Le Gavroche - London

Le Gavroche is an institution, originally opening back in 1967 (hope they've got something special planned for the big 50!) and currently holding 2 Michelin Stars. Despite his TV commitments, Michael Roux Jr currently oversees the kitchen and is often seen roaming the dining room greeting his customers, I'm devastated to say that unfortunately I didn't get to shake his hand or get a snap with him on this occasion but despite that minor blow I am pleased to confirm the entire dining experience was one of the finest I've enjoyed in this country. 

The restaurant itself is hidden away on a backstreet in Mayfair, surrounded by residents' parking spaces filled with sports cars that i'm sure would have car nerds drooling into their pre-dinner glass of wine. The doorway to Le Gavroche is framed by a miniature hedgerow packed with flowers and it appears like an oasis to welcome you in and save you hustle and bustle tourist mayhem taking place around Hyde Park and general stench of money on the streets.

After a pleasant greeting at the door, I was lead into the waiting room which had the lights turned down and immediately felt very reassuringly classy and traditional with lots of beautiful old furniture and paintings around the room. It was like  enough for 20 people or so, not a traditional bar by any means. Entertainment was provided by a table complete with pompous arseholes spouting off at the top of their voices about how their partner should've had a boob job, numerous lap dancing clubs they'd visited recently and how much money their children had made that year, not a group of men but several couples. All very tasteless and not exactly the sort of entertainment and human beings i'd hoped to be surrounded by to be honest. 

We moved into a quiet corner and a couple of quick canapés appeared alongside drinks at the bar area and which appeared appealingly retro. I enjoyed a bottle of Roux Brew, the beer that Michael Roux Jr had recently commissioned for the restaurant. After a series of tastings from various breweries, he settled on this light grapefruit ale from FourPure which was light, citrusy and perfectly complemented the food to come so I stayed with it throughout the rest of the meal.

We were lead downstairs by one of the infamous maître d twins (I can back the blurb on the website now which states you can only tell them apart from the lapel pin), only for one of them to switch places half way and be lead off by the other. I'm not sure if this happens for everyone but it was a lovely slightly baffling piece of showmanship all the same. 

The dining room itself is very extravagant – much larger than I imagined and utterly old school. Lots of gaudily framed paintings of the Roux family and with metal animal sculptures on each table (we had a frog and a giant cock on the shelf behind us). The cutlery had miniature chubby chefs as the handles and Michael Roux was painted onto the plates - utterly mental. The dining room is underneath the building and was very dark and cool (as in temperature) as a result which enhanced the atmosphere, wandering downstairs on a lovely bright summers day and the contrast of entering an entirely darkened dining room added a lot mood-wise to the whole feel of the occasion. The severe lack of light wasn't the best environment for photos and there was no way I was letting loose with the flash i'm afraid (that's my attempt at an apology for the darkened shots to follow). 

It was an easy choice to order "The 'Menu Exceptionnel'" their grandly titled taster menu at £124 per person (inc cheese course and coffee), but I did notice that some of the a la carte prices were pretty intense. Think £50 plus per course in some instances, which could easily lead to a bill getting out of hand pretty quickly - I suppose if you're eating at Le Gavroche in the first place you're pretty prepared for that eventuality.

The bread selection was made up of a rye loaf, a crisp white mini-baguette and a country roll. None of this new-fangled modern sourdough nonsense. The bread was offered often, usually with a careful line along the theme of "more bread to dip in your sauce sir?" and always accompanied with brand new butter to keep it fresh and at optimum temperature. They must get through so much butter, we had at least 5 partially eaten portions of the stuff.

"Souffle Suissesse" 

The opening course set the scene pretty perfectly for the indulgence to follow. In fact, i'm pushed to remember ever eating a richer first course than this on a taster menu - a giant cheese souffle that was perfectly risen, ready for the air to be released like from a balloon (but without the farty noise). Digging in was similar to pulling melted cheese from the top of a perfectly cooked pizza - strands of it going everywhere. Complete and utter luxurious comfort food - the double cream sauce was perfect for mopping up with fresh bread. 

"Terrine Marbree de Foie Gras aux Epices Gelee au Madere et Croque aux Champignons" 

Easily the most generous single portion of foie gras I've been served in one go, just look at the size of it! The richness was slightly broken up by the spiced crust but as you'd expect, this absolutely continued the luxuriousness that started with the souffle. The portion of crispy mushroom toast, which was served as a mini sandwich on the side added some great crunch to the whole dish. 

"Langoustines Poelees, Petits Pois, Cebette et Jambon de Bayonne" 

I breathed a sigh of relief at the first delicate course to be served. This dish was made up of two fat juicy and langoustines presented on a bed of chopped air dried bayonne ham and fresh peas. The preparation of the sauce had eeked every last drop of pea flavour out of the vegetables and was combined with a dash of spring onion for a tiny hint of tartness.

"Filet de Maigre Parfume as Ras-el-Hanout Fenouil et Riz Rouge de Camargue" 

The pastilla was stuffed with red rice and flavoured with 'Arabian spices' accompanied by the stone bass fish served within a thin, crispy pasty roll. The meat jus and denseness of the pastilla made for quite a dense and unusally meaty fish course. 

"Joue de Porc Braisee et Fumee, Cromesquis de Couennes" 

The crispy belly ravioli was for me one of the highlights of the entire meal - think a deep fried wonton from the Chinese turned up to 11. The portion of braised and smoked pork cheek was succulent and delicious. The course came topped with the thinnest and crispiest sliver of pigs ear , which was accompanied with a thick red cabbage sauce - tangy and great with the deep fried elements.

"Supreme de Pigeon, Gaufres au Mais et Sauce aux Cassis" 

By this stage I was starting to feeling uncomfortably full and the generous portion of squab pigeon here wasn't helping at all. The soft juice soaked corn waffle with sweet blackcurrant sauce was not a combination that I particularly enjoyed but made perfect sense with the rich meat.

"Le Plateau de Fraomages Affines" - Selection of French and British Farmhouse Cheese

The cheese trolley had to be seen to be believed, I could smell it coming from around the corner before I could hear it and was drooling with excitement. I was like a kid in a sweetshop presented with a choice of upwards of 50 cheeses with crisp bread thins and a selection of chutneys. The choice was overwhelming with no apparent end to how many we could order -  a hugely memorable showpiece and it was excellent to have it included and not be 'upsold' to midway through dinner. 

"Truffle Chocolat et Sorbet, Cerises Pochees et a l'Eau de Vie" 

It came as no surprise given the luxury of the food that had preceeded but this was one of the most extraordinary chocolate desserts i've ever tasted. A scoop of rich dark chocolate ice cream served on alcohol soaked cherries and then a piece of fine rolled chocolate stuffed with mousse and a harder truffle within mixing the flavours and consistencies of the chocolate with every spoonful. It was glorious.

"Cafe et Petit Fours"

A double espresso (which was taking no prisoners strength wise) came accompanied by a tray of petit fours, then followed by chocolates and nougat but honestly by this stage I was genuinely worried about needing to be carried out of the restaurant so only really picked at them. There was a mini chocolate mousse tart, berry with icing sugar, biscuit at the front and a variation on a brandy snap. 

There were certainly some fantastic individual courses here - the pigeon, foie gras, cheese souffle, pig cheek, in fact as an a la carte menu I'd happily choose anything I ate again. My only possible complaint was that as someone with what i'd consider a pretty unstoppable appetite at the best of times, i'm still surprised that a taster menu so utterly overwhelmed me like this and honestly leads me to wonder whether many people could overcome this mountain of richness. I was in at The Ledbury the next evening and had to tone down plans for their taster menu as I was still utterly stuffed almost 24 hours later, I've never known anything like it.

I will say that eating at Le Gavroche was definitely an experience I'm glad to have enjoyed, the service was out of this world with no end to the attention to detail, the surroundings, the welcome and the overall atmosphere were truly memorable. The authenticity of the old-school feel I've already referred to just isn't something that could be duplicated without this depth of history and can only be created by year after year of outstanding food. The full taster menu was £124 per person and whilst I completely appreciate this is a huge amount of money for a meal, as a special occasion only (my waistline breathes a sigh of relief) I do believe it to represent genuine value, especially with the cheese course, coffee and petit fours included. A very special meal indeed.

Craft Nerd vs Supermarket Beer - Part 2

Here's the second part (find the first here) of Ian's supermarket craft beer reviews. If you'd like to chat about any of this he can be found on twitter or untappd and i'm he sure would welcome a chinwag.

It's all Ian from this point onwards:

Day 5 – Wednesday

The Lawn Mower - Backyard Brewery/Carlsberg - £1.50 as part of a 4 for £6 deal – 330ml

By this stage I was feeling a bit fed up, I realised that I had front-loaded what I thought were likely to be the better beers and had three days worth of filler to get through. This is an attempt at an amber lager and much like the other Carslberg effort it is seems like a tweaked version of their standard product. Drinkable but not sure why you would bother….Rating 5/10

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference London Porter – Shepherd Neame - £1.66 as part of a 3 for £5 deal – 500ml

I had relatively high hopes for this, decent enough brewery and a change from lots of pales/lagers. Initial impressions were reasonable, the aroma was faint but it seemed to have the right texture for a porter. But then I tasted it. Whatever merits this beer had were completely wrecked by a horrific metallic aftertaste. Another clear bottle and another that would ordinarily have gone down the drain. In date, but I can’t help but think this wasn’t in great condition. Rating 3/10

Day 6 - Thursday

Metropolitan Brewing Company Under Currant Pale Ale – Greene King - £1.25 - 330ml

I was now really craving a decent beer, in fact just something that wasn’t dull or flawed. Unfortunately I wasn’t massively encouraged by the remaining stash of 4 beers. I thought I would suck it up and get stuck into the least promising. It was actually better than the IPA in the same range, with some of the blueberry character you expect from Mosaic (this being a single hop pale). However it lacks any real bitter snap to balance it out and it ends up a bit cloying. Rating 5/10

Marks and Spencer Organic Scottish Beer – Black Isle - £2 as part of a 3 for £6 deal – 500ml

Reasons for optimism – M&S were clearly winning this taste test and Black Isle are a decent brewery. Reasons for pessimism – I wasn't that attracted to a beer with added honey. Difficult to criticise this beer as it is exactly as described, a pale beer with added honey, but that aside it is pretty one dimensional and dull. Aside from the delicate honey flavour I can hardly remember it, but if you like honey its worth a go. Rating 5.5/10

Day 7 - Friday

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference American Pale Ale – Genesee - £1.75 – 330ml

American Pale Ales need a serious amount of hops for aroma and bitterness. This was clearly lacking in both, plus with a bottling date in June 2014 it was hardly fresh, which is also vital in these beers. There was faint mango aroma but the malt dominated the flavour, so it just wasn’t right. One to avoid. Rating 4.5/10

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Tap Room IPA – Genesee - £1.75 – 330ml

For obvious reasons I wasn’t filled with optimism as I approached my final beer. This shared a similarly dull character with its sibling, there was some bitterness present but it was pretty crude. Not enjoyable overall and another to avoid. Rating 4/10

So, overall a pretty uninspiring seven days of drinking. Only two beers that I would actually buy again and a couple of others that have some merit. Not a great return, even when taking into account the potential bargain prices. It was clear from this sample that M&S are way ahead of the competitors. The worst of their beers were at the same level as the best from Sainsbury and Tesco. Even though they are more expensive they offer better value generally. The Tesco ranges had little merit, with only the rye pale being something I would even consider buying again. Very cheap but little actual value. I think that overall Sainsbury were bottom of the pile as their beers were no better and often worse than the Tesco equivalent and more expensive. Frankly most of them tasted pretty stale. The Carlsberg beers were fault free, but pretty dull. If I needed to buy beer in Tesco or Sainsbury I would pick up cheap Brewdog, Sierra Nevada, Goose Island etc and ignore their own labels.

I wasn’t massively surprised by the quality of the beer on offer here, but it is disappointing that the introduction to craft beer for many people could be via such a disappointing range of beers that offer little of the quality that you can quite easily find from good microbreweries.

Craft Nerd vs Supermarket Beer - Part 1

My friend Ian kindly volunteered to write up this experiment and I for one salute his commitment to taking one for the team and sorting the wheat from the chaff for all hardened supermarket beer buyers amongst us. If you'd like to compliment his hard work (or send him abuse of any kind), he can be found on twitter or untappd and i'm he sure would welcome a chat with you. It's all Ian from this point onwards:

Craft Nerd vs Supermarket beer

There’s no doubt that the last few years have seen unprecedented growth in the UK craft beer scene, going against the general trend of a declining beer market, so of course the beer shelves of our supermarkets now look very different to even 3 or 4 years ago. Aside from the availability of beers from the better known craft breweries such as Brewdog and Thornbridge, the supermarkets are also trying to sell craft beer under their own labels. In a recent discussion with fellow “enthusiasts” we picked this as an area of the market that is likely to grow further in 2015. So this seemed like a good time to sample a selection of what is currently out there…..

I set myself the challenge (I realise not that much of a challenge….) of only drinking supermarket label craft beers for a week, with a minimum of 2 beers per evening. My beers were a pretty even split between Marks and Spencer, Sainsbury and Tesco. Would they be a decent set of accessible craft beers at a competitive price or just a cynical attempt to latch on to a growing trend?

Day 1 – Friday

Marks and Spencer Sovereign Golden Ale – Elgood and Sons – £2 as part of a 3 for £6 deal – 500ml

I have to admit I was more optimistic about the M&S selection as they use a number of different breweries to produce (mainly?) bespoke beers for them. This was a surprisingly distinctive beer, with a very dominant bubblegum flavour on top of a biscuit base. Sounds slightly odd, but it worked well. I would definitely buy this again at this price. Rating 7/10

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference IPA – Marstons - £1.66 as part of a 3 for £5 deal – 500ml

After a good start I have to say this was back to earth with a bump. If I hadn't been writing this up it would have gone down the sink. Virtually no aroma, a bland beer with a dreadful metallic taste. This was a clear bottle and I wonder whether it was past its best. Why do breweries still put beer in clear bottles? Rating 3/10

Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Celebration Ale – Black Sheep - £1.66 as part of a 3 for £5 deal – 500ml

After the previous disaster I wasn’t overly optimistic opening this. This stout seems to be well regarded and it was certainly an improvement, although pretty light in flavour, more like a porter for me. Drinkable but not one to seek out. Rating 6/10

Day 2 - Saturday

Marks and Spencer Greenwich Red Ale – Meantime - £5 – 750ml

This was easily the most expensive beer, so became my Saturday night “treat”. It’s a well made beer, but at 4.0% I think it is too weak and lacks a bit of body. It needs to be better than this to justify the high price tag, so on that basis I wouldn't buy it again, something like Moor RAW is a much better beer in a similar style at a lower price. Rating 6.5/10

Metropolitan Brewing Company Big Bad Wolf – Greene King - £1.25 - 330ml

The second shocker and a truly depressing beer all round. This is the most obviously “craft” of the Tesco own brand beers in terms of labelling and description. Described as having “huge hoppy character”, this actually tastes like a standard UK bitter that has gone a bit stale, no aroma, no hit of hops, no real flavour. Bordering on deceitful, this could put you off craft beer if you were trying it for the first time. Rating 2/10

Day 3 - Monday

The Bee 17 – Backyard Brewery/Carlsberg - £1.50 as part of a 4 for £6 deal – 330ml

The first can, which seems to be another growth market for 2015. Not strictly supermarket own brand but Carslberg’s attempt to cash in on the craft market. It’s not bad, a hoppier version of something similar to their standard lager, but I don’t really understand why anyone would buy this when Brooklyn Lager is so widely available at decent prices. Rating 5/10

Revisionist Rye Pale Ale – Marstons - £1.50 as part of a 4 for £6 deal – 500ml

This is Tesco’s other craft range and after the Greene King effort I was ready for the worst case scenario. It was actually a pleasant surprise, with all the flavours you would expect from a rye pale ale. It was just a bit watery which makes it difficult to recommend wholeheartedly, but at this price it is a decent introduction to something a bit different. Rating 6/10

Day 4 – Tuesday

Revisionist Hefeweizen Wheat Beer - Marstons - £1.50 as part of a 4 for £6 deal – 500ml

By this stage I have to say I was beginning to crave the serious flavour hit that I get from the sort of beers I usually drink. This beer didn’t give me that, it was similar to the previous beer in that the profile was right, but it was watery. There are lots of top hefe weizens available for £2 or so, such as the classic Weihenstephaner or Franziskaner, so no need to buy this even with a 50 pence saving. Rating 5/10

Marks and Spencer Southwold Winter IPA – Adnams - £2 as part of a 3 for £6 deal

Another beer with a bit of pedigree from a good brewery. This had the most flavour of any beer I sampled, a pretty serious bitter hop hit, not the most subtle drink in the world, but a damn site better than much of what I drank this week. I’d buy this again for £2. Rating 7/10

Final three days to follow

Northern Monk Brewery / Grub and Grog Shop - Leeds

There’s certainly something in the water in Leeds at the moment, resulting in a new wave of original and independent food and drink businesses popping up all over the city. As a city to visit for the weekend it’s up there with my favourites in the UK. It seems like there’s always something food and drink related happening in the city and something I’d say only London can compare with. As of late August, Northern Monk joined the party by opening their new brewery premises just a short distance from the city centre.

Having seen no photos of the premises before I visited it’s no exaggeration to say I was pretty staggered by the whole thing. The building itself (a converted flax mill) looks incredible - the first sight of the branded banners with their impressive artwork hanging from the front of the building framed by a dark bleak Yorkshire sky really is a sight to behold. As a package it's certainly the most impressive restaurant and tap room combo I've visited - in the UK it's pretty much unique (I'm certainly struggling to think of anywhere).

As you enter the building you’re greeted with sneak peaks of the brewery itself through the large glass windows throughout (just my luck I chose to visit on a day that no brewing action was taking place though, unfortunately). The taproom is up on the first floor is made up of a large room with exposed beams, original brickwork, local artwork and filled with a mixture of smaller bar style seating and large 10 person communal seating. As a brewery taproom, it’s pretty much my idea of the perfect place to sit and quaff a few quiet pints. Beer wise we’re looking at 16 keg options and 4 cask options – heavily focused on Northern Monk but with some cracking guests (Bad Seed, Magic Rock, Kirkstall, Red Willow amongst others on this visit) as well as a small but well curated UK focused bottle shop.

The good news is that the booze is more than well complimented by the "Grub and Grog shop" who are also based on site and provide breakfast, lunch and dinner in this ‘refectory’ area. I hadn't heard a lot about them so did a bit of reading in advance and was immediately impressed by their imaginative menus. I loved having a read through their 'Friends and suppliers’ section of a website and which in this case links to a selection of suppliers who were all impressively local.

The menu on the day of the visit was different to that on the website. This is something i'm always keen to see in a place that serves smaller dishes as it typically suggests an imaginative chef making the best of seasonal ingredients and pushing themselves rather than serving up the same old dishes day after day. On this occasion I got stuck into the following:

“Ox tongue hash, celeriac mash, pickles, kale, hop syrup and stout gravy”

This was a good looking plate of food indeed. The tongue with the mash and stout gravy was just fantastic, think rich and with a mountain of deep flavour. The kale was roasted and added a great crunchy texture to proceedings, pickle had been finely sliced and was mild enough that when mixed in with the other ingredients it didn't overwhelm anything. On a day in the height of winter when it and absolutely freezing cold outside, this was a perfect winter warmer of a lunch. 

“Yorkshire fries”

A generous portion of red hot freshly roasted seasonal vegetables served with a dollop of reassuringly stodgy home-made mayonnaise. The veg involved resulted in a mix of textures, some extremely crisped up and others more part baked resulting in an enjoyable mix of consistencies, a great little take on a boring old side of fries. Really enjoyable.

“Stuffed Mutton in Ale, glazed beetroot, sautéed sprouts and puy lentils”

I didn’t actually dig into this one myself but I was being so enthusiastic about my dish that my friend offered me a spoonful of his. The mutton was cooked well and full of flavour - the sprouts and lentils as a base made for another great hearty dish, one that seemed just as impressive as the one I was tucking into.

I don’t have enough good things to say about the Northern Monk Refectory; offering the holy trinity of excellent fresh beer in stunning surroundings and with delicious well-priced original food could not have impressed me more. It’s right at the top of my very favourite places to visit in Leeds and you’ll be sure to see me propping up the bar tucking into beer and food in here at every opportunity I get whenever I'm over the Pennines in the future.

Trove - Manchester

Having recently moved from the City out to South Manchester, I've been taking the time to explore and one of my new favourites is Levenshulme, which reminds me of a fair few of the trendier London suburbs: a thriving, culturally mixed community build around a train station with a Saturday morning food market. For me the jewel in this crown is Trove Café and Bakery. I've mentioned my love for their bread on many occasions; they’re head and shoulders my favourite ‘proper’ bakery in Manchester with a classic white sourdough that could scrap it out with the best of them.

Trove seems to be one of the few places in Manchester that I genuinely haven’t read a single negative word about. I’d built up a strong expectation of the place being entirely twee from the photos of their kids and cat on Instagram, an occasional mention of acoustic folk nights (*shudder*), the impressively curated range of homewares in their store and the photos of the interior. No insult meant by any of those observations, they just fit very well into a specific style of café that you can be sure most boroughs in London (sorry to mention the L word again) have tucked away somewhere but still seems to be a rarity being done ‘properly’ with taste this flawless in the North.

The menu was small but perfectly formed with brunch and sandwich options which covered all of the typical eggy and hot breakfast bases but with the addition of some genuinely interesting tweaks and flavours. Normally, I am fairly decisive when ordering, but this was a situation whereby I just ambled upto the tills and just chose at the last second being pretty confidant from the descriptions that whatever appeared would be tasty. The place smelt so good that my hunger levels had increased tenfold since we wandered in.

The eggs benedict Mrs HJ ordered came with with crispy bacon and capers served on two well buttered giant slices of their signature white sourdough. I can’t get enough of capers at the best of times (we can’t keep them in the house as it’s a matter of time before one of us tucks into the jar with a spoon) and they worked a treat here adding some acidity to the rich hollandaise. Bacon was just as crispy as I’d hoped and eggs were very well cooked, I could've done with a bit more sauce but the yolks ensured things were never dry.

I went for the crispy black pudding, poached egg, ginger and beetroot chutney on brown sourdough (my choice). Presentation was impressive with the pudding layered onto a spring onion and topped with an egg poached just to my taste, not a hint of sloppy white mess but with a yolk that was fit to burst. The chutney was tangy and warming and worked really well with the fried black pudding. 

We also had a flat white and black Americano (not pictured) both excellent and I’d say easily the best coffee we’d have found walking at least 45 minutes in any direction from here and arguably in the entire city.

Despite it being 3pm on a Sunday it was still pretty busy and as everything was just so damn good I can imagine it gets hellish on Saturday mornings or when they have events on. So my only minor quibble would be that due to the location and travel required I’d hate to rock up only for it to be heaving and have to leave disappointed as the alternatives nearby for a similar quality of food and drink are minimal to non-existent. I’ll test the waters again in a few weeks but for that to be the only slight negative I could add (if anything they should receive a massive pat on the back for offering something original down here) is about as petty as it comes and as a result Trove is massively recommended – top 10 in Manchester material for me.

Modern Pantry - London

I've admired the Modern Pantry from afar a few times whilst wandering around Clerkenwell, which is becoming an increasingly hip part of London for food and drink types to head for. Just off the top of my head you have Workshop Coffee, Foxlow, Giant Robot, St John, Polpo, Prufrock, Craft Beer Co and Hix amongst I’m sure others that I’ve not discovered yet. All of these establishments are within an easy 5-10 minute walk of each other meaning you could easily start at Farringdon and head in a circle spending a pretty fantastic afternoon stuffing your face. 

The building itself is stunning; it’s only three floors but takes an imposing position at the top of St John’s Square and immediately draws your eye from Clerkenwell Road. The lower floors and seating space outside at the front make up the main eating area and the top floor was being used as meeting room on this visit. This was much to my surprise as the toilets are also on the top and as I made my usual nose around (I can never help myself) I almost blundered into in a pretty serious looking business meeting – closing the door would've helped avoid me making a fool of myself immensely. From what little I saw before I scuttled off, this looked like it would also have made a pretty swish private dining area for small groups.

Whilst I was blundering around upstairs, our coffees, orange and grapefruit juices arrived offering a vibrant multi-coloured start to proceedings. My Americano was fantastic, rich, strong and a real mid-morning head clearer. The grapefruit juice was just as I like only a tiny touch of sweetness mixed in with the tart citrus but it was too smooth to not be from a carton. The glass of orange juice was stuffed with fresh juicy bits and that all so reassuring sugary hit. 

"Modern Pantry Muesli"

A large bowlful of intensely creamy soaked Bircher muesli which came sprinkled with fresh ripe pineapple, a dollop of raspberry compote and crispy toasted seeds. This alone would’ve been more than enough to set me up for the day, for me it was exactly what I want from a breakfast – carby, not too sweet and with the muesli, which can often be very bland in the wrong hands, more than bought to life by the sugary fruit and seeds. Lovely stuff. 

"Raspberry and Ricotta Pancakes"

I’m hard pushed to remember pancakes better than this I’ve had elsewhere in the UK (or further afield in fact). It did mention on the menu that there's a 20 minute wait which almost put me off, especially at breakfast time, but honestly i'd have waited all morning if i'd known they'd be this good. They came served as a stack of 5 thick pancakes, which were almost verging on the consistency of soufflé. They were cooked well – retaining their form as individual pancakes and so as not to just collapse into a giant pile of mushy pancake dough. The portion was so generous that it was a battle getting through (especially given the muesli I’d already tucked away) but they were so more-ish they were just impossible to leave. The extravagant amount of fruit compote and raspberries throughout meant this must've been at least one of my five a day, right? The crème fraiche finish was an ideal partner to the dish, breaking up the intense sweetness of the compote. 

The final course we shared (well my partner in crime started and I finished) was one of the impressively large selection of vegetarian cooked breakfasts which in this case consisted of two poached eggs and toast with pan fried haloumi, spinach and slow-roast vine ripened tomatoes. Initial impressions weren't great as the dish looked so bland compared to the muesli and pancakes but flavour wise it was very well considered. The spinach and slow-roasted tomatoes were juicy and well flavoured, the eggs were poached perfectly - primed with the yolk and ready to explode with the merest exertion of pressure. The bread was lathered in butter and the halloumi had been really well cooked, with only had a hint of that usual rubber-like consistency, which absolutely goes through me like nails down a blackboard. Here it was thick, buttery and actually had genuine flavour to add to the dish rather than just be there as a pointless addition. 

The coffee was strong, the service was fast, food was all very good and we both left absolutely stuffed for just under £40. The addition of fruit or vegetables to each course at least made these feel healthy and as a very late slightly hungover breakfast this absolutely kept me going until dinner time which is all I could ask. If I worked locally it’d be my spot of choice for meetings and breakfast which can often be a meal that’s difficult to inject life into – they really cracked it with the menu seeming both reassuringly familiar but with an injection of their own personality.

Junkyard - Nottingham

My first impression of Junkyard was 95% eye-roll, From the name (though I suppose the British equivalent "Rubbish Tip" wouldn't quite appeal on the same level.), through to the wording on their awning (which tries to tempt in "beer geeks, caffeine junkies, grazers, oenophiles, cocktail sippers and soda slurpers" all with no capital letters of course) it's very clear that in setting this place up they've worked through every single square on the 'let's try and appeal to absolutely every current trend possible all at once' bingo card. Let me also file the following as evidence - exposed brickwork, beers only being served in two thirds (PINTS? *Scoffs*), menus printed on brown kraft paper, labelling themselves as a "pour house", food menu headed as "Junkfood", sides being served in camp fire tins....i'm struggling for many more current clichés from the past few years they could have steamed into.

The first time I dropped in it was entirely for beers and on that front they entirely deliver. They have a chalk board with a range of 15 keg beers to choose from. The focus is heavily in favour of American beer, with a real focus on breweries that don't seem to appear very often elsewhere in the UK - Ruhstaller, Uncommon, North Coast and Acme featuring both times I've visited. On this front, they're at least they're offering something new and not an endless list of Brookyln and Anchor options. On this visit there was an increased showing of British breweries over imported beer (which often suffers on a freshness front due to the sheer mileage involved). Price-wise (remember the prices shown below are for 2/3's) there was only one beer cheaper than £5 a pint making them a shade expensive compared to other similar bars across the UK.

As well as the draft board, they they also offer 4 fridges that cover more US beers as well as an interesting range of UK beers (including lots of the bigger hitters: think Kernel, Bad Seed and Pressure Drop). They also offer a short cocktail menu and 20 plus wines as well as a range of coffees and teas so drinks wise we're all pretty well covered. 

The food menu is based on a choice of 10+ small plates and half a dozen larger sandwich options. There is also a daily specials menu that adds a couple of starter options and just one further sandwich. Range wise it's a mix of US comfort food staples such mac and cheese, pastrami sandwiches, various fries, hot wings, short ribs etc. - there was certainly plenty from the short descriptions that sounded like they could be worth trying. I indulged in the following...

Fried Pickles - plump and juicy pickles which had been deep-fried whole. The batter was crispy and each mouthful was just so damn pickley that there must have been vinegar or pickle juice in the batter which made them incredibly enjoyable. I can never resist ordering this delicacy on any menu and the extra vinegar hit elevated them to the same level at MeatLiquor. I could easily have gobbled down a couple of dishes of these without them touching the sides, I liked the mis-shaped pieces - it gave the impression they'd not been shipped in pre-sliced ready for the frying.

Padron Peppers - for the price, this was an appropriate sized portion of grilled padron peppers. They hadn't been grilled over charcoal which often gives them that extra blistered skin and tasty smokiness but they were well seasoned and a good side to pick at around the mains. 

Mac and Cheese balls with Arrabiata Sauce - the sauce was rich with a great kick of heat. The mac and cheese balls were excellent - dense and with a perfect crispy outer, they held together extremely well and didn't just crumble as I dug in,

Pastrami on Rye - This looked worryingly light on meat initially but i'm glad to report there was a good stack of salty slices tucked away beneath the bizarre choice of gem lettuce which didn't crush down due to it's weird stem, making the sandwich a little difficult to handle. The bottom layer was stuffed with pickles which had been sliced thickly so they retained the crunch. Lashings of hot English mustard and sauerkraut brought everything together well - gem lettuce aside this was about all I could ask from a pastrami butty. The small side pot of seasonal slaw had a good mix of salad but the overly sweet dressing left it too soggy for me.

The "BLGT" (one of the specials of the day) consisted of  bacon, more of the unnecessary baby gem lettuce, Gorgonzola cheese and roasted tomatoes - all served up on focaccia. A mini twist (at least not one i'm familiar with) on a BLT whereby they'd melted some Gorgonzola onto the bacon. I'm sure there'll be traditionalists that would argue you shouldn't mess with a  BLT but this was right up my street, adding a nice kick to the flavour. Even the gem lettuce getting in the way and serving it on Foccacia over my preferred white loaf slice couldn't ruin my fun here.Although, the sprinkling of parsnip crisps over the top was a slightly odd addition which added nothing, in fact they tasted slightly soft as if they were fried in batches early in the day before being sprinkled over sandwiches throughout the day. 

This Sloppy Joe was a course that I didn't eat myself so I can't really add comment flavour wise. My friend tucked in (and thoroughly enjoyed it). It consisted of a giant hot dog, thick crunchy onion rings, pulled pork and a giant roasted pepper. Let's take a moment to admire that sprig of Rosemary.

Dessert wise, the only option was a chocolate brownie with fruit compote and vanilla ice cream  aka ultimate chefs cop out. This seemed a shame as i'd have happily tucked into a sundae or something similar to close the meal but given the lack of choice we swerved it altogether.

Drinks wise, we shared a Pressure Drop Pale Fire from the bottle which was as reliable as ever and I wrapped up with an Americano which was black, strong and tasted fresh enough. 

Despite all signals pointing to this being a cash in on as much trendy nonsense as possible, you can definitely consider me pleasantly surprised. It turns out I can forgive a total lack of originality (after all, "there's nothing new under the sun") for well cooked, fairly priced and quickly served food in a bar where I can get a good beer and I had a genuinely enjoyable if not life-changing lunch in Junkyard and whilst not worth a special trip, I would definitely go back.

As a quick aside, I enjoy that when you click the link to their twitter on the website it takes you to "http://www.twitter.com/junkarydnotts" and then when you re-word it yourself to "junkyardnotts" yourself they only follow 5 people and have an image of the default egg. Then you search some more and figure out it's actually on there under "Junkyard Poho" @jydpoho. It's 2014, come on fellas - this shouldn't have to take detective work.