So I went to Restaurant 22 not really knowing what to expect. I had heard good things mostly, but few people had actually been. Their menu changes monthly to reflect local and seasonal ingredients, I had the July menu.
We started with gazpacho served in shot glasses, accompanied by one baked bread - a selection of rosemary bread, Guinness bread (which tasted a lot like parkin), and some other fruit bread. I ordered the pan fried pigeon breast for starter. It arrived nicely rare and fairly well presented. There was a sorbet next - watermelon, which was very simple, but effective in cleansing the palate.
For main course I chose the blue fin tuna, served with noodles and marinated tomatoes. I felt the tuna was slightly over cooked. I like my blue fin on the rare side - I don't like to spoil a good cut of fish. Overall I felt the main was a little bland, there was some roasted garlic from the tomatoes I think which added to the dish, but I think they could have gone for bolder flavour pairings. Some of the people I was with ordered the rump steak, which looked very nicely cooked, and well presented so perhaps that would have been the better choice.
For dessert, I opted for the cheeseboard, giving a selection of British cheeses. This worked well, and included some delightful Shropshire Blue. My only qualm is that I'd perhaps have liked more cheese. Some of the desserts ordered by other members of my party looked fantastic. The effort gone into the basil candyfloss paired with what looked like a summer fruit jelly looked great! I think more of this experimental side of cooking throughout the meal would go down well. The meal was followed by coffee and petit fours, a selection of truffles and flapjack. I little on the standard side, but not too bad.
Overall the atmosphere in the Restaurant was pretty different. Being in a smallish terraced house, Restaurant 22 feels very homely. We had a private room upstairs with a single table which made it feel even more so. While not being a bad thing, it does come across as a very different atmosphere to a lot of other restaurants. It almost has like a pop up/secret dining club sort of vibe to it.
On the expensive side of reasonably priced - £35 for 5 courses with a pretty good wine list, I'd recommend it for an alternative and more secluded experience. read more
