Back To Basics

willcritchlow

Really nice surprise 28th November 2008

1 found this helpful

This was the first restaurant I visited following a TrustedPlaces review. I went there for lunch and it was superb. The food was excellent, the atmosphere was great and they couldn't have been friendlier.

Browners

Brilliant Fishy Bistro 6th June 2007

4 found this helpful

This super restaurant does exactly what it says on the tin.

Simplicity is the key. The menu is entirely dictated by what's on offer at the daily fish market. The fish is extremely fresh and cooked sympathetically.

http://www.backtobasics.uk.com/

"We are a unique Seafood Restaurant in that the menu changes daily, offering 15 different Seafood dishes.
Only limited amounts of Seafood are ordered in that "Today's Catch" is precisely what it states and not yesterdays catch.
Complementing the food is a selection of over 50 different international wines. Having been established for over 10 years bookings are highly advisable"

Perversely we loved the fact that both of our first choices had already run out... we landed up improvising a bit after having an in depth chat with our excellent waitress...

We shared some sensational mussels for starter which at first sight looked like a classic moules meunier. I can see Cowie's face now as she took her first delve into our enormous stack of shells and creamy sauce, her eyes rolling back in her head and a faint yelp of delight squeaking out of her mouth. The very simple addition of a sprig of rosemary to the dish whilst steaming the mussles was a master stroke. It transformed a classic dish that you can have a reasonably good version of anywhere, into a really insightful plate of food. We both tried to distract each other as we both deviously tried to eat more than our fair share. The mound of shells on Cowie's plate was a bit of a giveaway though! There can be no higher accolade for a dish than for two people to fight over it!

I can't remember what Cowie had for her main course but can vividly recall my mesmerising skate with a simple burnt buttery caper emulsion. The flesh pulled away from the wing effortlessly in the way only decent skate does. Weirdly I've eaten a disproportionate amount of skate in good restaurants - normally with a butter and caper sauce of some sort - Chez Bruce, Squire and Horse and now at Back to Basics. And I can safely say this one was bloody good! I like the story about skate that it is best when not quite fresh. Very disruptive!

We washed all this extravagant fish down with a beautifully cold bottle of Macon and paid our bill of spot on £100 feeling that we had discovered a gem of a restaurant.

Well worth a visit for those who enjoy a bistro style environment.