Sat-isfaction Guaranteed
Nottingham - 16 September 2014
It was the gf’s birthday. And on such an auspicious
occasion, only the finest of dining will suffice. We’d both been impressed by
Sat Bains’ chicken muesli dish at Auction Against Hunger earlier this year, so
utterly selflessly, I booked us a stay at his self-titled restaurant (with
rooms) and we made the trip up to Not-London.
The trip across to the restaurant is not one of Nottingham’s
most scenic (especially if you walk from
the station), passing through industrial estates and across a busy dual
carriageway. Which makes the quaint farmhouse nature of the restaurant a
pleasant surprise. As was the brownie we were presented on arrival – all gooey
decadence that boded well for dinner…
It turns out such boding was spot on –
what a dinner!
At 10 courses (plus 1, as we added the optional extra
course), I can't go into full details on every one or this would soon become
the longest blog post ever and I’d run out of superlatives, but 90% of the
courses were incredible (100% were made with high levels of skill, however I just
don’t like raw mushrooms).
There were two standout dishes, and the first came early on.
When you sit down you will be offered the optional extra course – say yes. A Great
British Menu winning effort, Sat's take on ham, egg & peas is exceptional
modern cooking. A duck egg is poached in a water-bath for two hours, which
gives it a creamy, just set, jelly-like wobble with a runny yolk. The ham is of
the cured variety; similar to Serrano but locally sourced, and there are textures
of peas – garden peas that pop, a refreshing sorbet, and crunchy pea shoots. It was
light, fresh and intensely enjoyable.
Our other favourite was the salmon; mouthful-sized chunks,
lightly cooked (seemingly sous vide), topped with dill mayo, and sprigs of
samphire and dill greenery. The star of this dish however was the broth the
salmon sits in. A moreish umami hit, full of flavour. A bowl of the broth
alone would have been a satisfying dish, but the soft fatty salmon adds luxury,
and the salty samphire accents things beautifully.
Modern techniques dominated the early courses; especially in
the mixing of temperatures which keep your senses on their toes, from an unusual
horseradish ice cream sandwich amuse bouche to the chicken liver muesli. Inventive
and clever.
As was the presentation; for example the first course was scallop
'black'; a fat, perfectly seared scallop with blackened aubergine puree,
charred leeks and shallots and squid ink. How much more black could these
scallops be? The answer is none, none more black. But there was a lightness of
touch in the cooking that allowed the natural scallop sweetness to shine
through.
However, it wasn't entirely flawless. We weren't so enthused
with aged beef, mushrooms and oyster leaf. As noted, the raw mushrooms didn't do it
for me, they were somewhat rubbery and tasteless. And the Sharpe’s Express potato was more of a side dish; a small baked potato with sour cream and cod’s roe. It was
a tasty tayto, but nothing to write home about. However, as the gf reasoned at the
time, a missed note can make you appreciate the rest of the symphony even more.
There’s more of the classic about the main course, which offered a combination so famous they’ve written songs about it; partridge and pear. The
breast and veg – with turnip two ways - were fine (although the meat was so
pink that it was slightly underdone for the gf’s taste). But it was the exquisitely
rich, iron-y partridge leg ragout and the deeply flavoured jus - the best sauce
I’ve had since the Hand & Flowers – which elevated this to a higher ground.
Then we went back to the future for a “crossover” course of
miso fudge topped off with passion fruit and tomato. Salt and sweet, tart and
umami all at once, it’s a hard thing to explain. Which means it must be
witchcraft.
The desserts didn't quite hit the same highs as the savoury
selections, and maybe it’s the effects of the wine pairings, but the only memorable one is a pimped-out chocolate aero, flavoured with a mystery
ingredient. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, so I will leave the smoke and
mirrors intact. It was another unusual flavour, which choked the chocolate; you could smell the fumes coming off the plate. But a few
drops of cherry jam added some sharpness, and there was an occasional hit of white
pepper for bursts of heat, which I did enjoy.
At the end of our meal the wait staff declined our request
to take a photo of us together at our table, lest it disturb the other diners
(although they were also too polite to say anything when we were snapping away
throughout the meal...). We were instead offered the opportunity to have tour
of the kitchen, which was a fascinating insight into the way a top
establishment is run. The overriding impression was that the kitchen staff
really love working there, and there’s a real sense that this is a team effort
from Sat down to the pot-washers, who are all named on list in our room.
It was also intriguing to see that they have cameras fixed
on every table in the restaurant relayed to screens in the kitchen, in order to
time the production of every course – and it showed with the
faultless service. It also means they can, and most probably did, see us
licking that jus off the plate after the partridge.
And that (bar a banging breakfast and buttery, gooey, fruity
flapjacks "...for the journey...") was the Restaurant Sat Bains with
Rooms experience. It was amazing. Lovely place, polished service (including
napkin-folding and crumb-sweeping – Mrs. Eating's benchmarks of good service) and tasty, thoughtful food. What more
could one ask for? We're still getting misty-eyed about it two months later.
Restaurant Sat Bains
Lenton Lane
Nottingham
NG7 2SA
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