Brown and Bean's New Direction Delights
Eagle-eyed readers of the Primitivo Pheasant may have noticed I reviewed Brown & Bean fairly recently. But since the last visit there's been a change of head chef, with two new up-and-coming chefs, Jimmy and Joe Cotton, taking the reins. It was only right to try what they had to offer!
Unable to resist the tasting menu, K and I placed our order and had a G&T to start which came with a slice of frozen pink grapefruit, a great idea which we have already replicated at home!
Next came a plate of 'snacks' which consisted of: pork & black pudding on a skewer; a little pot of celeriac soup with fresh truffle; a salt cod scotch egg with fennel puree; and a madras brown shrimp & crab poppadom with mango puree. All of these little bites had big flavour and the scotch egg was still runny in the middle, perfect.
Next came the surprise of the evening. A dish called 'How the chef tastes'. One of the chefs came out with an aerator gun and squirted some smoked cheese foam on the back of our hands then grated on some truffle and parmesan with a sprinkling of onion and wild garlic. The idea was to lick it off like a tequila slammer, following immediately with the crisps. Now this was a new one for me! The combination was lovely and the theatre of it was great; try eating that in the middle of a meal without getting the giggles!
Next was a vegetarian dish. Balls of butternut squash with burre noisette, goats cheese mousse, blowtorched pear, pear puree and caramelised pumpkin seeds. Boy, this was a loud flavoured dish. The goats cheese was nice and strong with the accompanying fruit and veg mellowing and marrying well with flavour. The dish was presented really well too, in fact the plating of all the dishes was a very high standard, these chefs have certainly been doing their homework!
Next out came a piece of Marmite glazed pollock with stinnging nettle gnocci, sea beet salsa, celeriac fondant, crispy seaweed, chanterelle mushrooms and sea herbs. Now, unlike myself, K is not a lover of Marmite, so when he heard what the dish was, he was sceptical. But, after a couple of mouthfuls, he finally caved in and admitted that there may be a place in the world for marmite, but it's certainly not on toast! As a salty, yeasty glaze for fish it worked really well and we're tempted to try this at home too!
The meat course was a delicious cut of lamb rump with pea & mint puree, sour cream, charred courgette, potato fondant and red vein sorrel. Pretty much all my favourite things on a plate, and cooked with precision so definitely a winner for me! I could eat that every day.
We then moved on to a palate cleansing pre-dessert of apple sorbet and elderflower foam; very fresh and clean flavours. They both disappeared in seconds, yum!
The main dessert was a baked white chocolate & vanilla custard with miso caramel, peach, pickled raspberry, mint cloud and peach ice cream. What a lovely dish to end on. All the individual components were delicious but together tasted like a summery fruit salad come trifle! Wonderful.
After the meal, to go with our coffees came some fabulous looking, and tasting, homemade chocolates. You could see how much skill had gone into making these, I've never seen chocolates like them, with the fruity marbled effect. The whole evening had been a showcase of different techniques, the chefs are definitely out to make their mark.
Earlier I talked about how the 'surprise of the evening' had been eating off the back of our hands, but in actuality, the real surprise of the evening was the fantastic quality of food. The style, quality and flavours that came from the kitchen of this small tucked-away Plymouth eatery really can match some of the formal fine dining places we've eaten recently, and for a very reasonable price. It is easily the best place I've eaten in Plymouth and would highly recommend to anyone wanting a more relaxed take on fine dining. I am very interested to see how Brown and Bean evolves.
Unable to resist the tasting menu, K and I placed our order and had a G&T to start which came with a slice of frozen pink grapefruit, a great idea which we have already replicated at home!
Instead of bread came some homemade flatbread and hummus, which as you can see, was hardly a standard affair. An upgrade from the norm and was polished off in no time.
Next came a plate of 'snacks' which consisted of: pork & black pudding on a skewer; a little pot of celeriac soup with fresh truffle; a salt cod scotch egg with fennel puree; and a madras brown shrimp & crab poppadom with mango puree. All of these little bites had big flavour and the scotch egg was still runny in the middle, perfect.
Next came the surprise of the evening. A dish called 'How the chef tastes'. One of the chefs came out with an aerator gun and squirted some smoked cheese foam on the back of our hands then grated on some truffle and parmesan with a sprinkling of onion and wild garlic. The idea was to lick it off like a tequila slammer, following immediately with the crisps. Now this was a new one for me! The combination was lovely and the theatre of it was great; try eating that in the middle of a meal without getting the giggles!
Now for the main courses. First was grilled mackerel with watercress puree, golden beetroot, braised rhubarb, sherry vinegar gel, elderflower and radish. I loved the use of seasonal, local ingredients; a theme which continued through the evening. This dish was very tasty with sharpness of the rhubarb and sherry vinegar complimenting the fish perfectly.
Next out came a piece of Marmite glazed pollock with stinnging nettle gnocci, sea beet salsa, celeriac fondant, crispy seaweed, chanterelle mushrooms and sea herbs. Now, unlike myself, K is not a lover of Marmite, so when he heard what the dish was, he was sceptical. But, after a couple of mouthfuls, he finally caved in and admitted that there may be a place in the world for marmite, but it's certainly not on toast! As a salty, yeasty glaze for fish it worked really well and we're tempted to try this at home too!
The meat course was a delicious cut of lamb rump with pea & mint puree, sour cream, charred courgette, potato fondant and red vein sorrel. Pretty much all my favourite things on a plate, and cooked with precision so definitely a winner for me! I could eat that every day.
We then moved on to a palate cleansing pre-dessert of apple sorbet and elderflower foam; very fresh and clean flavours. They both disappeared in seconds, yum!
The main dessert was a baked white chocolate & vanilla custard with miso caramel, peach, pickled raspberry, mint cloud and peach ice cream. What a lovely dish to end on. All the individual components were delicious but together tasted like a summery fruit salad come trifle! Wonderful.
After the meal, to go with our coffees came some fabulous looking, and tasting, homemade chocolates. You could see how much skill had gone into making these, I've never seen chocolates like them, with the fruity marbled effect. The whole evening had been a showcase of different techniques, the chefs are definitely out to make their mark.
Earlier I talked about how the 'surprise of the evening' had been eating off the back of our hands, but in actuality, the real surprise of the evening was the fantastic quality of food. The style, quality and flavours that came from the kitchen of this small tucked-away Plymouth eatery really can match some of the formal fine dining places we've eaten recently, and for a very reasonable price. It is easily the best place I've eaten in Plymouth and would highly recommend to anyone wanting a more relaxed take on fine dining. I am very interested to see how Brown and Bean evolves.
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