To
be honest, I was a little sceptical about going to ‘The Gate Bistro’ at first.
It is a relatively new restaurant so I had no
prior knowledge of what it might be like. When I have peered through the
window in the past, the modern interior (to me) is cold and uninviting and
there never seemed to be anyone eating there. However, armed with a 10%
discount voucher I thought I would give it a try.
When
I entered the restaurant my first impressions were mixed. There was no-one to
meet us at the door, despite the large reception area. This meant we were left
to wander in, a little lost, hoping we would stumble across a member of
staff who could assist us. We found one at the bar and was eventually led to a table. Inevitably, the table we selected was the ‘wobbly’
table which consequently had a folded up flyer wedged underneath it. It was
also dirty with a layer of dust resting on the surface so not an ideal start. However, despite dining
relatively early (7.30 p.m) and it being a Wednesday night, there were already
a number of people eating in the restaurant, creating a better ambience than I
had expected.
My
enjoyment of ‘The Gate Bistro’ experience began to gain momentum as I perused
the menu. I love the idea of sharing food so the Grazing Boards appealed
instantly. The main menu was typically bistro with a mix of British classics
like steak and ‘posh’ fish and chips combined with some more Mediterranean
inspired dished such as Pumpkin, Spinach and Goat’s cheese lasagne. There was
also a Specials Board which
featured some tempting seasonal fish dishes. My kind of menu, so I was spoilt
for choice which is always a nice position to be in.
We opted for the Seafood Grazing Board to start, the Handmade burger and 28-day
Hereford rump steak as mains. The jury is still out on the Seafood Grazing
Board. Don’t get me wrong, it was nice. Four different types of fish (including
smoked salmon, curried squid, filo wrapped prawns and mango and chilli dressed
crayfish) cooked and presented very differently and all very pleasing on the
palate. But I still can’t work out if it represented good value for money. If
they had perhaps added a few more
salad leaves or a some slices of bread to accompany the dish I think I would’ve been more satisfied
but as it was, the four small piles of seafood was a bit underwhelming and
possibly a tad over priced at £9.25?
The
same however, can’t be said for the main meals. This is where ‘The Gate Bistro’ came
into its own. The toasted ciabatta and onion and chilli jam propelled the
handmade burger to something rather special and was well worth the £8.95 paid. My
28-day Hereford rump steak was absolutely delicious. A beautiful piece of meat,
with no bones or fat and so tender and moist that it simply melted in your
mouth. The garlic butter served with the meat was an ideal accompaniment,
adding another flavour to the dish but without detracting from the meat itself.
The roasted tomato and field mushroom were perfect and both dishes were served
with a bowl of proper hand cut, rustic chips. Excellent value for money at
£13.50 (even better on a Wednesday night as it 20% off all steaks).
Overall,
I would recommend ‘The Gate Bistro’ as a place to eat in Leicester. There is a lack of detail (at times) when it came to the level of service received and the restaurant itself but the food and main
courses in particular were extremely good and excellent value for money. Honestly,
the steak was one of the best steaks I’ve tasted for a long time. So for
that reason, along with the fish dishes I’ve yet to try, I have no doubt I will
be returning to ‘The Gate Bistro’ sometime soon.
Restaurant
3.5/5
Food
4/5Service 3.5/5
Value for money 4/5
Total
15/20
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