It was a dark friday evening when The Critic and I ventured out in search of food. No tables were free in any of the pubs on the main road so we ducked down a side alley as it began to drizzle. Light reflecting off the rain-wet cobbled street caught our eye and we looked up to see a small restaurant. One quick satisfactory perusal of the menu board later and we were inside, finding to our delight that they had a table free.
A small time after sitting down and shaking of coats, umbrellas, gloves etc, we realised that this would be an ideal location for some light romancing: French cuisine; candlelight; a rose on the table; some light classical music..it didn't even feel as cliched as it sounds. We laughed and moved on with suitably gallic shrugging of shoulders; the only love that was in the air for us was that of a hefty gossipy catch-up over great food and drink.
And so the story of serendipity continues.. The grilled halloumi with fig, pecans, cherry tomatoes and rocket worked so well. It was the first time in the UK that I have tasted fresh figs that live up to their syrupy, delicately sweet promise. The halloumi oozed with buttery goodness and provided a good textural contrast to the crunch of the pecans and the vegetables. Balsamic vinegar may be ubiquitous but there's a reason for that: done properly it really enhances and links together sweet/bitter/fruit/acid tastes. The Critic's scallops also got a very good review, but memory doesn't serve well enough to expand on this theme.
The house wines were confidently tipped by The Critic as "bound to be good; it's a French Restaurant." The 2009 Marsanne-Sauvignon we enjoyed with our starters was perfect for a house wine- easy to drink but with enough fruit and mineral edge to keep us focussed on the taste.
We both had goose breast for the Main Course. A potentially dry cut from a potentially very fatty bird, the result was very pleasing, not at all dry with delicious crispy skin and solid dark-meat flavour complemented well by red cabbage with apricots and raisins. The accompanying potatoes dauphinoise were gloriously rich but with distinct egginess. It says a lot that both The Critic and I were still content to eat them as neither of us is a particular fan of eggs.
Throughout the meal our chat was littered with comments about how outrageously good the food was, and two heads (with similar standards) are better judges than one. It worked well for recession dining too, at £30 per head for two courses with wine. The food was 10/10; with the restaurant scoring 9/10 overall. The only concrete fault I can comment on was over-attentive service with The Critics empty plate being removed while I was still eating my last mouthful.http://www.la-cage-imaginaire.co.uk/
