Assaggio Ristorante
I've left a large gap here since my last visit. A former employee of this place told me the staff had read The Feed Report, and my castigation of their dismal panna cotta. :)
Grilled loin of Atlantic salmon, pancetta, spinach, pine nuts, pea pesto with a tomato & white balsamic glaze.
The fish is very pleasant, and fairly soft and uniform. The balsamic glaze adds a nice, appropriate zingy taste to the fish.
The spinach on top is incredibly smooth. It's just slightly crispy, but is infused with tasty garlic.
Far from being boring and grainy, the polenta is creamy and almost vegetably.
The pea purée is just interesting. It has the strong taste of peas, but no sweetness. I eat it on its own as a vegetable, rather than trying to use it as a sauce.
Not everything here was perfect, but every part was different from the norm, and had work put into it.
Ancient Roman cold set orange and nutmeg custard with Tweedvale milk, white chocolate, caramel, sea salt, almond egg macaroon & gold cocoa nibs.
I haven't has custard with caramel before. The nutmeg and orange gives the custard an interesting but not overpowering flavour. I often find that the combination of two flavours can create a resultant flavour that's novel, and not similar to either of its components.
Sitting in this, is a caramel-covered piece of white chocolate. The custard and this chocolate are both very rich, but go nicely together.
This dish manages to take a whole lot of nice flavours, and blend them together into something slightly overwhelmingly tasty. :)
This meal was a huge improvement over my previous visit. :)