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This restaurant review was
conducted on March 7, 2009
Mark Campbell and his family have
been running the popular Birch for eleven years and are always
developing their fine menu. Mark and his Head Chef David Nourse love to
design new concepts to entice and impress their diners whilst
having fun. Our table was ready and waiting for a 7:30pm sitting
on a Friday evening. This was a much-awaited review as many
friends and colleagues had recommended this restaurant.
Decor
As soon as you enter the
building you come across the well lit bar, coupled with bar
stalls and a vast selection of drinks. The busy furnishings make
the decorations at The Birch splendid with mirrors, ornaments
and varied plants making every corner and wall varied. You can
dine in the lower restaurant or the conservatory. The Birch's
website offers a 360degree panoramic view for all to see.
Service
 A great waiter is always prompt
in every task whilst being pleasant and non-intrusive in their
methods. Here at The Birch the staff works together to deliver
your food and each member of the team did just this. You can
tell by the standards of service that the staff understand the
food, how it is prepared and cooked.
Food
Exclusive ingredients mixed with
a talented chef make a perfect experience to explore the pallet.
Looking through the menu became tough as there are many fine
dishes to absorb from medallions of lamb, daily fishes and black
pudding to the fresh meats cooked on the open griddle.
For starters my companion
selected the special parsnip and thyme soup which arrived in a
large white bowl with crusty croutons and a drizzle of olive
oil. This soup may have been too large for a starter as my guest
became full from this delicious and creamy dish. The combination
of brown butter thyme and parsnip worked very well together.
I headed for a fish night as
fancied lighter dishes. I ordered the popular potted crab and
prawns served with lemon and bittersweet tarragon butter. This
big seller came in a ceramic dish centred on my plate. Dunking
my crispy warm flat bread was delightful. The scent of the pot
wafted under my nose but the creamy crab and well-cooked prawns
were soon gone!
For mains I selected from the
specials which Mark reeled off from memory, black bream, king
prawns and cream fresh risotto with watercress (£15.95). The two fish
were impressive and full of taste. The cream from the sauce
worked well, giving this main course a combination of textures
and aromas.
 My guest selected the fillet
mignon with a smoked bacon edge, green broad beans, porcini wild
mushrooms in a creamy garlic sauce on a slab of crispy
dauphinoise potato (£18.95). The rounded piece of medium cooked meat was
marvellous, browned and crispy on the edges, the way most people
like it. The wild mushrooms had an amazing nutty flavour and
harder texture to your normal mushroom, powerful and endearing.
For desserts we sensibly
selected the sorbets knowing how much food we had already
engaged but then caught eye of the berry meringue souffle, a
signature dish for The Birch and wished we had sampled that.
Maybe next time! Our sorbets -
lemon, lime and raspberry flavours came to our aid to
finish our meal, oh and a cheese platter with biscuits and
grapes to share. We could not resist the local and continental
cheeses. A great sharing dish.
Atmosphere
The restaurant was full with
well to do people who like great fresh food. There was lots of
wine being poured on many tables making the dining experience a
joyous one. Mark seemed to know many people and enjoyed
entertaining. There was certainly a good feel about the place
which is warm and welcoming. |
