Bath & Blue

Green Park brasserie & bar, Bath, BA1 1JB

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.

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In need of a Bath (Ale)

The Salamander, Bath, BA1 2JL

Tucked down a tiny road in historic Bath this was a real find as it's a Bath Ales pub and didn't disappoint on our lunchtime visit. Freezing cold outside it was warm enough just about inside after we moved away for the ghostly draft by the bar. The beers were primarily Bath Ales own as you'd expect and I opted for the Golden hare, this was a light ale, very moreish and had medium hopping - an excellent golden light ale. My friend decided to try their cider instead of beer, the Bounder Cider was superb and refreshing, better than nearly any cider you'll see in most pubs but I suppose we were in Somerset so should expect that.

To go with the food we had ordered and fancying something a bit more wintery I went for a pint of the medium dark Barnstormer ale contrary to fact I had ordered fish. The Barnstormer had rich caramel and treacle undertones and it wasn't as bitter as you'd expect but this was an extremely good thing, much nicer than I imagined and will make me try more dark ales, at least until I get a rubbish one again.

Toad in the hole, organic pork & herb sausages with onion gravy and crispy fried roots
Crunchy on top and fluffy in the middle this enormous monster toad in the hole looked so rustic as it grew out of the dish it was served in. The crispy roots which seemed to be carrot with a bit of parsnip were nicer on the eyes than the tongue but the real stars were the fat and juicy sausages which had a great meat to fat mix inside and therefore retained so much moisture. A hell of a lot of pudding to eat though for one person, but a lovely warming meal.

Pan roasted Cod fillet with a chorizo & butterbean ratatouille

This was on the menu as being made with Hake but today had been replaced by cod, after not eating cod for quite a while through over fishing guilt I thought I'd have anyway. The cod was very nicely cooked in butter to keep it from drying out. The classic Spanish combination of white fish and chorizo is a no brainer really but this was executed very well and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole dish. The hearty portion meant desert was a no-no and I though the best was way to let it settle was with another Bath Ales pint, this time I tried the 3.7 percent Spa ale; a light bitter ale, quite heavily hopped, bitterish aftertaste and it definitely tasted stronger than its percentage.

A small pub serving excellent local beers and quality appealing food - it's so simple really and I loved it for a lazy Saturday lunch.

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