Thursday, March 28, 2024

Epic meal at Epi

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Chef's snacks

Louise Robinson samples fine dining at a Bromsgrove eaterie.

Well, what can I say. . . this was definitely not the sort of food we would usually go out to eat.

My husband and his friend usually prefer steak and chips, but when we were invited to try a seven-course menu at Epi for free, I thought, “How nice!” – so off we went.

Epi is located just off Bromsgrove High Street in a small courtyard, in what I believe is one of Bromsgrove’s oldest buildings.

The venue, which is open Wednesday to Saturday offering a variety of set menus, is joint-owned by chef Nathan Eades and his wife Charlie, and Ben and Vicky Ascott (of Ben’s Lickey Hills Fish Bar fame), and describes itself as a “modern British restaurant serving the best produce that Worcestershire has to offer”.

Our party of four was led upstairs to the dining area, which was lovely, warm and cosy – there were several couples, and a larger table with a group of friends enjoying the food.

Charlie presented us with the wine list, and three of us decided on a bottle of red wine while the fourth went for a bottled lager (real ale from Bird’s Brewery is also available).

Guided by Charlie, we chose a bottle of Percheron, which was lovely and went down well with our starters.

First up was a tray of “chef’s snacks” (above); this consisted of carrot bhajis (very tasty) and small biscuits with a tomato and onion salsa and small pieces of salmon – not usually my cup of tea, but unusual and quite pleasant.

Next came a selection of breads – soda bread, and honey and apricot with pumpkin seeds – all served nice and warm with butter.

The bread was served on a stone . . . no, they hadn’t run out of plates; it was meant to be served this way! It looked great and tasted even better.

Pork terrine was the next course, served with thin slices of pear, a rye biscuit, and pear sauce; all very tasty.

Next on the list was haddock mousse, served with pickled vegetables and small pieces of beetroot accompanied with a beetroot sauce.

This unusual dish wasn’t really to my personal taste but the beetroot sauce was lovely – I would have liked some more!

Then came a course called Butternut Squash, Orzo, Caper and Sage, which was a nice light risotto-style dish, and full of flavour.

The next and largest course was slow-cooked beef with homemade faggots, roasted carrot, swede and heritage potato, served with a jus. This was absolutely beautiful and just the right amount, as by now we were all becoming quite full.

The first of two dessert courses was a pineapple slice with a pina colada puree and coconut sponge, with a sprinkle of chilli – a bit different but again very nice, tasty and light.

Last but not least was the chocolate ganache served with white chocolate powder and caramelised milk. This was every chocoholic’s dream, very rich, very chocolatey and very lovely.

Wow, what a feast! The men in the party had joked earlier that maybe we would need to pop to the chippy on the way home, but believe me, there was no need as we were all very full.

All in all this was a lovely evening – lovely atmosphere, fantastic service from both Charlie and our waitress Kyra, great wine, and great company.

With Valentine’s Day coming up, this would be a really great place to come if you’re out to impress, and there’s a special menu for the occasion.

The seven-course menu costs £40 per head, while wine starts at £11 for a bottle of house wine.

Epi Restaurant:
Satchwells Yard,  off Bromsgrove High Street
B61 8AQ
Tel: 01527 878242
https://www.epirestaurant.co.uk