Having seen rave reviews and good
feedback on Grenache via various social media sites and blogs we decided to
visit Grenache last Sunday for lunch. After
a warm welcome and orders taken I was excited to be presented with our amuse
bouche of Pimms jelly with mint & cucumber ice. I had
seen Chef Mike Jennings upload a photo of this on Twitter so seeing the
creation in front of me made me feel slightly giddy. I love Pimms and to see it in a jelly form
was certainly different. The mint and cucumber ice was really refreshing, a
perfect palette cleanser and also a treat in the scorching summer sun.
For starters Mr Nom selected the
Grilled fillet of mackerel, pickled beetroot, goats cheese, orange &
watercress salad. It was also the restaurant manager Lindseys favourite starter
and after the first taste we could understand why. The flavours married
together beautifully, a little bit of each element were picked up in every
bite. I ordered the twice baked
Lancashire cheese soufflé with ham pickle salad; the mellow soufflé and the
flavours with the homemade piccalilli were wonderful and appetising. The tangy
piccalilli contrasting with the mild cheese makes the dish come to life.
Roast sirloin beef & all the
trimmings was definitely a generous portion but it what you expect for a Sunday
lunch! The huge plate overwhelmed me slightly but the sight of the giant
Yorkshire pudding and the succulent roast beef cooked just right slightly pink made
me wish I ordered that instead. The only thing I would comment on was that the
roast potatoes were slightly too crispy for my liking. Mr Nom seemed to enjoy it however and
demolished the large serving.
My choice of slow cooked belly
pork, pressed apple, glazed cheek, smoked mash & cabbage did not disappoint
either. The dish was exquisite and to top it off, there was an unadvertised
scallop on top of the pork belly which was beautifully presented. Scallops
are one of my favourite foods so the extra addition was a bonus! The belly pork
was delicious but it was slightly dry on one side but it did not stop me from
clearing my plate.
We both agreed to share the
dessert of dark chocolate fondant with coconut sorbet and mango & mint
salsa. Before that arrived we were
presented with mini scones with clotted cream and jam. They were scrumptious,
slightly warm and bite sized so a little nibble before our dessert.
Our fondant took about 20 minutes
and we expected this as we know how long it takes to prepare and it gave us a
welcome break after the mains. Lindsey informed
us that they were not happy with the first fondant as it had split and made
another one. When the fondant arrived it
was split on the side, I think they did not want to keep us waiting any longer
and whilst it was perfectly edible it could of done with another minute of
cooking to firm up more on the outside as it was slightly too gooey. I was also slightly unsure about the accompanying
mango and mint salsa as it added sweetness to the already sweet fondant and
sorbet. If anything I felt the dish
needed something sour like passion fruit to cut through the sweetness, although
Mr Nom seemed fine with that combination but then again he is like a hoover.
It was evident throughout the
meal that most of the customers were regulars and the owner, Huss, was making
sure that everyone was enjoying their meal.
When he asked us about the dessert we told him it was slightly under
done for our tastes and he told us to let him know in future so they could make
amends. You could tell what it meant to
him to ensure that his customers were happy and being a local restaurant in the
suburbs, repeat custom is key.
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