Tag: Texture

Texture – feeling a bit rough!!

Birthday lunch at Texture – rather over did it, going for champagne cocktails, tasting menu and matching wines, cheese board and more wine. The Food was of a high standard and the Wines were all very, very good. Maybe a little too good as I definitely suffered for my overindulgence later that day. This level of fine dining comes at a cost (physically and financially), next time definitely going for the very reasonable set lunch at £22.00.

The menu we had included a delicious Heritage Tomato (or Heirloom Tomato as they are known in the US) salad, my favorite Texture dish – Anjou Pigeon with, sweetcorn and bacon popcorn, a rather moorish Icelandic Cod dish and a very refreshing Strawberry Textures Moscatel sabayon.

The presentation and menu choices included in the Tasting Menu were not as effective as those on our earlier visit (see Texture – something good from Iceland),  but eating at Texture is certainly a pleasure. Looking forward to returning in the not too distant future.

 

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Murano – oh dear!

Lunch at Murano today, what a disappointment. It is so old fashioned and not in good way, rather the kind of food you might have found acceptable in the 80’s.  Just not a gourmet experience. We were really glad we decided to go for the £30 set lunch and not the overpriced tasting menu.

We started with fairly ordinary bread with a good olive oil and some charcuterie. Then a Chicken Ravioli that was too salty and a rather ordinary beef carpaccio.  The main courses consisted off a coronary inducing calf liver, with capers in a red wine jus with mash and a salmon dish decorated with pea shoots. Pre dessert was Tiramisu and dessert was a peanut butter crumble with caramelized bananas – very uninspiring.

The wine list was disappointing too, the mark up did seem to be excessive.  It was difficult to find a decent glass of wine for less than £14.00.

It was so hard not to compare the Murano experience with our recent visit to Texture, which just served to emphasize everything that was wrong with Murano.

Overrated and based on our experience, cooking that is not of a Michelin star level.  Another Faux Gourmet experience in a restaurant that looked the part but failed to deliver.

Marks out of 10

Food 4.9

Service 5

Ambience 5

 

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Texture – something good from Iceland!

One definition of the word “Texture” is “the distinctive character or quality of something” and Texture the restaurant is all about character and quality.  Angnar Sverrisson who is originally from Iceland does it all, delivering great tasting, beautifully presented food that has its own distinct personality.

We had our usual debate, should we go for the tasting menu or stick with our original idea of trying the set lunch menu at a fraction of the cost.  Fortunately we opted for the tasting menu with matching wines.  Indeed as soon as we tasted the amuse-bouche, a selection of different textured “crisps” artfully arranged on a piece of slate with a dip and the Pea and Mint iced tea, we knew we had made the right choice.  With every course and every glass of wine,  we echoed that sentiment.  The appetizer was asparagus with parmesan snow and hazel nuts. This was  followed by a sublime pigeon dish with sweetcorn and bacon popcorn. The next two courses were just as good, they consisted of  Icelandic cod with Chorizo and a very refined version of  steak and chips.   Then came the entertainment,  a rather topical looking pre dessert, a green apple concoction set in a bowl of dry ice, that spilled out on to the table like something from a volcano!  We finished with a Mango and Pineapple  dessert and a selection of petit fours that included a crispy variation of a traditional french magdalene which was surprisingly good.

So far we have just mentioned the food, but the wines were equally special. We particularly enjoyed the Californian Pinot Noir and the Australian Cabernet Sauvignon.  The wine selections were perfect matches for every course, and very reasonable at £45 for a flight of 5 glasses.

Definitely looking forward to coming back here – a rare treat.

Marks out of 10

 

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