Next up, was a grilled Rib-Eye steak
with potato puree and seasonal
veg. The steak, thankfully, was
cooked to perfection. The first slice
revealed a perfectly pink middle,
with the juices running evenly
throughout the clearly well cooked
and more importantly, well rested
cut. A meal is a sum of its parts
however, and with a well seasoned
and delightfully smooth, buttery
puree accompanied by lightly
blanched, crisp, fresh seasonal
greens, I was almost completely
sold…almost. It is a rarity to find
steak served without a sauce of
some kind, rarer still to find mash
without some sort of sauce. The
dish was, undeniably and heartbreakingly dry. Screaming, crying,
and shouting for a red wine jus,
something beautiful to accompany
accomplished cooking, and clever
plating.
21
We were then treated to the star
of the show in terms of plating
when our waitress brought over the
whole-roasted bream, served with
wilted spinach and a seductively
charred lemon wedge…everything
we look for in a lemon wedge as
well as balsamic glaze drizzle. The
fish itself was well cooked, needing
maybe 10 seconds less if one was to
really be a pain in the ass. We try
not to be. The presentation was
again, beautiful. And the lightly
wilted spinach complimented
the earth tones of freshwater
fish amicably. We found the use
of Balsamic Glaze to be… well…
bizarre. Being firmly entrenched in
the “don’t-put-anything-on-theplate-unless-its-to-be-eaten” party,
we found the sickly sweetness at
utter contrast to the harmony of
the dish. If it were only there for
aesthetics, one would recommend a
rethink.