Food

Fava

30/04/23

Morrison Street, Edinburgh

Fava has been on our radar for quite a while. We’re fans of Greek cuisine and every time we walk past their attractive premises on Morrison Street, we say, ‘We must try that place soon.’ So when I notice a My Ideals offer, which pretty much buys us a meal at half the usual price, it’s a no-brainer.

It’s 7.45pm on a Sunday evening and the place is bustling with diners. The staff are friendly and the atmosphere convivial, even if the combination of a high ceiling and the inevitable jangling bouzouki soundtrack makes conversation difficult. For starters, we choose to share a baked feta cheese and a Fava salad. The latter is delightful: handsomely presented with edible flowers, it’s a tasty mix of avocado, cucumber, leaves and pomegranate, drizzled with a honey and mustard dressing. The feta is delicious too, flavoured with oregano, tomato, peppers and chilli, but I’m rather less enthused by the presentation. The feta has been baked on a sheet of foil, which means that a lot of it adheres to the backing and proves very, VERY difficult to separate. Of course, we’ve ordered a side of pitta bread (there has to be pitta bread, right?) and this is also nicely done – salty and buttery, just as we like it.

For my main course, I’ve chosen Kleftiko – a generously-sized slow-cooked lamb joint, flavoured with lemon and rosemary, the flesh so succulently tender it comes effortlessly away from the bone with the merest touch of a knife. It’s served with subtly spiced rice (though you can opt for new potatoes, if preferred). Susan has the Kotopoulo Lemanato, a tender chicken fillet, delicately seasoned with lemon, garlic and olive oil. This is accompanied by rice and salad. Both dishes are accomplished and we make short work of them.

For the pudding, it has to be the Portokalopita – a traditional Greek honey and orange cake, which we decide to share as we’re really quite full from the main courses. Not only does does this particular sweet feature prominently in the novel I’m currently editing (so it seems like a good omen) but it’s already a long established favourite of mine. Again, it’s nicely executed, the soft sponge oozing the zesty mixture it’s been liberally doused with. A scoop of Greek yoghurt ice cream makes the perfect accompaniment.

All in all, Fava is a pleasant place to dine: it’s lively and accommodating and the food’s good too. Throw in that My Ideals offer (still available at time of writing) and it’s simply too good to miss.

4.2 stars

Philip Caveney

Chit ‘N’ Chaat

13/04/23

Old Rectory Gardens, Cheadle

I am in Cheadle, visiting my daughter and her husband. For some time now they have been extolling the virtues of Chit ‘N’ Chaat, which specialises in Indian street food and, it being a rainy evening in need of a little brightness, there’s never been a better time to put their claims to the test. When we arrive, the place has a friendly and relaxed vibe. The staff are charming and very helpful when I ask about some of the items on the menu.

Put aside all notions of familiar curry house dishes – this is not the place for a chicken tikka masala or pilau rice. Here, the dining experience is more akin to tapas, where the general idea is to select two or three small plates apiece and share whatever arrives. Things don’t really break down into starters and mains per se, but arrive as they become ready. It’s clear from a perusal of the menu that there’s an eclectic mix of dishes, ranging from South Indian recipes to Indo-Chinese fusion – and half of the fun here is sampling dishes I’ve never experienced before.

First to arrive is a plate of Dahi Puri – crispy spheres of savoury bread filled with a zesty mixture of potato, onions, tomato, green chutney and yoghurt. The idea is to put one whole sphere into your mouth and allow the delicious citrusy concoction to melt on your tongue. It’s zesty, exhilarating and a great way to begin.

Soon the dishes are arriving thick and fast. There’s a tava sea bass fillet, sensitively spiced and perfectly cooked, the flesh yielding easily to the knife. There’s a bowl of chilli garlic chicken, featuring succulent chunks of boneless flesh mixed with onions, bell peppers and coriander. There’s a chilli paneer, a gentle contrast to the spicier offerings, and a Kothu roti chicken, shredded meat in a moist vegetable mixture. 

And then there’s the undoubted stars of the show: two magnificent Dosas, pancakes made from rice and lentil batter, paper thin and enticingly crispy around the edges, one dosa filled with a spiced potato mixture, the other stuffed with that exquisite paneer. These are accompanied by five different sauces, into which a handful of dosa can be dipped and sampled. Half of the experience is not being quite sure what the flavour is until it’s in our mouths. We also share a bowl of chilli chips because… well, because we can’t quite resist having them there and they are rather good.

The selection offers both the delicately spiced and the challengingly fiery and, to accompany the food, we’ve all opted for a mango lassi (a beverage fondly remembered from my nights in Rusholme on Manchester’s infamous curry mile) – thick, sweet and indulgent, the perfect contrast to a mouthful of hot chilli. My only criticism is that I’d prefer the lassi served in a glass rather than a non recyclable plastic beaker, but of the food and drink itself, I have nothing but high praise. 

This is exciting fare that’s also modestly priced – a rare occurrence in these troubled times.

My daughter was right (she often is) and I leave feeling pleasantly full rather than uncomfortably bloated. Anybody in the vicinity of Cheadle who hasn’t yet experienced the wonders of Chit ‘N’ Chaat should pay it a visit at the earliest opportunity. It’s all there waiting to be experienced.

5 stars

Philip Caveney

Dulse by Dean Banks

19/03/23

Queensferry Street, Edinburgh

We rarely return to a restaurant so soon after reviewing it for the first time, but when we saw that Dulse was offering a five course seafood tasting menu for just £35 per head, it was a no brainer. Besides, we wondered, could anybody do the concept proud at such a great value price? Well, the answer to that question is a resounding ‘yes!’ Little wonder that the venue has started offering the menu on more nights of the week.

We start with some oysters – is there any better way to begin a seafood medley? There are just two apiece: fine, fleshy specimens, one doused in a citrusy sea buckthorn sauce, the other in a Bloody Mary mixture. Heads back, mouths open – they slip down perfectly, refreshing, appetising and redolent of the ocean. It’s an excellent start to the meal.

Next up there’s trout pastrami, finely-sliced slivers of smoky fish, served with whipped crème fraîche and crispy rye toast that supplies a satisfying crunch. Arranged on the plate it looks disconcertingly like a smiling clown, but that’s as far as the comedy goes, because this is seriously good, perfectly prepared and absolutely mouthwatering.

The next course is a bowl of Singapore mussels. For me it’s the standout, a rich fiery broth with that tantalising catch at the back of the throat – but then I’ve always been a pushover for those Asian flavours. This is when I’m glad we’ve opted for a side order of a miniature wholemeal loaf, which is absolutely perfect for mopping up the garlic and ginger-infused liquid at the bottom of the bowl, because you don’t want to miss any of that flavour, right?

Can it get any better? Well, how about a chunk of cod, meltingly soft underneath and perfectly seared on top to provide a crispy crunch, the whole thing nestled in a vivid green wild garlic sauce? Yep, once again, this is absolutely spot on.

Any pudding that can follow this needs to be light and appetising, so a deconstructed Eton mess seems the perfect answer – and so it proves to be, with a delightfully fizzy sorbet. It provides the final piece in a faultless tasting menu.

It’s hats off, once again, to Dean Banks, who gets another five star review from us. We make a mental note to visit Haar, his restaurant in St Andrews, when an opportunity arises, because that’s where he began his career and it will be interesting to see what’s on offer there. Interested parties should note that, at Dulse, there’s also the option of adding a half lobster to the selection for just £25 per head and that last orders for this menu are at 7 pm.

So don’t hang about.

5 stars

Philip Caveney

The Queen’s Head

05/03/23

Pen-Y-Bont Road, Glanwydden, Llandudno Junction

We’re in North Wales for a couple of days and my wonderful mother-in-law wants to take us out for lunch. Indeed, she’s already booked a table at The Queen’s Head in Glanwydden, a place about which we know precisely nothing, but Brenda assures us that we’re going to like it. She’s been there before. So who are we to argue?

Happily, she’s not wrong. The Queen’s Head is one of those secluded country taverns where they offer a menu that goes well beyond the kind of fare often associated with ‘pub grub’. It’s no surprise then that the place is thriving, but the pleasant staff keep everything running like clockwork – and the food is impressive. Take the starters for instance. Well, you can’t because we made very short work of them, but they are excellent examples of how to begin a meal with a flourish.

I have chosen the Aberfalls orange gin cured smoked salmon, a generous slice of fish, served with fresh dill panna cotta, sea asparagus and radish salad. It is simply inspired, handsomely presented and bursting with flavour. Susan has the miso and coriander buttered potted prawns, replete with sesame and seaweed and chunks of toasted Pagnotta bread. The seaweed in particular is a real surprise, tangy with lemon, offering a delightful contrast to those fleshy, spicy prawns. We note that Brenda skips the starters, claiming that she’s ‘saving herself’ for the main course. And then it arrives – and we see what she means.

It’s a Sunday so we’ve all gone for the roast option. Brenda has the topside of Welsh beef, thick slices of tender meat, with lashings of gravy. I dig into a roasted loin of pork which comes with apricot, mushroom and sage stuffing. Again, it’s perfectly prepared and there’s a crunchy strip of crackling for good measure. Susan opts for the sweet potato, chestnut and apricot nut roast with creamed leeks and veggie gravy. All dishes come with the full Sunday dinner accompaniment: magnificent Yorkshire puddings – cathedrals of batter with crispy peaks and meltingly soft centres. There are also superb roast potatoes, as well as mash, carrots, broccoli and red cabbage. And we order extra veg (of course we do), in the form of a sumptuous cauliflower cheese.

It may seem churlish, but the only complaint we have here is that the portions are enormous and it’s hard to know what to miss out because… well, we have to leave room for puddings, right? It would be rude not to.

Brenda goes for the vanilla panna cotta with raspberry coulis, which is quite the prettiest dish on the table and comes with strawberry ice cream, biscuit crumb and shortbread. I cannot resist the lemon posset, which is creamy and luxurious, served with a zesty orange sorbet and delicate meringue disks. Susan orders the treacle tart – sweet, crumbly, softer than expected and served with a delicious scoop of coconut ice cream.

We emerge from the feast feeling pleasantly sated and determined to spread the word. The Queen’s Head is the perfect venue for an indulgent dining experience and it’s available to everyone within walking or driving distance of Glanwydden.

Brenda, on the other hand, is all ours. Hands off!

4. 8 stars

Philip Caveney

The Bonham: “Boozy Snoozy Lunch”

26/02/23

Drumsheugh Gardens, Edinburgh

Six years ago and still fairly new to life in Edinburgh, we took advantage of a special offer we found online and booked ourselves a ‘boozy snoozy dinner’ at the Bonham Hotel. We were blown away by the venue, the quality of the food and the great value. So when, more recently, we spotted a Black Friday deal at the same hotel, this time for a ‘boozy snoozy lunch’, we decided it was an offer we couldn’t pass up.

As we take our seats in the dining room, we reflect on everything that’s happened since we were last here. Edinburgh now feels like our home and, over those intervening years, we’ve survived some turbulent events – the pandemic being just one of them. The Bonham is exactly as we remember it: a warm, welcoming haven in a central (but surprisingly quiet) neighbourhood. The walls are hung with the same original oil paintings, there’s a soft murmur of conversation, and the staff are still as polite and efficient as ever.

First for the boozy bit – a bottle of Chilean sauvignon blanc, which we make a start on while perusing the menu. For starters, Susan has the heritage carrot panna cotta, quite the prettiest dish you could ask for and absolutely bursting with flavour. It’s accompanied by pink pickled ginger, salted baked carrots and puffed black rice. I opt for the Simpson game venison carpaccio, succulent slivers of ‘melt in the mouth’ meat adorned with beetroot. leek ash, pickled shimeji mushrooms and red vein sorrel. We’re afraid that the current national shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables might have a negative effect, but these fears are quickly assuaged. This is an inspired beginning.

For the main course, Susan samples the stone bass, a generous slice of perfectly cooked fish, presented on a laksa broth and topped with seaweed tapioca. The laksa would be better if it were more robustly spiced, but that’s really our only criticism. I keep things traditional and choose the Ayrshire pork, a mouthwatering chunk of belly meat with a gratifyingly crispy layer of crackling on the top. It comes with ham hock, kohlrabi, spiced compressed apple and hispi cabbage. The apple in particular is an inspired touch, the sharp flavour cutting through the meatiness with ease.

We also share a side order of hand cut chips sprinkled with rosemary scented blackthorn salt. ‘Ah,’ you may say, ‘chips are just chips,’ but these are perfection – crispy exteriors, soft, buttery insides, and completely irresistible.

For pudding, Susan enjoys a delicious chocolate fondant, which is rich and indulgent, accompanied by crispy honeycomb and zesty orange sorbet. I cannot resist the glazed lemon tart, again as pretty as a picture, and served with Scottish raspberries and Normandy créme fraiche. Both puddings are utterly delectable.

Other things may have changed in six years but this is still a perfectly executed menu. Even at the full price of £35 per head, it represents extraordinary value for money and, on the Black Friday deal we’ve booked, it’s an absolute steal. I can think of many venues in the city centre charging twice as much with half the flair of what’s on offer here. I’d heartily recommend The Bonham to anyone in search of somewhere to enjoy a special meal.

Here’s to the next time!

5 stars

Philip Caveney

The Ship on the Shore

28/01/23

The Shore, Leith

It’s a Saturday night and friends have invited us to dine with them at The Ship on the Shore, a bustling, friendly venue in Leith which describes itself as a ‘seafood restaurant and champagne bar.’ I don’t have anything in particular to celebrate, so I eschew the champagne and settle for a couple of pints of Peroni, but seafood? Hell, yes – lead me to it!

As you might expect, the place is packed but the team here are friendly and efficient so ordering and receiving our food is no bother. We make our selections and settle down for a convivial chat, which – let’s face it – is an important element in most meals.

 For starters, I opt for the salmon and smoked haddock fishcakes. There’s something so innately comforting about fishcakes, isn’t there? And these are splendid examples of their kind, large, perfectly cooked and full of flavour, served with a mixture of mushy peas and tartare sauce. Susan opts for steamed Shetland mussels, another generous portion, nestled in a golden broth of cider, garlic and herbs. As ever, we sample a mouthful of each other’s food. We’re also impressed by the hot and cold Scottish smoked salmon, ordered by one of our companions – so much so that we decide to use a photo of it, because it’s much more photogenic than my main course!

It might not look much, but my seafood pie ‘Royale’ is perfectly delicious. Some so-called ‘pies’ can comprise a few scraps of fish hiding in mounds of mashed potato, but, happily, this is not the case here. Beneath that crisp, buttery surface there are chunks of smoked haddock and salmon, there are king scallops and big, juicy prawns. Susan’s seafood chowder is also a bit of a wonder: thick, creamy and featuring all the usual suspects plus some less obvious ones. Added to the salmon, smoked haddock and queen scallops and prawns, there are also mussels and squid. It’s like an aquarium in there!

You’d think, wouldn’t you, that after such a feast, we wouldn’t be able to face up to pudding? But here’s the thing. I’ve deliberately eaten barely anything all day in preparation for this. Plus, there’s a sticky toffee pudding on the menu and I don’t know what it is about me, some kind of inbuilt reflex, but whenever those words appear on a menu, I nearly always have to try it (though, in this case, I do manage to negotiate replacing the vanilla ice cream accompaniment with a scoop of salted caramel, because… why not?) Suffice to say, that I take the dish on and utterly vanquish it, which is, I think, a testament to my determination. Susan’s berry cheesecake is also pretty sumptuous – and so rich she can’t quite finish it, but we’ll let her away with that one.

Anybody who relishes good seafood will be glad they visited this cheery, welcoming restaurant – and those who ‘don’t do seafood’ should bear in mind that The Ship on the Shore also offers a rib eye steak, and, for the vegetarians, there’s a butternut squash risotto with blue cheese and toasted pine nuts. Seafood fans, though, will have an absolute field day.

4.4 stars

Philip Caveney

Yara

21/01/23

Wilmslow Road, Cheadle

We’ve popped down to Greater Manchester for the night and – of course – we need to eat. We’re visiting family who have recently moved house, and now they’re near Cheadle, giving us a whole new (to us) raft of neighbourhood restaurants to explore. The area is lively and vibrant, and there’s a lot of choice – but our hosts have been to Yara before, and assure us that the hummus alone is worth the trip.

Yara is a Lebanese and Syrian restaurant. It’s big, but it runs like clockwork, the young staff friendly and efficient and clearly well trained. They do sell booze, but you can also BYO, which we do – simply because it’s cheaper, and so why wouldn’t we? We’re provided with an ice bucket and glasses, and left to peruse the menu.

We order separately, but actually share everything. This works well for the starters. We have the hummus dip, of course, which comes with pitta, and decide to try the labneh too. This concentrated yoghurt dip is a creamy, herby delight. We have broad beans and tomatoes in the form of a full-flavoured ful madamas, and a generous portion grilled halloumi, cooked to perfection – nicely charred on the outside and soft in the middle.

Given that we’ve decided to share, we really ought to pay more attention to what the others around us are ordering for mains, but we don’t, and so end up with four lamb dishes. They’re different, of course, but I wish we’d opted for a chicken and a veggie dish as part of the mix. Never mind. Between us we have a lamb shawarma, a lamb sharhat, a bamieh and a muklabeh c.y. salad. Three of the dishes come with rice, and we’ve also ordered a Greek salad (the feta cheese is particularly delicious). They’re all good, but the standout is probably the muklabeh, despite it being one of the ugliest dishes I’ve ever seen. Its unprepossessing appearance conceals something very special: the aubergines have been slow-cooked so that they’re almost caramelised, and melt in the mouth before giving way to the succulent lamb and rice beneath.

The first two courses are a hit, so naturally we want to see if the puddings can compete. They can. We share some ballorieh knafeh (pastry stuffed with pistachio nuts, butter and honey), a piece of walnut honey cake, a portion of muhalabieh, which tastes like a cross between panna cotta and cheesecake, and – best of all – a selection of different flavoured chunks of Turkish delight.

So yes, we’ve had a lovely time. Sated, we venture out into the icy air, and head home, still smiling, for more drinks and some long overdue family time. A palpable hit.

4.4 stars.

Susan Singfield

Alexandros

30/12/22

Warwick Road, Carlisle

Even the best laid plans can sometimes go awry. We are travelling home from North Wales to Edinburgh, by train – on my birthday. A restaurant is booked for the evening of our arrival. What can possibly go wrong?

Well, plenty as it turns out. We haven’t factored in the possibility of near-biblical weather conditions that put an impenetrable flood between us and our home city. At Preston, we manage to fight our way aboard a train heading north but we are warned that it cannot possibly go any further north than Carlisle, a place we’ve never visited.

Once ensconced in a frantically-sought hotel room, we remind ourselves that I’m supposed to be enjoying a birthday meal tonight, so we put out an online shout to various groups asking for recommendations in Carlisle. We get plenty of suggestions but one name keeps recurring. Alexandro’s Greek Restaurant. And, as it transpires, humping our baggage in the direction of our hotel, we happen to walk right past the place. Kismet? Perhaps. At any rate, I venture inside and am able to secure a table for two.

A few hours later, we’re back, suitably fortified by a couple of drinks at the rather swish (but very friendly) Barton’s Yard, just a few steps away. The place is busy – it’s a Friday night after all – and we settle down to look at the extensive menu, while the unmistakable sound of bazoukis twang happily away in the background. Memories of tavernas on remote Greek islands come drifting back to me. We notice that, for thirty pounds a head, we can order a three course mezze – a chef’s selection of all the best dishes on offer. This absolves us of the responsibility of actually making a decision so we order that and settle back in our seats. We don’t have to wait long.

The starters arrive in a cluster because they’re all designed to go together. There’s a delectable trio of dips, freshly made hummus, tzatziki and taramosolata, with a bowl of fresh bread and a grilled pitta .There are kaserokoketes, deep fried croquettes stuffed with mixed cheeses, there’s sarmadakia, vine leaves stuffed with rice and raisins, as well as a bowl of fasolia fournou, a delightfully spiced stew of butter beans with tomato, chilli and oregano. Of course, I’ve eaten all of these before – usually on Greek holidays – but they are perfectly executed and mouthwateringly indulgent. We polish them off very quickly indeed.

The main courses follow swiftly on. There’s a generous platter of barbecued chicken on skewers, succulent and delicately spiced, and a beef stifado, slow-cooked until it virtually melts in the mouth. There’s moussaka (of course there’s moussaka!) but this is better than most I’ve sampled over the years, full of flavour and splendidly aromatic. Then there’s a wonderful Horiatiki – a Greek salad, which features chunks of some of the best feta I’ve tasted on this side of the Mediterranean, and just in case we can find room for it, there’s also a bowl of saffron rice.

We’ve often observed that it’s generally the puddings that let a restaurant down, but happily this is not the case here. The final platter features chunks of baklava, given a festive twist by the inclusion of mincemeat. This is a substance I usually dislike but not so here, because the result is gorgeously gooey and rather splendid. So are the karydopita, slices of walnut and cinnamon sponge soaked in vanilla and lemon syrup and topped with crushed walnuts. Add a couple of scoops of homemade ice cream and a selection of soft fruit and we are struggling to finish, but reluctant to leave so much as a crumb.

Alexandro’s is a family-run business that nails its objectives with aplomb. The staff are friendly and informative, and the atmosphere is relaxed. I really have no complaints. Should you find yourself in Carlisle with time on your hands, a visit to this fabulous Greek restaurant should be high on your ‘to do’ list. It doesn’t entirely make up for being stuck in the wrong city at an awkward time of year, but it certainly helps.

4.6 stars

Philip Caveney

Kora by Tom Kitchin

16/12/22

Bruntsfield Place, Edinburgh

We visited Kora a few days after it opened, back in July, and loved it. But then it was in its infancy, and Mr Kitchin was a friendly and visible presence. The perfect storm of Brexit, COVID and cost-of-living crisis means that restaurants are even more vulnerable than they were before, and he was clearly focused on giving this place a decent start. The question is, five months on, with a slightly longer menu and the restaurant staff given more autonomy, is Kora still delivering five star meals?

The answer is: yes. Yes, it is.

It’s a welcoming place, with a cosy, informal vibe; the staff are warm without being overbearing, professional without being stuffy. The diners before us are running a little late, so we have to wait a while for our table, but we’re happy enough to sit at the bar with some wine (a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc), perusing the menu. It’s hard to pick from the delights on offer.

In the end, we both opt for the salmon starter. This comprises two thick slices of smoked salmon, served with a buckwheat galette, spinach, a perfectly poached egg and a buttery hollandaise sauce. It’s mouthwateringly-wonderful: the thick orange yolk cascading over everything; the salmon robust yet still delicate. It’s a great beginning!

My main course is the Sika deer: a venison pithivier with some medium rare roasted loin, both cooked to perfection. I’m worried before it arrives that it’ll be too much, too rich, with all the pastry and red meat, but it’s perfectly judged, so that I feel satisfied rather than bloated. This comes with celeriac, which, although not my favourite vegetable, is beautifully cooked, and complements the meat well. Perhaps it would be better to have something fresh and green to offset all that richness, but this is just a minor quibble.

Philip has the partridge, which comes en croute, with a roasted leg on the side, as well as some salsify. This is succulent, well-spiced and subtly flavoured, the pastry flaky and crisp. He declares it to be ‘faultless’ and relishes every mouthful.

Philip’s pudding is chocolate, i.e. warm doughnut balls, a dark chocolate sauce, and Chantilly cream. It’s one of those dishes that makes you say ‘oooh’ a lot; it feels indulgent and nostalgic in equal measure. My cinnamon is something of an eye-opener, so much more than its description gives away. A real contender for my ‘Off Menu dream meal dessert’, this consists of a cinnamon panna cotta, served with tart, crisp pieces of apple and an apple sorbet, with a small, warm cinnamon bun on the side. I just know I’ll be ordering this again before too long.

We decline coffee, pay our bill, and head off into the cold, night air. Kora is only a ten minute walk from home; what a privilege to live so near a place as stellar as this.

5 stars

Susan Singfield

Dine Murrayfield – Wine Club

12/10/22

Murrayfield Place, Edinburgh

We’re already familiar with the Dine in Saltire Court, conveniently situated above the Traverse Theatre, a three minute walk from our apartment – and okay, when I first receive the invitation to this combined wine-tasting and four course meal, I’m under the impression that’s where I’m actually going. No matter, the Murrayfield branch is just a twenty-five minute stroll away and proves to be as delightful as its sister restaurant. One of the friendly waiters informs me that a new branch has just opened in Cannon Mills, so I make a mental note to check that out in due course too.

Pretty soon, we’re sipping a delicious glass of Loimer Brut Rosé and our host for the evening, Mike from Liberty Wines, sings its praises and points out details like the fact that it has a delicate ‘puff pastry’ aroma. (Weirdly, it actually does!) Mike pops up at regular intervals during the evening, telling us more about the joys of Austrian wines, of which – until now – I know nothing. He’s keen to point out that all but one of tonight’s offerings are certified organic and biodynamic, the latter of which he helpfully describes as ‘organic on steroids’. 

In comes the appetiser, a pretzel cheese fondue, which features a full size pretzel with rocket and port gel and a generous bowl of hot creamy, cheesy dip, which is absolutely delicious. Too big for a starter? Possibly, though I’m certainly not complaining!

Next up there’s the fish course, a Gulasch sea bream, which turns out to be my star meal of the evening, a mouthwatering stew featuring chunks of potato, carrot and bell peppers and, best of all, a fillet of bream with a delightful crispy skin. The paprika-laced broth causes a delightful catch at the back of the throat. A slice of sourdough is perfect for mopping up the last of it. This course is accompanied by a Südsteiermark Sauvignon Blanc, a subtle but zesty wine with gooseberry and pear notes.

Next up, the glasses arrive charged with Wieninger Pino Noir Select, heralding the fact that a meat course is coming. On paper, the Tafelspiz sounds unprepossessing: boiled beef in a broth of vegetables and spices. Can anybody make boiled beef appetising? It turns out they can. The meat is melt-in-the-mouth tender; there are a couple of perfectly cooked roast potatoes and an accompanying mixture of minced apples and horseradish, which I enjoy despite my initial reservations. What’s more, though I rarely enjoy red wine, the Wieninger’s robust tannin structure with flavours of red and black cherries makes an ideal accompaniment to the dish.

I’ve said it many times before: the pudding is often the crowning glory of many a good meal – but sadly, there’s no pudding here, just an Austrian cheese selection, which – though perfectly agreeable – seems like the one real misstep. Let’s be honest, we began with a cheese dish and Austria has no shortage of great puddings. A fruit strudel would surely be a better companion for the sweet Heidi Schröck Welschriesling that accompanies the final dish. I could also suggest that the courses are all a bit heavy on the carbs and might benefit from the presence of a few greens, but I can’t deny that I find all of this (even the cheese) utterly delicious and, at just £59 per head, exceptional value for money.

Another of these events is planned for the new year. 

Are we going to be there? Hell, yes!

4.6 stars

Philip Caveney