Le Bistrot Pierre - Ecclesall Rd, Sheffield - 14/02/2015
With Valentines Day soon upon us, we thought it could work as the perfect start for our blog. So here is our first restaurant post!
Tom booked us in for the St. Valentin menu at Le Bistrot Pierre. Although it was pricier than what we would normally go for, our previous visit to the Sheffield restaurant left us blown away, and we couldn't resist trying it again for a treat.
As an apertif, we shared French bread, olive oil and balsamic vinegar served with a whole bulb of roast garlic and mini honey-roasted chorizos. The garlic was roasted until soft so could be spread on the bread - its definitely something we want to try at home! We were also given a small flute of Sparking Saumur Rose which went down a treat =)
Entreés or Starters if you're English
Tom: To start, I chose the Confit au Saumon. Confit of poached salmon wrapped in Scottish smoked salmon with a dressing of fennel, dill, cornichons and baby capers. The dish was well presented but I found it was quickly let down by the lack of flavour in the two types of salmon. The smoked salmon wasn't as smoky or salty as I would've liked and confit may be something I've never really understood flavour-wise. The capers, cornichons and lemon dressing brought a much welcome tangy edge to the dish.
Emily: I decided to go for the baked St. Marcellin cheese with rosemary, served with lightly spiced pear chutney and sourdough toast. The cheese was creamy, nutty and earthy in flavour, and had a mix of textures, from the gooey centre to the tougher rind. The chutney was also very sweet and nicely spiced, tasting similar to the inside of a sweet strudel. The two worked great together and felt very indulgent. We also ordered a bottle Viognier to share for during dinner - we wont pretend to be wine connoisseurs, but it was a nice white wine that was fruity =)
Plats, or Mains
Tom: I went with fillet of sea bass with crayfish tails, steamed mussels and ratatouille. I love my seafood, so I had to take the opportunity to have three types on one plate. The sea bass was almost perfectly cooked, perhaps a little overdone for my personal taste but was a good portion and gave me the seafood hit I was looking for. The crayfish tails furthered the fishy feel giving nice concentrated pockets of flavour. However the mussels and ratatouille stole the show! I would guess the mussels were cooked in the sauce of the ratatouille and every single one of them exploded with tomatoey goodness and were seasoned to perfection. I wolfed down every morsel of the main and grabbed a spoon to lap the sauce up so not a mouthful was wasted... bloody lovely!
Emily: I am an absolute sucker for lamb, so it was a no-brainer for me! I went for Epaule d'agneau á la Marocaine: Moroccan spiced slow-cooked lam shoulder with pine nuts, pearl couscous, mint, harissa and dried apricots. The meat was really tender and completely fell apart - making the massive steak knife I was given rather pointless. It also had a crisp, harissa skin, which was topped with sour cream. This gave a good balance to the dish, as it was very rich so needed something else to make it less heavy. Also the giant pearl couscous and chickpeas brought an extra set of textures. Both Tom and I shared the dauphinoise potatoes and vegetable side dishes. They were both seasoned great, with the potatoes indulgently creamy and the vegetables cooked well, whilst still retaining bite.
To finish, we both opted for the Délice au chocolat, a chocolate torte served with blackcurrant ice cream and hot pouring chocolate.
Tom: The torte was deliciously indulgent. I loved the richness of the chocolate and the sharp and sweet blackcurrant ice cream married (Thanks for the word Em) well together. My only criticism would be the simplicity of the dish. I think I would've enjoyed the torte more if another flavour was integrated into the torte, may be orange or raspberry. That said I loved the pudding and came close to watching Emily lick the bowl.
Emily: I did love it that much =P It was incredibly light with a texture similar to gluten-free cake. The blackcurrant ice cream made it for me, and reminded me of when my mum used to make it when I was younger.
Ambience and Service
Our waitress during our visit, Amy T, was friendly and attentive. Upon being seated, we were immediately brought our complimentary glass of Saumur and drinks followed shortly behind. They were also aware of the limited space at the table and helped avoid it becoming cluttered by keeping our wine and water within reach on a shelf behind our table. On top of this, they were quick to clear our empty plates and glasses.
The restaurant itself had undergone the usual ambience shift for valentine's day, but unlike smaller restaurants, they hadn't tried to squeeze more diner's in than they could accommodate, giving us plenty of space. The lamplight and candlelit dining area will be our excuse for the slightly dark photography (apologies), but at least we had fun making the neighbouring tables jump every time the camera flash went off.
Final Review (Marks out of 10)
Food: 8.0
On the whole extremely tasty and good portion sizes, better than your standard a la carte. However, there were elements such as the confit and the torte that could have been improved to make it hit the high marks.
Ambience and Service: 9.5
Spot on! The staff were welcoming, warm and made every effort to make the visit enjoyable. The restaurant was atmospheric from the decor to the music, it was just a little dark at times.
Value for Money: 5.0
This grade is no criticism on the food itself. The price is just substantially higher than what we would like to pay normally. This is especially emphasised by the fact that for two Tuesday's a month, you can pay less than £25 for a six course dinner at the same restaurant. We'll blame this purely on the Valentine's day hype.
Emily and Tom rate this as Expensive and a Treat
