February is always a busy time of the year, with CNY, Valentines and Dr L's birthday often occurring in quick succession, it's no wonder that I find myself over indulging this month. This year for his birthday we decided to dine out at Rothwells, which had taken up the lodgings of Jamie's Italian. A collaboration between the owner of 1889 Enoteca and the ex-chef of Aria, it definitely set a high bar for expectations that evening.
Given how difficult it was to make reservations these days, I am glad that we booked two months ahead. Arriving at 6pm, we were quickly ushered into the dimly lit, ambient dining area. It was nice and moody but not ideal for the photos. Service was a bit of a hit and miss with our waitress either being overly enthusiastic during the start of the meal to mostly unavailable when the place filled up.
The food and drinks menu came bound in leather. The drinks menu was far more substantial than the food. Food wise was a mix of French and English cuisine with a modern twist. Always one to peruse beforehand, I had come prepared before hand and knew well ahead of time what we wanted to order. It was lucky that I did too, because the signature beef wellington takes 40 minutes to cook.
Drinks wise, he had a pinot noir to complement our mains whilst I had a Gin Martini. The wine had a classic berry taste that wasn't too sweet and was very easy to drink. I enjoyed my gin martini which was served dry. It was very smooth and strong. I particularly liked how half of the portion remained on ice to top up as I finished the first half.
Not wanting to over order, we shared one starter. This was the scallop with lemon, capers and bottarga. The scallops were very fresh and tender. I particularly liked the lemon tang and with the sharp flavour from the capers. Adding on the bottarga completed the package with a slight umami taste. Definitely a starter to come back for.
Despite ordering the beef wellington at the earliest moment, it still took over 50 minutes to come out. It was cut in half to display a delightfully rare interior and served with red wine jus. Friends may know that recently I have been experimenting at home creating my own beef wellington and I was very interested to know how this would stack up. The pastry was far more firm and solid than the one I had made but on the flip side it was definitely not as flakey, with the base remaining slightly moist with blood. The duxelles had a very good consistency but it didn't offer as much flavour as I thought it would have, and this was able to be enhanced by the red wine jus. The meat was tender and cooked to perfection but needed the jus to add flavour to it. Overall I'd say it was good but didn't blow me away. Also for a portion that serves 2-4 people, we were definitely comfortable but not overly full. If shared between 4, a lot more sides and starters would be needed to complete the meal.
Dr L loves potatoes. Accordingly, I was deciding between either fries or mash to go with our main and ended up going for fries. They were served in a bowl, coming out with our mains. I would have thought that ordering fries at this level of establishment would normally mean that it would be accompanied by perhaps a dipping sauce or some kind of seasoning whereas these were merely salted. Having said that, they were fresh and crisp so execution was done well.
We still had room after our mains so for dessert we shared a serve of fresh baked madeleines with whisky caramel dipping sauce. These were actually freshly made and deliciously warm when they arrived on our table. I was a bit hesitant with the caramel sauce as I don't like my desserts overly sweet but it went well with the madelines. We were also given two small complimentary chocolate tarts. These were delicious with a light crumbly shell and a rich chocolate filling. Given how decadent they were, the portion size was perfect.
Overall a good experience for a special event. I'm not sure I'd come back for the wellington but I'd be open to trying out their other steaks later.
Taste: 8/10
Value: 6/10
Service: 7/10
Environment: 9/10
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