2011 brought to Restaurant Sat Bains what many had talked about for some time, a second Michelin star. Sat Bains has for over a decade now been recognised by industry peers as a strong and original talent: he won the Roux Scholarship in 1999, and a Michelin star in 2003 (Nottingham's first). Other awards are too numerous to list. A winning dish on the 2007 season of Great British Menu meanwhile brought him a wider public audience and now, with that second star and a vivacious personality, Sat Bains is all set to become a household name.
Even before Michelin's October announcement, Restaurant Sat Bains was a destination restaurant (despite its somewhat obscure location), but now, expect to have to plan a visit well in advance, especially on weekends. From London, it's a 2 hour train ride from St Pancras and then just 10 minutes in a taxi from the station to the restaurant so it is in fact quite accessible.
The menu offers a choice of a 7 or 10 course tasting menu (there's no a la carte). The pace of the meal is perfect but even so, with so much food, expect to make a full night of it. For those not local to Nottingham, the restaurant comes 'with rooms' which is handy and allows everyone to sit back, relax and enjoy the experience. The restaurant itself is relaxed and friendly while staff are similarly friendly as well as knowledgeable and efficient. Our eating partner for the night is @sped98, also known as Cumbriafoodie.
Little surprise perhaps that we choose the 10 course menu, and we're offered (as all guests are) the option to supplement this with the Duck Egg course, Sat's winning dish from the Great British Menu; we simply have to say yes.
First up though is an amuse of horseradish panna cotta, smoked bread, nettle puree, and a gastrique; an interesting start and certainly original. Of the early dishes though, the Duck Egg is the absolute star and it's no wonder that it was a GBM winner. Slow cooked egg through the widespread adoption of sous vide cooking is now making an appearance on many a restaurant menu but Sat Bains has honed this one to perfection. The ham and the crisp combine with the egg for the traditional breakfast feel but the addition of the peas adds additional layers of flavours and textures. It's a winner for sure.
Even before Michelin's October announcement, Restaurant Sat Bains was a destination restaurant (despite its somewhat obscure location), but now, expect to have to plan a visit well in advance, especially on weekends. From London, it's a 2 hour train ride from St Pancras and then just 10 minutes in a taxi from the station to the restaurant so it is in fact quite accessible.
The menu offers a choice of a 7 or 10 course tasting menu (there's no a la carte). The pace of the meal is perfect but even so, with so much food, expect to make a full night of it. For those not local to Nottingham, the restaurant comes 'with rooms' which is handy and allows everyone to sit back, relax and enjoy the experience. The restaurant itself is relaxed and friendly while staff are similarly friendly as well as knowledgeable and efficient. Our eating partner for the night is @sped98, also known as Cumbriafoodie.
Little surprise perhaps that we choose the 10 course menu, and we're offered (as all guests are) the option to supplement this with the Duck Egg course, Sat's winning dish from the Great British Menu; we simply have to say yes.
First up though is an amuse of horseradish panna cotta, smoked bread, nettle puree, and a gastrique; an interesting start and certainly original. Of the early dishes though, the Duck Egg is the absolute star and it's no wonder that it was a GBM winner. Slow cooked egg through the widespread adoption of sous vide cooking is now making an appearance on many a restaurant menu but Sat Bains has honed this one to perfection. The ham and the crisp combine with the egg for the traditional breakfast feel but the addition of the peas adds additional layers of flavours and textures. It's a winner for sure.
Amuse of horseradish panna cotta
Duck egg
Now the main menu kicks in. First, scallops roasted on the plancha, with chicory, coriander, seasame seeds, pumpkin seeds, shallots, textures of squash and pumpkin oil. A colourful dish, a beautiful scallop and attention to texture, something seen throughout the night. It's followed by Grey Mullet topped with ground cornflakes, crispy rice and pork crackling on braised leek with onion oil. The grey mullet and its crunchy topping is excellent though the braised leeks overpowered the subtleties of the fish in our view.
The next dish is 'Allium', the Latin word for garlic but is the broader taxonomic name for onion. This transforms to an aromatic bowl of caramelised shallots, a French onion soup, onion oil and crispy shallots.
The next dish is 'Allium', the Latin word for garlic but is the broader taxonomic name for onion. This transforms to an aromatic bowl of caramelised shallots, a French onion soup, onion oil and crispy shallots.
Scallop
Grey mullet
Allium
Moving to the middle section of the menu, we next have English Duck: duck liver parfait rolled in a duck ham, crispy duck skin on top with, on the side, 'Asian influences' of peanuts, sweetcorn, shiitake mushrooms and spring onions with a plum puree. Nice to see something different being done with the duck liver parfait, new combinations, good textures, the crispy duck skin possibly the star here for me, but a well composed dish that sits nicely in the menu.
This is followed pickled, salt baked and cured celeriac, served on a chicken and truffle jus. The chicken and truffle jus is the star and is so rich and comforting, we could happily spoon up a bowl of this heaven many times larger than the one we have in front of us now.
But it is the finally savoury course that is possibly the highlight of the meal: wild hare served with quince, fresh pear, cauliflower and shavings of bitter chocolate. On the side is a little toast with tartare of hare. The hare is exquisite, tender to cut, so full of flavour in the mouth, a joy by itself but complimented brilliantly with the quince. The hare really has been expertly handled and respected to deliver a dish this good.
This is followed pickled, salt baked and cured celeriac, served on a chicken and truffle jus. The chicken and truffle jus is the star and is so rich and comforting, we could happily spoon up a bowl of this heaven many times larger than the one we have in front of us now.
But it is the finally savoury course that is possibly the highlight of the meal: wild hare served with quince, fresh pear, cauliflower and shavings of bitter chocolate. On the side is a little toast with tartare of hare. The hare is exquisite, tender to cut, so full of flavour in the mouth, a joy by itself but complimented brilliantly with the quince. The hare really has been expertly handled and respected to deliver a dish this good.
Duck
Salt baked celeriac
Wild hare
A crossover dish follws: beetroot, goats cheese granita, lemon zest and a little salt. Colourful and beautifully presented.
For dessert fans, the menu is a real treat as there are three of them. First, Sea Buckthorn with caramel, soft meringue and pine. A beautiful balance of refreshing and sweet, again, stunningly presented, and ideally sized. Middle dessert is a chocolate dish, served with coffee caramel, yoghurt foam and coffee shortbread. Finally, it is 'Blackberry', served with almond granola, wood sorrel and vanilla ice cream. A fruit and nutty way to end the meal!
By now, we were all very full; portion sizes were sensible but it is a lot of food by any standards.
For dessert fans, the menu is a real treat as there are three of them. First, Sea Buckthorn with caramel, soft meringue and pine. A beautiful balance of refreshing and sweet, again, stunningly presented, and ideally sized. Middle dessert is a chocolate dish, served with coffee caramel, yoghurt foam and coffee shortbread. Finally, it is 'Blackberry', served with almond granola, wood sorrel and vanilla ice cream. A fruit and nutty way to end the meal!
By now, we were all very full; portion sizes were sensible but it is a lot of food by any standards.
Beetroot
Sea buckthorn
Chocolate
Blackberry
Chef Sat Bains
Sat Bains's name is above the door and Sat Bains is indeed in the kitchen. The whole 'hotel' is in fact is run by Sat and his wife Amanda so they are not absent landlords, it's very much all hands on deck even if he is surrounded by an extremely competent staff. Settling down to an after dinner whisky in the bar area following the meal, we were lucky enough to catch Sat passing through and spent a few minutes chatting to him. Clearly still delighted by the recent Michelin result, Sat comes across as a man of great passion, energy and humour, and it would be hard not to like him. There's also a feeling of pride (felt not for the first time this year) that Britain now boasts such a remarkable array of culinary talent.
The standard of cooking at Restaurant Sat Bains is excellent and even where traditional 'top end' ingredients are used like scallop and duck liver parfait, Sat seeks to provide an original twist to the dish, something not always tried even amongst his two star contemporaries.
For me though, I'll remember Sat Bains for setting a benchmark dish with the wild hare which was simply sublime. Going forward, any hare dish now served up in a restaurant will necessarily be held in comparison to Sat's dish tonight and will almost inevitably be found wanting. Any restaurant that can deliver such a defining plate is clearly worthy of Michelin recognition and we are delighted that Sat Bains is fully reaping the rewards of his hard work and natural talent.
Return to home page
Related links
Restaurant Sat Bains website
The standard of cooking at Restaurant Sat Bains is excellent and even where traditional 'top end' ingredients are used like scallop and duck liver parfait, Sat seeks to provide an original twist to the dish, something not always tried even amongst his two star contemporaries.
For me though, I'll remember Sat Bains for setting a benchmark dish with the wild hare which was simply sublime. Going forward, any hare dish now served up in a restaurant will necessarily be held in comparison to Sat's dish tonight and will almost inevitably be found wanting. Any restaurant that can deliver such a defining plate is clearly worthy of Michelin recognition and we are delighted that Sat Bains is fully reaping the rewards of his hard work and natural talent.
Return to home page
Related links
Restaurant Sat Bains website
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