Only a five minute walk from the amazingly old Roman baths this brasserie is set in the old Green Park train station. Inside it has raised seating along either side of the bar and main dinner area areas and this breaks the room up nicely without making it seem too expansive. The service was nice and relaxed but this may have been mainly due to the snow outside seeming to keep it relatively quiet inside. This actually suited us really well as with a jazz band playing we wanted to eat slowly and enjoy the whole evening here, which we duly did with a couple bottles of red.
Seared Scallops with White Pudding and Celeriac Puree
The scallops were nicely cooked but a tad over for me and the white pudding was a good effort at something a little different than the usual black pudding. But then again white puddings just don't hold the same depth of flavour as a good black pudding and just remind you what you're missing. The celeriac puree was nice if under seasoned and overall it was a nice starter.
Beef Satay Skewers with a Soy and Lime Dipping Sauce
Beef wouldn't be my first choice for this type of dish but the skewers retained some succulence and wasn't as dry as I'd worried. The dipping sauce was just ok really; no particular bite from lime or chilli, definitely needed some depth and kick.
Spiced Rack of Lamb with Aubergine Tabouleh Salad
Nicely moist the meat was very neatly prepared, the flavour was succulent lamb and the spice didn't take away from that. Actually the spice on the meat didn't really add much and if anything I'd have liked it to be more heavily spiced to go with Tabouleh, which was a nice accompaniment to the meat.
Grilled Fillet of Brill with Stirfried Spinach, Fennel and Coriander
I went for the only fish dish available for main course and wasn't disappointed, the quality of the fish was a little surprises and it benefited from the simple grilling. The fennel and coriander flavours worked in quite a subtle way. It's hard not to please me with basic spinach as I just love the stuff, this was nice but faded from memory quickly.Feeling hungry we also had side dishes of Dauphinoise Potatoes and Maple Syrup Roasted Carrots and Squash. I feel a lot people wouldn't have enjoyed the lavishly creamy dauphonoise as much as me but on the flip side the carrots and squash felt satisfyingly healthy enough for me to finish the potatoes.
Selection of Fine Local Cheeses, Wife of Bath, Bath Breeze, Bath Blue and Worthy Farm Mature Cheddar with Homemade Chutney
A bold statement in the use of 'fine' meant I was never going to turn down the opportunity to sample the cheese board. The menu recommended a glass of port which we didn't hesitate it ordering also, although I didn't hesitate also in forgetting its name. I asked the waiter to delay bringing it to us for at least twenty minutes as we were feeling little full from the mains, this was no trouble whatsoever and twenty minutes later the Port and cheeses arrived. The Port was lovely and complimented the cheeses very well, but it would have taken a bad one to detract from the awesome cheeses. Seriously I haven't enjoyed a simple English cheese board this much for a long time, standing out was the Bath blue and superbly creamy Wife of Bath. I'm positive that I was being prejudiced by the fact they were local regional cheeses but I kind of think that's the point isn't it? The chutney was a nice one but the cheeses were what stuck in my mind more than anything.
Selection of Fine Local Cheeses, Wife of Bath, Bath Breeze, Bath Blue and Worthy Farm Mature Cheddar with Homemade Chutney
A bold statement in the use of 'fine' meant I was never going to turn down the opportunity to sample the cheese board. The menu recommended a glass of port which we didn't hesitate it ordering also, although I didn't hesitate also in forgetting its name. I asked the waiter to delay bringing it to us for at least twenty minutes as we were feeling little full from the mains, this was no trouble whatsoever and twenty minutes later the Port and cheeses arrived. The Port was lovely and complimented the cheeses very well, but it would have taken a bad one to detract from the awesome cheeses. Seriously I haven't enjoyed a simple English cheese board this much for a long time, standing out was the Bath blue and superbly creamy Wife of Bath. I'm positive that I was being prejudiced by the fact they were local regional cheeses but I kind of think that's the point isn't it? The chutney was a nice one but the cheeses were what stuck in my mind more than anything.
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