After a tough week and an afternoon working in the City, myself and A were ready for a classy Friday night dinner and a chance to catch up. I’d often walked straight past the Royal Exchange just outside Bank Station, entirely unaware that a high-end shopping centre and an extremely posh café, was housed inside. I was even less aware that it was the home of French restaurant ‘Sauterelle’ (or Grasshopper if translated), even after stepping inside the grand building. Eventually I spotted a menu and small staircase leading to the mezzanine level restaurant.
My expectations were fairly low. I’d booked a special offer set menu through a popular dining website, and given that we were being offered a bargainous three courses for £23.50, I expected either to be rushed through the meal, presented with miniscule portions or sitting in an awkwardly silent restaurant lacking diners or atmosphere.
It looked like it might be the latter situation as we arrived in time for our 7.30pm booking, to find the restaurant area quiet. The friendly and very professional staff however stowed away our bags and asked if we’d like a drink at the decidedly more busy bar before our meal. It seemed like a good plan, so we propped up the bar surrounded by a good number of Friday night drinkers, sipping our wonderfully chilled white wine (from an extensive drinks menu) entirely relaxed and unhurried as we enjoyed the ambience of the busy bar.
Before too long, our tummies rumbling, we were ready for food. The courteous staff gave us a fantastic table overlooking the Grand Café below. The glass ceilinged building was bathed in the evening sunshine, becoming more atmospheric as dusk descended upon us.
The set menu was pleasingly varied, with four options for each course covering a wide variety of dishes, all of which sounded appealing. There was no overlap in our final choices and our expectations were now far higher than when we’d arrived.
The attentive waitress presented us with a array of exciting breads. I was tempted by the walnut and raisin bread just before the beautifully presented starters arrived. My fear of small portions was entirely unfounded and our first gleeful mouthfuls, we were delighted with our choices. A had opted for Galician octopus and chorizo with potato salad, basil, watercress and capers (pictured below), whilst mine was a more traditional Braised pork, with apple, Alsace bacon and celeriac puree but presented in a stylishly innovative fashion. The succulent morsel of pork was perfectly matched with the sweetness of the apple and the saltiness of the bacon.
The size of the dish was ideal and had whet my appetite, as I took more bread – this time a dark, strongly flavoured Guiness concoction.
It wasn’t long to wait for mains though. I’d opted for a simple seasonal risotto with fresh peas, broad beans, wild garlic, English foraged mushrooms. Whilst without meat, the flavour was strong and the texture rich and creamy.
As filling as my main had been, we were both craving for a sweet finish to the sumptuous meal, but again very different options appealed. A went for a fruity Iced Orange Parfait, with pistachio, mascarpone, ginger biscuit, and a blood orange salad (pictured below), whilst chocolate is my weakness so I couldn’t resist the Madagascan chocolate, balsamic macerated Muscat grapes, and almond ice cream.
Again presented brilliantly the rich chocolate dessert was an absolute dream. Intensely dark chocolate had a nutmeg like warmth and spiciness, and was perfectly coupled with sweet of (cherry like) grapes and coolness of the almond ice cream.
It had been a dream of a meal. Each dish tasted wonderful and the service, location and atmosphere had been impeccable, the sheer good value of the set menu making it even better. A gem of a find!
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