The Griffin Inn

Another Friday night and another meal out in one of Leicestershire’s beautiful villages…this time it was ‘The Griffin Inn’ at Swithland.

 

First used as a coaching inn back in the 17th Century, The Griffin is a quite charming traditional pub located in the heart of the beautiful Charnwood Forest. This small, idyllic country village, with its uniform buildings, historical past and close proximity to the great outdoors feels more like somewhere you might expect to find in the Cotswolds than in Leicestershire.  

 

The Inn and its various outbuildings date back to the early 1400’s.  All are located on quite a sizeable estate. At the rear there is a large open grassy area where you can sit and enjoy a pint of real ale or two.  Alongside the Inn there is a Mediterranean styled outdoor veranda complete with romantic lighting and a vine covered terrace.  Finally, adjoining the pub there is the ‘Old Stables’, a newly refurbished events room, so pretty it made even me want to get married there.

 

Once inside, the Inn itself is also fairly sizeable.   You make your way through several bars until eventually reaching the restaurant at the end.  With its high ceilings and exposed beams, the large squared shaped dining room is a pleasing place to dine.  There is a mesonene balcony, home to a colorful display of green wine bottles and a large stone fireplace with a rustic ‘specials’ chalk board hanging just above it.  Despite the fact the room is decorated with a surprising amount of items I recognized from ‘Ikea’, it all comes together to create a well presented traditional little pub restaurant.

 

Like the dining room, the menu is itself was an intriguing collection of traditional pub grub and something altogether more exotic!  On offer was the customary freshly Battered Haddock (£10.90), Rump to Rib Eye Steaks (£10.50-£16.95) and some modern British dishes such as Chicken Escallop, Pan Fried Lambs Liver and Pork Medallions with Black Pudding.  The rest of the menu takes its inspiration from much further afield.  Roasted Red Pepper and Feta Omelette, Lemon Sole, Wild Mushroom and Parmesan Risotto to name a few.  So although fairly small, the menu was varied and interesting.  All the dishes appealed to me personally, so I felt pretty spoilt for choice.

 

My guest and I kicked off our dinner by sharing the marinated olives (£3.95).  A perfect way to start the meal.  A generous bowl of juicy olives, all different shapes and sizes, served with a chunk of warmed bread and quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar to dunk it into.  Nice.

 

For my main I opted for ‘Authentic Paella’ – a Spanish style rice dish with fish, meat and vegetables.  An ideal dinner for a bright but chilly autumn’s evening. It sure did hit the spot!  A lovely big pile of steaming hot, fluffy rice, bursting with chunks of chorizo, pork, chicken and succulent prawns.  Flavored with garlic, paprika, sweet peppers and what I think were preserved lemon, the dish was perfectly spiced and beautifully decorated with a few mussels and a large prawn, all still in their shells.  The essence of Spain in one, wonderfully satisfying dish.  Very tasty and good value at £12.95.  My only criticism was that it was a little greasy.  My lips were positively slippery by the end of the meal.  Perhaps a little too much oil in the cooking or from the sausage?  Either way it wasn’t an entirely pleasant eating experience and it didn’t feel healthy! That said, by the time I had finished my Paella and my friend her Lamb Tagine, I felt quite inspired.  My mind was racing with recipes and I found myself itching to get back home and back in the kitchen.  A good indicator that I had thoroughly enjoyed my meal.

 

So the food at ‘The Griffin Inn’ was excellent and so was the service.  A number of well presented, polite, friendly staff assisted us throughout the meal.  Even when I tipped candle wax all over the table, allowing it to spill out all over the wooden encased menus and expensive slate place mats, the staff remained cheerful and unfazed by the event.  I also enjoyed the pace of service.  Staff seemed to appear at just the right time, as did the food, with just the right passing of time between the starter and the main.  That said, we did seem to get a little forgotten by the end of the meal.  All the staff suddenly disappeared.  As a result, we had to grab a waiter waltzing past us on his way to the ‘Old Stables’ to eventually get our bill.  But seeing as they were so gracious about my little incident with the candle wax I think I can forgive them for this slight oversight.  Only fair.

 

The website of ‘The Griffin Inn’ says, “we enjoy good food . . .Cooking it. Eating it. Serving and talking about it. This is why so many people enjoy coming to the Griffin”!  Based on what I experienced, I would say this appears to be true.  I think their passion for good food is evident in their menu and their meals.  I for one am certain to return and I am already looking forward to trying out some more of those inspiring dishes The Griffin Inn menu has to offer.

 

Restaurant                          4/5

Food                                     4/5
Service                                 4/5
Value for money                4/5

 Total                                   16/20

Five Thai

FiveThai is a new Thai Restaurant in the centre of Leicester. Previously Lanna Thai, Five Thai is ‘inspired by the five flavours of Thai cuisine’ and ‘aims to provide you with a complete dining experience’. Seeing as I am a fan of Thai food and this one is on my doorstep, I thought I would give it a go.

Five Thai is situated in a slightly strange location.  It’s certainly not somewhere you might stumble across. Although adjacent to THE CURVE, you have to walk right around the front of the theatre, down an ever darkening Rutland Street, until you eventually come across the entrance to the restaurant. However, if you successfully complete the journey your efforts are rewarded.

The building and restaurant itself are quite impressive. Previously a leather factory, this Grade 2 listed building has been transformed into a beautiful, bright, spacious, modern restaurant. The ceilings are wonderfully high and there is a mass of natural light coming through the restaurant from the glass wall at the rear.  This, combined with the white walls, wooden flooring, contemporary furniture and soft subtle lighting creates a really relaxing and soothing environment to dine in.

The restaurant therefore was very pleasant, as was the service. When we arrived, we were immediately greeted by a friendly and upbeat member of staff, who welcomed us in and showed us to our table. He then went through the menu, explaining some of the dishes and was polite and attentive throughout.

 

The menu itself was a little uninspiring. Unusually for Asian food, the menu was quite short and simple, consisting of two salads, six Thai curries, three noodle dishes and three stir fry dishes. Unfortunately our selection was limited further as a couple of items were unavailable.  The waiter reported they been unable to source key quality ingredients locally which was a shame in terms of the impact on the menu but reassuring that Five Thai set, and adhere to such high standards.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel these same high standards were achieved by the time the food reached the table.  Like the menu, the food was also a little uninspiring. To start, I shared a selection of Dim Sum.  A mixed platter, with mixed success. The Satay Chicken had fantastic flavour and was brilliantly moist. The Fish Cake however, was rather rubbery and the Prawn Toast was extremely greasy (even for prawn toast). The four dipping sauces accompanying the starter were nice, but getting them onto the end of your Tung Tong or Spring Roll proved technically tricky as the dishes they were served in were too shallow.  What a tease!?

The Green Curry we shared as part of our main course was again, fairly standard. Six King Prawns ‘swimming’ about in a fragrant, sweet, coconut milk, served with large chunks of Aubergine and Bamboo Shoots. Balanced, but dare I say a little bland for a curry? I dare! The Laab Gai (minced Chicken Salad) delivered more flavour and managed to capture the hot, sweet and sour element Thai cuisine is famous for, far more successfully than the curry. The lime and mint gave the dish a lovely freshness and the chilli provided a much needed spice to the meal. However, the two large salad leaves the dressed mince was sitting on, were a little limp and droopy.  Not quite what you might expect from a restaurant that ‘always strive to source our food locally, enabling us to retain fresh and vivid ingredients’.

 

The salad was not very substantial either. I would definitely have left hungry if that was the only main course ordered and at £12.00 I am not sure it represented good value for money. The same could be said for all the courses, but I think at Five Thai you are paying for the ambience and not just the meal. So I guess if this is important to you and you are willing to pay a higher premium for that type of dining experience, then the prices seem much more reasonable.

 

 

So overall, Five Thai is a memorable place to eat, providing good service and serving average food. Personally, I would prefer memorable food, with good service, served at an average restaurant. As a result the next time I have some Thai food urges I won’t be walking into town to Five Thai but jumping into my car and driving up the A6 to Thai Legend, Quorn.

 

Restaurant                  4/5

Food                             3.5/5
Service                         4/5
Value for money        3.5/5

 Total                            15/20

 

The Bell

Earlier this month I went in search of some quality ‘pub grub’ in one of Leicestershire’s many beautiful villages. As a result, I ended up at ‘The Bell’ in the quaint, little village of Burton Overy, just off the Great Glen bypass.  The village itself dates back to 1086 and was designated a Conservation Area in 1974. So with its historical buildings, thatched cottages and green verges, the idyllic village of Burton Overy seemed the perfect location to enjoy a spot of Friday night supper.

The Bell is one of the more modern buildings in the village.  Once inside, the pub is a pleasant blend of old and new. Dark wood panelling along the walls and bar, coupled with the open fire gives The Bell a traditional feel. In contrast, there is a modern light carpet on the floor and the bar/dining area is filled with fairly contemporary square tables and chairs. Together however, they create a pleasing, warm and cosy environment in which to dine.

Service was from the bar. So we ordered our drinks and took our seats at our reserved table.  There was no menu to view at the table, only a blackboard in the corner of the room. While chalk board menus are aesthetically pleasing, they can create something of an inconvenience when they are the only way of viewing the menu, especially when there are only two of you dining. It’s not always ideal to have to leave your drink, guest and belongings behind, wander across a busy dining room, peer over someone’s shoulder, hurriedly scan the menu, place your order at the bar and return to your seat to eventually ‘start’ your evening. I personally prefer to relax at the table, study the menu and take my time in deciding what to eat. For me, it’s all part of the process and part of the joy of eating out. On the plus side however, a chalk board menu is generally a good indication that the food is freshly cooked and with ingredients the chef has available that day? So based on this theory, I was optimistic that the quality of food would be good and make up for the inconvenience of ordering process.

The menu itself was varied but limited in size. A mixture of pub classics such as bangers and mash, family favorites such as Moussaka and Thai Chicken and bistro style dishes including scallops with black pudding and Gessington Duck. I chose the duck, while my friend opted for sausages and mash.

My friend chose better than I. The three fat sausages from Fleckney were packed full of herbs and bursting with flavour. They were served with a generous portion of cheesy mash and a rich, meat gravy. My duck on the other hand, was a little disappointing. Although it looked very pretty (sliced duck, carefully arranged on a bed of green beans with little green and orange spots of sauce around the plate) overall it was a little bland. The duck was not served pink and so, in my opinion, was slightly over cooked.  Although the meat was not dry, the dish itself was. I found myself beginning to make grand plans for the abundance of gravy that was drowning the tasty little sausages on my friend’s plate. That is just was the dish needed. A big jug of gravy. Instead I had to make do with the blobs of apple and orange sauce, which were quite thick and disappearing fast.  Unfortunately, the sauces weren’t particularly exciting either and they didn’t compliment the meat.  The orange sauce was overwhelmed by the apple sauce which was far too tart. Although not unpleasant, the meal made no impact on me and for the price paid (£16.95) I felt it didn’t represent good value for money. 

Both the main courses were served with a side dish of vegetables which included new potatoes, carrots and green beans. Although cooked nicely, the portion size wasn’t overly generous and it would have been better if the vegetables which accompanied the dish differed to the vegetables served as the side. There are only so many green beans a girl can eat!

As with the food, the standard of service varied. Despite the fairly formal dining arrangement, you ordered drinks and food at the bar. With only two members of staff serving, service was at times slow. There was a delay when it came to clearing the empty dishes from the table and when taking payment which was a little disappointing given the price of the food.

So overall I would describe both the food and service at The Bell as average. While my duck was underwhelming and possibly overpriced, the sausages and mash were hearty and comforting and well worth £9.95. I can’t say I will be in a rush to return to the pub, knowing that for £16.95 I can get a better standard of food and service elsewhere (see Ashfield’s for example).  However the location is extremely pretty and the pub did have a nice feel about it so there is a good chance I might return one day.  I think next time though, I would stick to ordering the more reasonably priced ‘pub classics’ which may be where The Bells strengths’ lie?

Restaurant                  3/5

Food                             3/5
Service                         3/5
Value for money        3/5

Total                             12/20

Ashfields Restaurant

June, for me, is one of those months where anyone and everyone seems to have a birthday! So with several reasons to celebrate, my family and I headed out to ‘Ashfields Restaurant’ in Earl Shilton for what we hoped to be a special birthday dinner.

Ashfields is a restaurant (not a pub or even a gastro pub) which serves ‘classic yet innovative English food with a notably European twist’. It claims to use seasonal ingredients, local meats and fresh seafoods to create ‘superior food’. 

I have dined at Ashfields once before but when I was much younger. The only thing I can really remember was the very formal and somewhat ‘stuffy’ dining room. So I was pleasantly surprised to find that since my last visit, Ashfields had undergone a makeover. Now with its soft greens walls, light wooden furniture and stripy carpet, Ashfields has become a modern, bright, spacious restaurant with a much more informal, relaxing dining environment.

The area known as ‘The Bar’ also helped to contribute to the improved atmosphere.  This is the place where you can order your drinks, but is also the area where you are encouraged to relax, away from your table while viewing the menus and the daily specials on the blackboard. Staff take your order while you're still seated in ‘The Bar’ so it’s not until your starters are almost ready do you get called through to the restaurant. For me this is a welcomed addition to the eating out experience, allowing you time to unwind and talk with your fellow diners while creating a greater sense of occasion when it comes to main event – the meal.

So while busy relaxing in ‘The Bar’, I began to contemplate my food selection from what I considered to be, a well thought out menu. By allowing some of the starters to be served as mains (and with the additional dishes on the specials board) the menu becomes quite large and varied. As a result, choosing what to eat became a difficult and lengthy experience so I think we were all grateful for the added comfort provided by ‘The Bar’.  In the end I opted for the ‘Deep fried whole Capricorn goats cheese in almond crumb with beetroot chutney, honey & mustard dressing’ followed by the ‘Slow cooked confit of duck leg & breast with roasted pineapple and a pink peppercorn sauce’. Both dishes were very good. The size of the goat’s cheese was enormous. Too much cheese for me in one sitting but better too much than too little? Despite being deep fried, it wasn’t greasy at all. In fact, strangely, the almond crumb was almost a little dry and so needed the beetroot chutney and dressing to moisten the dish. My fellow diners enjoyed a quality Italian meat platter (for two) as their starter. Even though it was shared by 3 (and me) the generous portion size meant we couldn’t quite manage it all and there was even some left over!

My duck was perfectly cooked. The breast was pink and bouncy with a crispy skin and the meat off the leg fell with ease from the bone. The pink peppercorns gave the dish an extra dimension and added spice, a contrasting texture and a sort of floral flavour.  The duck and pineapple chunks together with the large bowl of hot vegetables and potatoes served with all the mains, resulted in a very satisfying plate of food, representing good value for money at £16.95.  My only criticism of the whole meal would be the way the potatoes were cooked. They were not deep fried so were not chips but they hadn’t seen an oven either, so were not roasted. They were a bit like the ‘roast potatoes’ I remember being served at school. Small, a bit greasy and kind of soggy. There were however, some fried onions scattered amongst the ‘side with no name’ so that did help improve the potato situation slightly.

Given the generous portion size of all the dishes (and the fact we scoffed the bread that comes with the starters too) none of us could quite manage a dessert. But going back to the well thought out menu, there was the option of a cream filled brandy snap, served with fresh fruit for only £1.25.  Nice to be able to end the meal on something sweet that doesn’t break the budget (other desserts priced at £5.50) or the top button of your jeans!

So all in all, Ashfields Restaurant proved to be a most suitable birthday celebration location. All four of us enjoyed the tasty, well cooked, nicely presented, hearty meals which were made with care and quality ingredients.  I would definitely recommend Ashfields to anyone looking for a friendly, British restaurant, serving simple but satisfying food.

Restaurant              4/5

Food                         4/5
Service                     4/5
Value for money    4/5

Total 16/20

Thai Legend

After a particularly long and unsuccessful shopping trip in Leicester, I couldn’t bring myself to cook dinner. I contemplated some takeaway stodge but instead found myself craving something ‘healthy’ and something…. out of town. So after a quick conflab, my friend and I jumped in the car and headed out to Quorn in search of something…Asian.

 Along the high street we came across Thai Legend. I wasn’t quite sure I wanted to eat there at first. The outside looked a bit scruffy and I couldn’t really see inside the restaurant to suss it out properly. However, while my brain was busy trying to sort out this most challenging of foodie dilemmas, my legs (probably under the influence of my stomach) took control of the situation and guided me into the restaurant and towards my table.

Once inside, I felt reassured ‘my legs’ had made a good choice. The restaurant was busy and the red and white décor was clean and modern. At our table I was delighted to find a basket of Chinese and Thai prawn crackers already there waiting for us (free food always a good way to start a meal). The menu was vast and included a wide range of starters, soups, salads, curries, stir fry’s, rice and noodle dishes as well as ‘Chef Recommends’ dishes.

It took some time to decide on what we wanted to eat, two baskets of prawn crackers in fact. However we eventually agreed on a Som Tam, Knao Niew and Pla Nung Si-Ew (which is salad, sticky rice and fish to you and I).

The waitress was particularly helpful when it came to ordering our food. With Thai food, choosing the right combination of dishes is important so I was eager to run our selection past her first. She was very accommodating, agreeing with our choice of dishes (and giving reasons why) and suggesting some starters which would go with the main course (on our request). Having already consumed a significant amount of prawn crackers we stuck with ordering main courses only but with the option of ordering extra (if we felt we didn’t have enough) once our food arrived.

There was no need to order extra. Despite my uncontrollable urge to eat everything on the menu, the food that was served was more than adequate in size. It was more than adequate in just about everything actually. The dishes were colourful, vibrant, fragrant and inviting. The flavours were fresh, exotic, new and interesting.  The Sea Bass (served in a delicate oyster sauce, with slices of pepper, mushroom, chilli and ginger) was tasty, light, and perfectly cooked. The salad of shredded vegetables, tomatoes, garlic (lots of), crunchy nuts and chilli (which punched you in the face with every spoonful but in the nicest possible way) was dressed in a perfectly balanced hot, sweet and sour vinegarette. Divine.

Not only was the food and the service exceptional, the meal was also excellent value. Our dinner, including two bottles of ice cold Thai lager cost less than £15 per person. Not bad for an authentic Thai meal, made to order, using fresh and exotic ingredients, servicd by friendly, informative, attentive staff and all enjoyed in a sophisticated and yet soothing environment.

Definitely one to recommend.

Restaurant                           4/5

Food                                      5/5
Service                                  5/5
Value for money                 5/5

Total                                      19/20

The Gate Bistro

The sunny spell we experienced in May had distracted me (ever so slightly) from my eating out duties. However, as the clouds began to gather on a Wednesday evening I made it my mission to get back out onto the streets of Leicester and sample its restaurant wares. So last week I visited ‘The Gate Bistro’ on Braunstone Gate, Leicester.

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 4/5
Service 3.5/5
Value for money 4/5

Total 15/20

http://www.thegatebistro.co.uk/index.html

Leicester born and bread

I haven’t been out for dinner much lately (sorry fellow blogettes) but I have been eating lots of bread!  Really, blooming lovely bread to be precise.

My friend has recently introduced me to the delights of Jessica’s homemade traditional bread business in the West End of Leicester.

Jessica (a fellow foodie) has a passion for high quality, tasty bread. Unable to source such items from our supermarkets and shops she has set up her own, made to order, artisan bread baking business. Using only the best ingredients and traditional bread making methods, Jessica is able to create some of the tastiest and healthiest bread in Leicester.

I had the pleasure of sampling the sun-dried tomato baton recently. A blend of white and wholemeal flours with chunks of sun-dried tomatoes throughout, made using a sourdough method. I can honestly say it was one of the nicest loaves of bread I have ever eaten. It was rustic, crunchy, soft in the middle and filled with lots of large juicy sun-dried tomatoes. Eating it I realised I was making involuntary ‘mmmm’ noises throughout and couldn’t help going back for more!

Other more exotic loafs are available including ‘Herb Fougasse’ and the brilliantly named ‘Pumpernickel’ bread but you can of course also order tin loafs and rolls as well as monthly specials (this month it’s Barley and Linseed Buttons).


Prices range from £1.10-£3 and all bread is made to order.

You really have got to try it. Now we have a spot of sun, one of Jessica’s loaves would ideally be enjoyed on a picnic blanket, with a selection of meats, cheeses, a few juicy olives and a large glass of chilled white wine! Happy (foodie) days!

To find out more, visit Jessica’s website www.leicesterbornandbread.co.uk/home or contact Jessica at Jessica@leicesterbornandbread.co.uk or 07957726308

“Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; and good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts.”

James Beard (1903-1985)