pensnest | in between i drink black coffee

One of the gifts Beast and I received for our wedding anniversary was a voucher for Benedict's Restaurant, a very nice place in the middle of the city. So yesterday, forth we went to have lunch there. They do taster menus and a lunch menu, and we opted for Menu 1, with accompanying wines.

'The Tease' came first: a Preserved Tomato, a cherry tomato with.... I dunno what they had done to it but it was truly delicious. A tiny Cod Roe Croustade was a little tartlet about the size of a pound coin, maybe a smidge bigger, tasty but not quite my thing. Then there was a Herb Taco, a half-thumb's worth of shell with elegant green beans and a flower petal.

Parker House Bread with Herb Flower Butter was very tasty indeed, basically a brioche with quite a bit of flavour, served very warm.

A slow roasted Beef Tomato wasn't quite as delicious as the Preserved Tomato from the first course, but still pretty good. It came with a slice of mackerel and some very good jus. There was a pink wine with it which was okay, but didn't particularly appeal.

The main course of Halesworth Lamb with Kale pesto, English peas, Girolles and herbed boiled potatoes was excellent in every detail, including the Pinot Noir which accompanied it. Perfectly cooked lamb, salty yellow mushrooms, and the Kale pesto was a revelation. I shall have to try that at home. Om nom. I managed to restrain myself, but it was tempting to lick the plate.

We decided to go with a cheese course, which is optional. The three cheeses were all okay but didn't produce the spectacular effect it had last time we ate there, when we were introduced to Old Winchester. A nice something paste accompanied it, which I polished off by applying a careful finger to the plate.

Then a delicate portion of Fig Leaf Ice Cream, sitting on a tiny baked layer of something not unlike a sponge, with crusty edges, and gooseberry puree. Followed by English Country Garden, a medley of soft fruits—raspberries, strawberries, cherries, redcurrants—atop a creamy custard in a crispy cup, with a side scoop of strawberry sorbet. Both exquisitely pretty and involving decorative edible flower petals. Along with the desserts there was an Ice Cyder, which I have never had before but which made a splendid pudding wine, to our surprise.

Finished at leisure with coffee and a couple of petits fours, a rose macaron and an orange madeleine. Very nice indeed.

I think I'd have liked *more* of just about everything, as it was so good, but as is usually the case with a taster menu, it amounted to just the right amount of food. We walked home, feeling we'd probably processed the alcohol already.