Benedicts

1 Reviews on “Benedicts”

• Lisa

  It was only about a week before we went to Norwich for the weekend that I actually turned my mind to the question of where we were going to eat. I did my usual trawl of , the internet generally and of course, Twitter. It was doing a search of Twitter that I came across Benedicts, a new modern British bistro in Norwich that, at the start of August had only been open for five or six weeks but which had already been awarded two AA rosettes. I was lucky that they had had a cancellation which secured us a Saturday night table for two.Benedicts is the first restaurant of his own for Richard Bainbridge who, for seven years, was the Head Chef at the Michelin starred restaurant at Morston Hall in North Norfolk. Benedicts makes for a more relaxed dining experience, unassuming from the outside, its simple facade gives way to clean white wood panelled walls and cosy warm lighting. No table cloths or pretension, just a warm inviting atmosphere.Benedicts offers two options for dinner, either a six course 50 tasting menu or a short a la carte menu with three choices for each course (29 for two courses or 36 for three courses). We decided to go a la carte and were pleasantly surprised to be served initially with two little snacks, I would love to be able to tell you what they were but I really can’t remember specifics as they weren’t on the menu but they were contrasting snacks – warm little cheesy croquette type things and a fresh and clean tasting spoonful that included little apple julienne sticks and I vaguely recall being told there might have been some sort of scallop involvement. Whatever they both were they were delicious little palate teasers for what what to come.We agonised over which starters to pick as they all sounded delicious and I even offered to forego a meat option so we could share the veggie and fish dish. In the end, we did what we always seem to do and I had the meaty starter and also got to sample my boyfriend’s dish. He chose the Norfolk Peer potato with Baron Bigod cheese, buttermilk and chive. Our starters were served by Richard himself who explained that his restaurant manager, when given the dish had remarked that it tasted like a cheesy jacket potato. It was reminiscent of a cheesy jacket potato, but the best fancy pimped up and tricked out deconstructed cheesy jacket potato ever. Over the course of the evening Richard made his way round every table, which I thought was a lovely touch.My starter was farmed rabbit, carrot, cauliflower and tarragon. The photo below doesn’t really do it justice but it was delicious and the carrots were beautifully presented in a sort of terrine style. A lot of care and attention had clearly gone into each dish.Mains were locally caught wild sea trout, new season turnip, yoghurt, Jersey Royals and passion fruit for my boyfriend and truffled guinea fowl with pistachio pilaf rice, seared local shallots and white port shellfish bisque. Benedicts is keen on using local produce as much as possible and I love that emphasis on supporting local producers. I also love that although this is beautifully cooked food that is carefully presented, the portion sizes (unlike some restaurants in a similar style) aren’t stingy, it’s a meal rather than just a taste experience where you get two delicious mouthfuls costing a small fortune but you’re left craving a McDonalds the minute you leave for something to fill you up.For dessert, my boyfriend was ogling the cheeseboard on the menu but I managed to persuade him that when the food that is being made is so good, it makes absolutely no sense to choose a cheeseboard (however carefully chosen the cheese may be). I managed to convince him, mainly because we asked the waitress serving our table whether it might be possible for us to pay extra to have the cheese to share as an additional course following our dessert. I’m not one to usually start messing around with menus or ingredients in dishes but her cheery ‘of course’ response settled our decision and we chose the cheese to follow the other two desserts – gooseberry and ginger egg custard tart with ginger beer sorbet and Nanny Bush’s summer trifle with milk jam. Both were delicious and it was definitely the right decision to order both with the cheese to follow.The final cap in the feather of a wonderful dinner was the delivery of the bill in a cast iron acorn together with a mini roll of Love Hearts which we shared on our walk back to the Maids Head Hotel where we were staying. There’s more on Norwich to come, but if you’re nearby (or even if you aren’t, it’s worth the trip), get yourself booked in for a meal at Benedicts, it’ll be worth it! I predict great things for them and I definitely expect to be hearing more about them in the future, not least because Richard Bainbridge is due to compete in the Great British Menu on BBC Two for the Central region. notquiteenough.co.uk

  January 2, 2016, 4:37 am

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