Thursday 20th May
Today’s first stop was lunch at Raymond Blanc’s restaurant Brasserie Blanc. This is somewhere we have never been before and is at the other end of Leeds- sods law the weather was awful so we had to admit defeat and get an uber. We were warmly greeted by the host and shown to our table. The setting here is lovely and cosy. The menu is French and British inspired and there is a lot of choice- everything sounded amazing. The staff were really friendly and had a good knowledge of the food and drinks on offer. We loved everything we tried and there were many other dishes we could have chosen so we will definitely be back to try more. The cocktail menu was a mixture of classic and summer spritzes- we enjoyed the ones we tried.
We really wanted to try the famous Cheese Soufflé to start but we went for dishes on the lighter side so we could leave room for dessert! We chose Morteau Sausage and Potato Salad (Pan fried Morteau sausage, white wine potato salad, poached free range egg, curly endive, mustard dressing). We wouldn’t usually choose salad but this was really tasty especially the sausage with the runny egg. It is a great lighter option and perfect for spring/ summer.
Potted Cornish Crab, Avocado Guacamole, Prawn Butter, Sourdough Toast
My go to starter is Pate so I decided to try something similar but with fish. This was gorgeous, there was lots of crab and it paired really well with the guacamole- fish and avo are two of my favourite ingredients to combine. I really enjoyed this dish
Roasted Halibut in Champagne (Halibut Steak on the bone, Champagne Sauce, Keta Caviar, Prawn Potatoes with Spring Onion, Spinach and Chive)
I fancied another fish course for my main but couldn’t decide between what was on offer so our server recommended this as it sells out most nights. I can understand why it is so popular- the prawn potatoes are to die for, I love the flavours of spring onion and chive. The rich champagne sauce is like butter and paired really well with the chunky fish. The only downside for me was the bones- obviously I expected the big bone as it is served on the bone but there were lots of little ones too so I had to eat it really carefully and pick them out. This doesn’t take away from the quality of the dish, it is just personal preference. The fish was cooked really well as it just fell off the main piece of bone.
Rump of West Country Lamb (Pea Puree, Minted Peas, Slow Cooked Carrots, Dauphinoise, Confit Garlic)
Brett also couldn’t decide between the meaty dishes but fancied lamb. This was a good quality piece of lamb with a hint of pink (I would have had it a little pinker but when I tried it it tasted really good and was juicy so I would have enjoyed it). The potatoes were creamy on the inside with a lovely crisp on the top.
Pistachio Souffle and Chocolate Icecream
I have been dying to try this dessert since we booked to dine here as it is their signature offering. It wasn’t what I was expecting but I wasn’t disappointed. I thought it would be very heavy on the pistachio flavours but it was baked in rich chocolate too so this came through more. I really enjoyed it, the chocolate flavour was very heavy in contrast to the light airy pistachio. I would order it again
Golden Chocolate Feuilletine (Layered Chocolate Sponge and Mousse, Dark Chocolate Glaze, Hazelnut Cream, Chocolate Sauce, Sweet Black Cherry)
Brett loves his chocolate desserts so this was a no brainer. It was exactly what he wanted, a rich creamy chocolate pudding, and it was delicious!
For cocktails we chose
Espresso Martini (Ketel One Vodka, Tia Maria, espresso)
Dark N Stormy (Gosling’s Dark Rum, Angostura bitters, fresh lime juice, Fever-Tree Naturally Light ginger beer)
Amaretto Sour (Disaronno Amaretto, Angostura bitters, fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup)
Flower Power (St-Germain elderflower liqueur, prosecco, soda water, lemon twist)
Lemon Tease (Limoncello, prosecco, Fever-Tree Naturally Light tonic- which I substituted for Cranberry Juice, lemon wedge)
Brambleberry (Chambord liqueur, prosecco, soda water, blackberries)