Benedicts
Norwich, Norfolk
‘The downside,’ said one recent enthusiast, ‘is that our favourite restaurant is 200 miles away.’ Applause for Benedicts rings out far beyond Norwich, such is the delicious creativity of the six- or nine-course menus, and the genuine happiness of the service delivered at Richard and Katja Bainbridge’s city-centre bistro. Personal memory and shared nostalgia ripple through dishes (fans of The Great British Menu will remember the 2015 triumph of 'Nanny Bush’s trifle') but there’s no wallowing in sentiment: the cooking is bright and contemporary, colourful and fun. Home-grown radishes, a stick of raw kohlrabi and endive scooped through smoked haddock butter set the scene, alongside a ‘prawn cocktail’ tartlet (with sharpness from freeze-dried raspberries instead of lemon) which is as if made by fairies, so friable is the pastry, so delicate the flavour. A rice cracker dotted with sparky keta, ditsy rings of shallot and apple gel comes with a sherry mousse – because Nanny Bush did like a glass of an evening, so the story goes. Warm brioche bounces glossily centre-stage, deserving its solo moment, especially when some of that mousse remains. Bouillabaisse nods to that often murky overflow of gurning fish heads, but here a smooth, savoury soup is poured tableside around a stylish pan-fried croûton topped with crabmeat, samphire and dots of rouille. It’s a prelude to duck, pink and butter-soft to cut, which comes with a fresh kohlrabi slaw, peach-sweetened sauce and a slice of pomme dauphine (an 'irresistible cross between a hash brown and a rösti’, drizzled with chive mayo and flecked with red amaranth). Palates are rejuvenated by ‘jelly and ice cream’, perfectly grown-up and un-sugary, before a flirty lemon posset (hiding pieces of nectarine) on a lime syrup-soaked puck of genoise sponge takes the final bow. Wine service is notable throughout – a crisp but weighty Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh Sec from Gascony’s Domaine Laougué played harmoniously opposite the bouillabaisse.
Dining Information:
Private dining room, Wheelchair access, Credit card required
9 St Benedict's Street, Norwich, Norfolk NR2 4PE
01603 926080
