Before going to Bruno’s Grain Store I’d heard very mixed things.
Generally though – food – amazing, service – not so amazing.
However on a busy Saturday night we made our way past the lights, fountains and magical art installation to our booking – a table for 4 people for 8.45pm. Ok, so we didn’t get sat down until after 9pm but we were pretty content in the cosy bar sampling the mental cocktails (69 Colebrooke Row were behind the mischief). We recommend the Twinkle or the Butter & Hay Champagne. The truffle Martini didn’t go down so well! Cocktails were very reasonably priced at £7.50 a pop.
The theatre continued, from our table we took in the impressive kitchen, the dessert nook, the huge bar and all the props adorning every service. This place looks like it was a LOT of fun to create.
But we are here for the food right! So the premise of this restaurant is the veggies. These take pride of place with the meat or fish being the icing on the cake. To start Courgette, broad bean & prawn falafel, with raita was nicely seasoned and delicately flavoured. Baked beetroots, pickled onions, goat labneh with dill oil dressing was beautifully light and for me a better way to start the meal. My favourite starter though was the sprouting beans & seeds, miso aubergine, crispy citrus chicken skin with potato wafer. Amazing flavours! Yeast dip was also on offer – we passed. 😉
Two of us opted for the special – Dauphinoise Gratin, Salsa Verde & Rabbit. This was served in a hot pot style, with chunky pieces of meat topping the potatoes. I’ve had more tender rabbit but it was nicely flavoured & super comforting. The corn & quinoa tamale, salsa & sticky pork belly was small but perfectly formed – the quinoa came in a pretty wrap – just like undoing a present! Vegetable paella, garlic & tomato snails took a little longer to arrive as there was a mix up in the kitchen but our waiter was very apologetic and sorted it out quickly and smoothly. No poor service seen here. A light take on paella with veggies being equal to the rice with a generous amount of little snails & padron peppers.
Desserts were the most inventive part of the menu so obviously couldn’t be turned down. Tart of the day was fig which was deliciously sweet but very subtle on the fig. Spiced candied tomatoes came with the wobbliest of goat’s milk panna cotta. These little jewels sound an unusual combo but they worked beautifully together. White chocolate rice crispy with dark chocolate mousse sounds like a child’s dream but was given a grown up finish with almond ice cream. The old school cheese trolley made a visit – we selected a creamy blue, a stinky creamy French cheese with a golden rind, a semi-hard British cheese and a super tangy red Leicester. These are served with walnut bread, a crispy seeded slice, red onion chutney & grapes. But be careful, at £3.50 a pop it’s easy to get carried away. Individual cheese portions are generous, so share with the table. You can not leave without trying the home-made amaretto. Unfortunately a secret recipe that I will be trying to re-create if it kills me.
While this is not a cheap choice (the bill, including 1 cocktail each and wine came to £60 a head) I would absolutely recommend. Get the late slot to avoid being rushed.
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