drank a glassful of it (and I'm the gutsy bam!). The sponge was tasty and the flavours were just right bit it could do with being made a bit lighter, it is quite stodgy sponge. If it was a little lighter then this would be a pretty perfect dessert.
A welcome addition to the Aberdeen restaurant scene all in all I think. They've got some great ideas - all it needs is a little more care and precision but I think they're on the right track. If a few of my minor gripes were ironed out then I would probably recommend it highly as they have a quite an exciting and adventurous menu. Perhaps once they become more firmly established this will be the case but I think restaurants like this can only be a good thing for Aberdeen if they manage to make others at least attempt to up their game.
Service: Friendly and attentive although we were never shown the specials menu for some reason
Ambience/Atmosphere: OK if you've never been through the probable trauma of being thrown into a psychiatric hospital's padded white room I suppose - could do with some colour just to cosy it a bit and make it a little less clinical looking. Was pretty busy though so thats a good sign.
Food: Great ideas, let down a little in execution - most of it is spot on but its the small touches that really need to be brushed up on.
Price: The overall cost was £40, very reasonable I feel
Overall: 7.5/10
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment