Esters

Two visits in one here fellow chodders.

Esters came onto my radar over a month ago and have been saving it until Matt was back down. Well worth the wait. clearly, we went twice in 5 days.

I think what I love so much,-yeah, we’ve reached the love stage after only 2 dates- is the sincerity behind it, which may sound odd but please accept, and I hope you join in, my deep rooted emotional connection to what is ,some may say, merely seeing, chewing and digesting. This place, in all its avenues, is the epitome of ‘bright’. The interior, including the outdoor space at the back, is beautiful. The folks that work there, lovely. And the food.. spot on.

From the two visits, supported by my online stalking, the pastry counter is constantly provides a selection of both familiarity and interest. Though I’m yet to try something from the cabinet, I was both times extremely tempted.

Now to what we actually did have. Firstly, the coffee is great, I go black, and here that was their batch brew- yum. Matt’s partial to the odd espresso, also yum I’m told.

On our first visit we both went for the breakfast sandwich- a potato roll, scrambled egg, lava, spinach + Caerphilly, with the optional addition of black pudding. Matt went for the add on, I did not, (although I did try some of his, and for my first time trying black pudding, I was very pleasantly surprised). Anyway, we’ve all had a breakfast sandwich before, you know what you’re getting, and it’s great, not a lot more can be or needs to be said, but here I fricken go. It was just great, like genuinely the best breakfast sarnie I have ever ever come across. It was a messy fella, but cor was it worth the drips down to your elbow of the stunning green sauce. Absolutely a brilliant way to begin any day.

The second time around, a creature of habit, matt got the same, and while I was very tempted to join him, I instead opted for the fried eggs + toast, with roasted chickpeas, winter tomatoes, carrot puree, árbol-lime salsa and the add on of halloumi. Now, again, ive had similar dishes, which are so often either one note or overly hit with the old paprika, but this was so complex and just damn satisfying. Eggs and toast always runs a high probability of you leaving, knowing you’ve just payed upwards of the price of a live chicken for something you could have done better at home, but that, I’m happy to report, was far from the case here.

Needless to say, we’ll be returning- honestly this place might be the saving grace of my uni work, its genuinely got me wanting to tip tap away just as an excuse to sit here and then order some carrot cake 10 words later.

 

The Plimsoll

If we’re being logical, popping to the plimsoll on a (realistically) random Monday evening -which we’re insanely lucky to be able to do- is probably not a move to make, purely from a financial standpoint. However, if maturing and consequently thinking in this way means we no longer do this sorta thing, oh lord, halt me from such ageing.

Don’t get it twisted, The Plimsoll isn’t an extortionate joint, the issue lies in our unwavering obsession for the flavours and vibes here along side a menu which from we would literally order every item if we could.

The place itself is unnassuming, through the day that is. On any given evening you’ll recognise it as a spot from the crowds surrounding it- inside is split, half pub which is cosy (rammed- hence the overflow) ,half ‘restaurant’, although calling the eating space this doesn’t quite feel apt… tbd. The interior is a style I can’t quite place and could not be replicated elsewhere. I’ll be honest, what i’m trying to say in an articulate way is that this place is so fucking cool, imo.

We got a bottle of red and kicked off the meal with the battered cod cheek and tartar sauce, which was served on little bits of baguette.. need I elaborate? Then came the OBLIGATORY -im serious- fried potatoes and aioli, along with the asparagus + comté fondue. Potatoes, perfection. Asparagus, a very much needed sense of green and a delightful pitstop. Then was the burger. If you’re a foodie, which I think i’m right in presuming, i’m sure you’ve seen this somewhere on one of the fyp’s. But does it live up?? Simply, hell yes. I will say we thought it was slightly different to when we last had it, not distinguishably so, and not to its detriment, it is an unfaltering banger. I shan’t say anymore, you’ll just have to see for yourself. After this (I know, I know), we had the lamb chop, piattoni and chilli. This was devine, not too spicy, cooked perfectly, very yum.

Now, deserts we can take or leave- me leaning more to the take, matt to the leave- but, I don’t know whether it was the 3/4 of the bottle we’d consumed, or just the deep sadness that the meal could have ended there and then (it was both), but we went for the lemon and pistachio tart (me), as well as the mint choc chip ice cream (matt). This is also unusual for us as 99% of the time we share deserts, sorry to disappoint. For me, the tart was my IDEAL dessert, so I may be biased in my review, but this is my review so I guess that’s the point. The lemon came from the curd (?) on the side, with the tart being an almost crumbly, datey tasting pistachio number. No notes. The ice cream was MINT. Like straight outta the garden mint, making us question what the hell it is we’ve been used to all these years. It wasn’t too strong mind you, just right.

I do understand this is one big arse lick, but quite frankly the plimsoll deserves nothing less. We shall be returning time and time again.

 

rake - The Compton Arms

Saturday March 3rd

The Compton arms, oh where to begin? probably context if we’re being technical. In their own words, The Compton Arms has a ‘history of strong and varied residencies’, and from what we’ve seen and heard through the grapevine, that they do. Currently Rake resides here, and I for one hope and pray and pray some more they remain as such for the foreseeable.

The pub itself is our preferred classic combo of cosy with an edge. It’s always rammed, and so it’s even more of a delight to be directed through to the exclusive-feeling ‘snug’ - just 4 tables, each determinable as a good one. We even had the same server as our last visit, which I will say, speaking for both of us, did impart a slight sense of superiority in this being our ‘regular spot’ - please read in an obnoxious, old money voice.

Kicking off we had the house bloomer +whipped butter, these were BIG old slabs, and that’s coming from a chip-butty-single-northern-dad-raised girl, and I’d be lying if I were to say it didn’t seem unnecessarily so at first, however, as was the case last time, sure enough as the wine flows and saucy dishes come, that bread is demolished. Next was the crisp pressed lamb, anchovy + herbs. FUCK ME, simply. Now these fellas look unassuming, but oh my they were incredible. I can’t quite describe what it was that made them so good, and no photo can show it either, but just the perfect salty, braised, fried way to get things going. Following this, the Cornish mackrel, creme fraiche + horseradish. Honestly machrel isn’t really my jam, but I did enjoy it, especially with the old bloomer. Matt on the other hand loves the stuff, so he was chuffed. Then, my friends (right??) , was the miracle on a plate- for two reasons. Not only is this because the Compton hot dog a thing of wonder and beauty, but also because, had we gone on another, non- match day, having it once again, after continuously thinking about it since, wouldn’t have been possible. Basically, it’s not on the current menu, but the bar serves it on match days, which I spotted stated on the way in. Never has something been so worth checking about. It is just something else, I almost don’t want to try to sum it up, so I wont. Go, try it, and together we can keep it on the menu. Finishing up the savoury, we had the Whole baked lemon sole + tartar, along side the chips and curry mayo. What a way to go out. Chips, perfect, mayo, beautifully familiar yet new. The fish was cooked beautifully- though, completely on us, the bones were a struggle- and the sauce, wow. A buttery, complex delight. We were literally eating it with spoons.

Topping it all off, we had a dark choc tart. Im currently on my journey to truly enjoying dark chocolate, but this was indeed lovely. Once again, we left in awe of the chefs here, stumbling merrily home. We couldn’t recommend more.