Friday night feed required and Steve managed to get us a late table at St Katherine's. We did ummm and aah as to whether 21:15 was just too late but after a few post work drinks and a taxi ride the timings worked.
However weary souls that we were, we needed food that was quick and tasty, a place where we wouldn't be judged by our day long attire and working week crushed spirits!
I'd gone past St. Katherine's on the tram and knew it was a big airy restaurant, fairly casual and about sharing food. I think Steve thought it would be a little more formal than it was but actually the informality of the place suited us on this occasion.
Our waiter was a bit here and there but more to do with his personality than anything else. Where he lacked focus and was more about the chat, there was a very sharp and very slick lady who was in total control and had a smile for everyone so where our waiter was slow on the uptake, she'd compensate and appear out of nowhere and take a drinks order or sort us out.
However weary souls that we were, we needed food that was quick and tasty, a place where we wouldn't be judged by our day long attire and working week crushed spirits!
I'd gone past St. Katherine's on the tram and knew it was a big airy restaurant, fairly casual and about sharing food. I think Steve thought it would be a little more formal than it was but actually the informality of the place suited us on this occasion.
Our waiter was a bit here and there but more to do with his personality than anything else. Where he lacked focus and was more about the chat, there was a very sharp and very slick lady who was in total control and had a smile for everyone so where our waiter was slow on the uptake, she'd compensate and appear out of nowhere and take a drinks order or sort us out.
We began with some delicious soft bread served in a paper bag with:
Mahammura roasted sweet pepper dip, walnuts, pomegranate molasses
Hummus smoked almond dressing
Fava split pea dip, caper, shallot, sherry vinaigrette
All three were delicious. My faves were probably the sweet pepper dip and the fava. Two extremes - one sweet, tangy with a piquancy to it and the other soft, mellow, almost creamy without being fatty and very savoury. The hummus was good; classic and traditional and always a goodie but fairly mainstream.
Mahammura roasted sweet pepper dip, walnuts, pomegranate molasses
Hummus smoked almond dressing
Fava split pea dip, caper, shallot, sherry vinaigrette
All three were delicious. My faves were probably the sweet pepper dip and the fava. Two extremes - one sweet, tangy with a piquancy to it and the other soft, mellow, almost creamy without being fatty and very savoury. The hummus was good; classic and traditional and always a goodie but fairly mainstream.
I thoroughly enjoyed the grilled halloumi with apricots, pinenuts, mint. I love grilled cheese and this version with the sweet apricots and raisins and the nutty pine nuts countered by salty cheese was excellent. Only downside is it gets cold quickly and once cold the cheese gets a bit squeaky and polystyrene like so eat as soon as it comes out!
Turkish lamb dumplings garlic yoghurt, sumac, dried mint were are final entree. Fragrant of lamb but not actually meaty these were like light pasta parcels in a sharp yoghurty dressing. Probably a touch too much yoghurt for us and erring just on the too creamy and too tart side but we still ate it all so it can't have been too bad! I loved the lightness of them though - like pillows of lamb scented dough!
We progressed to our mains and shared the sticky pork ribs pomegranate molasses, sesame as well as the puffed & BBQ corn salad smoked almond dressing, herbs, shaved red onion.
Both were good choices. The ribs were smokey, sweet, falling off the bone with a heavy spice element from coriander seeds and peppercorns. Being a coriander fiend, I loved the generous amount of fresh coriander to chomp on along with the succulent meat. Steve found this tasty but perhaps over smoked and over flavoured for his palette.
The corn salad was inspirational. Loved the mix of onion, chargrilled corn, chives and all the different textures. We will try to reconstruct this at home. Great salad accompaniment to grilled meat and BBQ food.
Both were good choices. The ribs were smokey, sweet, falling off the bone with a heavy spice element from coriander seeds and peppercorns. Being a coriander fiend, I loved the generous amount of fresh coriander to chomp on along with the succulent meat. Steve found this tasty but perhaps over smoked and over flavoured for his palette.
The corn salad was inspirational. Loved the mix of onion, chargrilled corn, chives and all the different textures. We will try to reconstruct this at home. Great salad accompaniment to grilled meat and BBQ food.
Having shared one main we felt strong enough to tackle dessert and I chose the 'Fully Sticky' date pudding, vanilla ice cream, warm salted caramel custard. Loved the gooey centre and smooth ice cream. The custard probably could have been a little saltier to cut through the sweetness. Overall I enjoyed it enough but it was very sweet.
Peanut butter parfait chocolate sorbet, baklava crumbs, orange blossom foam was Steve's choice.
I didn't like the orange blossom foam - too perfumed for me but he enjoyed the crunch and the flavours.
St. Katherine's is a great local neighbourhood restaurant and I can imagine if we lived closer we'd drop by more often. There's lots on the menu to try, it's not pretentious and we thought it was pretty good value for money.
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