Restaurant Review: Purnell's Birmingham

Me outside the restaurant

Ala,

So last night we went to Glynn Purnell's restaurant in Birmingham to celebrate Nonna and the boys birthday.  The decor is not what you expect and feels very informal. We did the Purnells tour which was 8 courses of the best dishes he offers. Before we began we had champagne in the bar areas with some fantastic olives and the waitress came around with cheese profiteroles- similar to what Lorraine Pascale cooked in this weeks fast fresh and easy. 

We moved to the table and were served the amuse bouche- it was crispy pearl barley with a leek and potato soup, served cold. Personally I was not sure on this, but it served the purpose to cleanse the palette and excite the tastebuds. It did remind me of eating sugar puffs with cold soup so seemed a little odd. The bread however was amazing! Pain de Campagne served warm with a butter quinelle and rock salt, incredible. I dream of baking bread this good. My guess there is a fair amount of butter and milk worked through the dough. OMG the bread was good.

pain de campagne

The next course was the much anticipated curried cornflakes. It was a poached egg yolk on smoked haddock with a smoked haddock foam and a smoked haddock croquette served separately. This was the boys favourite. I love smoked haddock but I am not so keen on foam, I feel it could have benefitted from more crunch- but maybe I am just  a heathen for not liking foam.

After this came emotions of cheese and pineapple. It was a concept dish that really packed a punch in terms of flavour. It was so complex with lots of different processes, I really enjoyed this. However Nonna would have preferred it on a plate rather than in a bowl.

Then came the crab course which was fantastic. Devonshire crab with apple and celeriac puree with smoked paprika honeycomb. Very moreish.

The star of the starters was undoubtedly the Carpaccio of beef with black octopus. Absolutely amazing, honestly one of the best things I have ever eaten. We all agreed on this one- simply delicious! I didn't think I liked octopus but I do now!

After this came the masala monkfish. Very fragrant and the first of the hot courses. Monkfish masala, indian red lentils and pickled carrots with coconut and coriander. This I feel played to Birmingham's heritage as a leader in asian cuisine. The fish was meaty and flavourful and the micro coriander packed an amazing punch. This is when we started to realise that the we were saying that each course was our favourite only to be outdone by the next course. 

Nonna and Glynn

Out of all the savoury courses my favourite was the course that followed. Venison rolled in liquorice charcoal served with pear slices and braised fennel. This was without a doubt one of the best dishes I have ever eaten. The succulent venison went so well with fennel to create a mildly aniseed twang. The highlight though had to be that Glynn himself came out and poured mine and non's gravy... Priceless! We have been fans of Glynn for many years and to meet him was a real treat. Being born in Marston Green not far from Glynn's Chelmsley Wood, I am really proud of all his achievements. The UK is lucky to have him but Brummies should be extra proud to claim him as ours. Lovely man, wonderful chef and him and his staff really made Nonna's birthday.

'Chocolate' was the first of the sweet courses. It arrived with a board of passionfruit chocolates served separately. Extremely rich chocolate with mango sorbet and a chocolate crumble. 

The best dessert I have ever eaten..EVER

Now I have a sweet tooth and am a noted chocoholic however the next course for me was my favourite of the night. Burnt english custard egg surprise, red wine marinated strawberries and crystallised tarragon.  It sounds good but it tastes so much better. The surprise was the custard which was served in an actual egg and arrived to the table in a wicker basket. I think the reason why this was so spectacular is that it was surprisingly spicy. I have never had a spicy dessert before. I have had of black pepper and strawberries as a foodie combination before but this dish took it to the next level. The accompanying brandy snap was heavily laden with what I guess was pepper, to the point that it was almost too much on its own. But together it was mind blowing. I feel I could write an essay on how much I loved this but if you have made it this far I figure you have already read quite a bit. Fantastic.  Oh and the crystallised Tarragon what an amazing idea, aniseed sweetness and a bit of crunch- delish!

We then shared a selection of british cheeses but by this point I was quite full so only had a little taste of each. Very strong but great to see a supporter of local and british produce. We have much to be proud of and it is great when a restaurant as renowned as Purnells champions the little producers.

Finally I had  a peppermint tea  to settle my stomach which was served in the lounge accompanied by petit fours. My favourite being the cassis jellies. Adult jellies are a big trend in London at the moment so it was great to sample some of the best. Maybe a little sour for some but for me they were perfection.

Overall, an amazing night was had by all. 

Polly x

Restaurant Review: Three Choirs Vineyard

Ala,

On Sunday it was the boys birthday. For his present I adopted him a vine at Three Choirs vineyard in Gloucester. The weather was beautiful and the vineyard was stunning. I really recommend a visit. We have been to English Vineyards before and have found that often you are not allowed to freely explore. Here, we were given a generous glass of white wine to toast our vine and told to go off in search of it. If you visit we are in row 61. 

After toasting our vine we had a lovely meal in the restaurant.  We hoped to sit outside on the terrace overlooking the vineyard but it was fully booked. As it was Sunday it was a special Sunday menu. We had some of England's finest sparkling wine to wet our appetites while we perused the menu. I had poached salmon salad with a dill dressing. pleasant but nothing special however I chose it because I wanted something light and this did the job- kinda wish i had the celeriac soup though. The boy had deep fried brie with beetroot chutney- I stole a bite and it was delicious! We both had roast beef for main, and it was served with roast potatoes and Yorkshire puddings with vegetables served separately. It was scrumptious- the only complaint was there was very little gravy, we even overheard another couple request some, so we were not alone in our thoughts. Being a sweet tooth I had sticky toffee pudding for dessert served with clotted cream- yum! This was the highlight for me, it was absolutely divine! We shared a cheeseboard which was nice but could have done with little markers as we didn't know what was what.  I am sure some were local specialties so it would have been nice to know.

Overall a wonderful day, if we come again we will try and book into one of the lodges nestled amongst the vines as these log cabins fulfill a shared romantic dream. The best vineyard we have visited by far. the staff are friendly and the atmospheres is welcoming. Far from some of the experiences we have had at other vineyards.

Happy Birthday @wood_and_wine

Polly x