Penta

I have seen far too many pictures of Penta's Nutella panna cotta that it was inevitable we would one day cross the river and make it. Saturday was the day!

We arrived about 11:45 and there was no table available and a likely 20 minute wait so we put our name down and walked down the main street to kill some time. The 20 minutes went by reasonably quickly and we were soon seated at a roomy table and ready to order.

I opted for the grilled chicken shawarma salad with poached egg. The chicken breast was marinaded in spices and was deliciously tasty and juicy. Loved the grain salad with pops of pomegranate and creamy feta and yoghurt. There was probably a touch too much of the dairy goodness but I just left it to the side.

Steve had the Penta Benedict which is braised beef cheek atop sweet potato waffles with poached eggs and hollandaise and he enjoyed that very much too. He also added some mushrooms.

Our waitress was cheery and friendly and we were able to put the panna cotta on hold until we were ready for it.

And soon the anticipation was over and she arrived in her wibbly wobbly gloriousness! Her beauty is down to plating technique and burst of colour from the fruit and the flowers. It's definitely Nutella in flavour and the little dome of panna cotta is deceptively large so plenty to share. The strawberries were a delicious accompaniment cutting through the sugar. And the crumb was a welcome texture contrast. I'm not a huge fan of banana but I guess Nutell and banana are a classic combo that please many others so it makes sense. My personal preference would be more strawberry!

Penta certainly ticked all the boxes. Good strong tea served hot, friendly and efficient service, not too long a wait considering how busy they were for food and top quality dishes. It's a shame it's so far away! But yes, it's worth the drive!