I've had my foodie little eye on Graze for some time now, and I finally got to try it out last night for my Brother's birthday.
The interior is plush and apparently influenced by the Brighton Pavilion. It's quite a small restaurant and the tables can appear quite cramped. For the first half hour, we were the only customers and I could hear the staff chatting away to each other which was a bit uncomfortable, however, the restaurant quickly filled up and was soon buzzing with atmosphere.
Graze offer an al la carte or tasting menu. The birthday boy had his eye on the tasting menu and as we had to order for the whole table we didn't want to disappoint. I also decided to accompany him with the wine pairing - what a kind sister I am!!
The tasting menu included 7 courses, two of which included an option of two which is a nice touch. Homemade bread in four flavours was offered around repeatedly but I was conscious not to fill up too much!
The first course was Jerusalem artichoke soup with smoked hazelnut creme fraiche and hazelnuts crisps. This was paired with a very dry sherry, a little unpalatable on its own, but great in combination with the soup.
Second course was a chicken liver parfait with pear and star anise jelly, served with a slice of sweet brioche - rich and delicious. This was served with a sweet Hungarian Tokaji. The others went for a butternut squash option but found it was lacking a little in taste and needed added seasoning.
Third up was cauliflower and truffle risotto with chestnuts and Parmesan crisp. Matched with this was a crisp viognier.
Next was one of my favourite dishes - beetroot cured salmon, pickled beetroot and beetroot puree, creme fraiche and what tasted like amaretti crumbs. The salmon was so fresh and light and the flavour combinations were exquisite. This was paired with a pinot blanc.
For the next course we were offered a choice between halibut and venison. We all went with the venison which was served with polenta, grey chantelles and greens. A very tasty dish served with a light pinot noir.
The pre-dessert was a chilled mandarin soup with clove sorbet. Such a fantastic dish I was half way through before I realised I had forgotten to take a picture! This came with a fabulous Pedro Ximenez sherry from the Jerez region of Spain. A much sweeter and nicer sherry than the first, at least for my tastes.
The final course was a pear parfait with star anise ice cream and almond crumble, this was served with a sweet dessert wine and was a fine finish to a great meal.
The Chef here has Spanish roots and you can certainly feel the Mediterranean influence shining through here. The flavour combinations were great and the presentation was exquisite (somebody has been watching Masterchef!). The service was friendly and efficient and the atmosphere was nice. So close to a five star review, but nothing took my breath away, and a few extras such as amuse bouche would have been appreciated*.
*Am I really saying there wasn't enough food here, I certainly didn't leave hungry!! read more