Union Hotel
Rather dark in here, in the restaurant at the back end of this fancier-than-average pub.
I need to order from the bar. The place is “casual.”
Oyster mushrooms, sweetcorn, asparagus, almonds & goats cheese cream.
The gnocchi is soft on the inside, but browned on the outside. There’s not a huge amount of sauce here, but the soft gnocchi doesn’t really require it. The plate is full of interesting textures, such as the juicy sweetcorn , and especially the very crispy almond slivers. I can’t really see much in this light, so I just scoop up forkfuls of feed, and see what interesting things come up. Mushrooms and asparagus add more wacky textures.
Rum caramel, candied pecans, poached pear, banana ice cream.
The brownie here is a bit on the sloppy side, and the caramel sauce has a very bitey rum flavour. The banana ice cream has an authentic banana taste, but is icy, and therefore not particularly creamy, which is what a brownie would want.
This dish is a bit confused. The elements are all fairly good , but it’s not clear what’s a garnish for what. Any the spicy pear slice doesn’t really have a home at all. The roasted pecans were a nice nibble, but don’t go with anything other than the brownie. I probably should’ve combined them with the brownie and either the rum caramel sauce or the banana ice cream. Dessert shouldn’t require this level of puzzle-solving ability.