It was just a matter of time before something on the events night emails from Inox would catch our…read moreeye. The event that caught our eye was 'Game Night'. I actually thought, "Oooo board games and food?!" You can tell I work with students because that was my first reaction. However, it was actually a celebration of game meats, pheasant and venison.
I have been to the venue before, as we used it for a training day, but it is very easy to forget that it is at the top of the Students' Union. University car parks are available for free (if there are no barriers) after 6 p.m., so customers coming in for an evening event should be able to find parking close to the S.U. They are not open for dinner each night, just for events at night, but do have a lunch menu and also offer Afternoon Tea.
We were a bit early, but were greeted, checked in, and then shown to the bar where we were able to order drinks. What is interesting is the fact that Mr. Snarky's reaction was similar to mine and other reactions I've heard... "It is very corporate." While it is modern, it doesn't quite have that intimate feeling that restaurants of this style typically have. We found a place to perch while having our drinks and waiting to be seated. I have to say that the service is really very good, very friendly... even when we were there for our training day causing problems :).
We were seated near the window, although sadly we could not see much because of the bushes and trees in front of the S.U. They also offered a wine flight that provided a wine chosen for each course, so I decided to take part in it. The brought us two rolls and two mini Yorkshire Puds with a bit of gravy in the bottom. It was lovely. My first wine was brought out, it was a white wine that was really refreshing and a bit citrusy. The first course was pheasant done in an Asian style with Pak Choi (Bok Choi for my American friends) and a dumpling made with the leg meat. The pheasant was very nice, but the sauce was too overpowering. Not entirely sure what the sauce was made of, but it seemed like a thick soy sauce that was more bitter than salty. The dumpling, the part I was most excited for, was a good idea in theory, but in practice the outside bit of the dumpling was quite thick and the little bit of leg meat that was inside was a bit dry. However, I will say that the dish and the wine really went well together.
For the second course, they brought out a red wine that was lovely because it had this hint of spice, great for a red meat, but there was a bit of sauce on the plate that was so sweet that it kind of ruined the wine. To be honest, I'm not sure what the sauce was because the only sauce it mentioned on the menu was a jus, which was there and lovely, but this was like a fruity puree that was far too sweet. The venison was served medium rare and it was beautiful...very tender. I was a bit skeptical of the Venison Faggot as I've never had Faggot before, but it was really nice, particularly with the jus. It was served with some kale and a fondant potato. By far my favourite course of the night, although again, that fruity puree was unnecessary.
And dessert... was a Pear and Apple Crumble with Salted Caramel Ice Cream and Pickled Blackberries. The crumble was missing the actual crumble part... there was a bit of the hazelnut crumble sprinkled around, but there wasn't enough to call it a 'crumble' in my opinion. The apples in the crumble overpowered the pears, but the star of the show was the Salted Caramel Ice Cream. I told Mr. Snarky that if they sold pints of the ice cream, I would buy a few, which he agreed with me on, which is unusual because this is not a flavor of ice cream that he would choose. The one bit that was a bit off was the pickled blackberry... the blackberry was already a bit sour itself, but then to add the pickling on top, it was like eating a Warhead (you know those super sour candies).
Overall, we did enjoy our night and while there were highlights, there are also some things that could do with some improvements. Around the time dessert was coming out, the club in the bottom of the S.U. started playing music and it kind of killed the mood and made us think it was time to head home, even though it was only 9 p.m. For the 3-course event it was £32.50 pp, and the wine flight was £19.00, so a bit of an expensive night out, but not bad. A bit of a strange place to have a restaurant like this, but would be happy to come back for another special event.
