Dine For A Tenner at The Viceroy

I've been considering taste testing the Viceroy on Hucknall Road for quite a while now. Particularly of interest has been their Monday and Tuesday night special menu offering 3 courses for £10. Searching for Nottingham's best curry could quite easily encompass Nottingham's 'Best-Value' curry too.

Having previously tried the nearby Rajah on Mansfield Road's £12.99 3 course set menu we're always on the lookout for somewhere and something new to try. The 3 courses at the Viceroy are only available on a Monday or Tuesday and whilst certainly there isn't the depth of menu as shown at Rajah you're paying dramatically less. I have to admit I thought there would be a catch but my meal actually included more that expected.

Starter at The Viceroy

Seekh Kebab

With a nice, varied selection to choose from I opted for the Seekh Kebab. Nicely flavoured rolls of lamb with subtle flavours. They worked fine as a starter although for my palate needed a little more kick- which came with the beautiful chilli sauce which accompanied the dish. My other choice on the menu would have been the Fish Pakora had I not chosen to go for the Fish Curry as a main. 

A selection of sauces for with your starter including a fantastic chilli sauce

Main Course at The Viceroy

I love a good fish curry. I know many people who shy away from it but a well spiced curry really brings the flavour out of a nice piece of fish. My Fish Curry at the Viceroy was no exception to this with a generous serving of Cod coated in a moderately thick Tomato based medium hot sauce. Warming enough to make me forget just how a abysmal it was outside with the cold and rain but not enough to bring me out in a hot sweat.

The flavours worked well with the cod and I could make out some slightly lemony hints within the curry too to really further enhance the flavour of the cod. Definitely a curry I would happy eat again and again.

Fish Curry at the Viceroy

A nice bonus was that within the £10 Chef's Set Menu I got both a Butter Naan and Pilau Rice to accompany my curry. I had initially expected to pay to add a Naan Bread to my meal so this was a very pleasant and additionally filling surprise.

The Butter Naan with very nice. It came out cut into three generous slices so no need to mess around cutting and I could simply dip in and sample the curry sauce. Good enough for me to eat on it's own, the Naan was light and easy to eat.

Butter Naan

Usually when you go to an Indian Restaurant it's difficult to decide just how many portions of rice you want as portion size varies. The Pilau Rice that accompanied my curry was definitely a 'Liam-sized portion' allowing me to eat my Fish Curry in two generous servings. The rice was fantastically fluffy and went down well with the thick curry sauce.

Pilau Rice 

Dessert

If you want Dessert in the Chef's Set Menu you have the choice of Ice Cream or a Coffee. I opted for a coffee to wash down my meal.

My Thoughts on The Viceroy Nottingham

I really enjoyed my meal at The Viceroy. The restaurant is simply decorated, I was greeted with a warm welcome and service was very attentive without being 'pushy'. For a tenner I had a wonderful curry. I would greatly recommend the Fish Curry, certainly if you're popping in for their Monday and Tuesday special offer meal. 

I'll certainly be going back and despite my love of trying somewhere new I know when I'm on to a good thing. 

A Belated Mothers Day at The Lion, Farnsfield

Mum can be pretty fussy when it comes to eating out. We first took her to the Lion a couple of years ago and made the mistake of letting her have a look at their website which wasn't in the state it is in now. Her actual response was "It looks a sh*thole, why on earth are we going there?". It took a lot of coaxing to get her there and it's since become one of her local favourites. Having popped in one saturday night before we eventually took her we knew there was something amiss with their old website and can safely say all has changed now.

Situated on the road that passes between Southwell and White Post Farm, The Lion is one of those pubs you would only really know about unless you drove past yet it seems to function well between it's place as a village pub and gastro-pub. They've certainly learn that good food will bring people in from the local area and beyond whilst a large bar area will serve drinkers well.

Mothers Day should be a great opportunity to take Mum out for a lovely meal. She wants for nothing so a day or night where someone spoils her is very much to her liking. Sadly she wasn't available this Mothering Sunday so it was decided to do a midweek treat instead the following week. Last year we went to the very impressive Tom Brown's at Gunthorpe so a trip to somewhere different is always good and a great opportunity to put together a review for the blog.

We arrived on time for our meal and were swiftly seated in The Lions very swanky dining area. It's stylish and homely at the same time whilst encouraging friendliness and conversation to flow.

Our Main Meals at The Lion Farnsfield

We opted for two meals off the specials board. Red Snapper with a Lemon and Garlic Risotto, as well as Braised Oxtail,

The Snapper came out looking fantastic with the fish beautifully cooked and easy to flake away with just your fork. The risotto was delicately flavoured and dripping in an oily garlic sauce. The risotto itself was very moist so I'm not sure the dish itself needed to be swimming in sauce but it added a lovely colour to the plate.

Red Snapper on a Garlic and Lemon Risotto @ The Lion

Our second main was the Braised Oxtail. Normally when you slow cook oxtail we would expect it to simply fall away from the bone. On this occassion we were served the oxtail as knuckles and without such a long cooking process it did mean some hard work in clearing the precious meat from the bone. We'd have liked to have seen it cooked for longer for less effort but it was beautifully flavoured in a moorish red wine gravy which added well to the dish.

Braised Oxtail @ The Lion

Desserts at The Lion, Farnsfield

For dessert we opted for the Black Forest Cheesecake and Treacle Sponge. Both came out looking lovely with the Black Forest Cheesecake looking particularly well put together with a subtle chocolate cheesecake with cherries to add the Black Forest effect.

Black Forest Cheesecake @ The Lion

Treacle Sponge with Honeycomb Ice Cream at the Lion

Pieminister Comes to Nottingham- We Ate All the Pies

We love it when something different catches our eye and the arrival of Pieminister has really caught our attention- It's just such a shame it's been a busy March for us and we've barely spent any time around Nottingham.

Pieminister have opened up a new Restaurant on Long Row near the Old Market Square ready to satisfy us all in the way only a good traditional pie can. To our knowledge they were only available at BrewDog Nottingham up until now.

Fancy a Pie? Head over to Pieminister Nottingham

The Bowman Hucknall- Where's My Flaming Pulled Pork?

Sometimes you get an offer of a bite to eat out and think "There's no need to bother with the food blog tonight". This evening was supposed to be one of those occasions when my dad offered an impromptu opportunity to catch up without the need to cook.

We headed down to the Bowman on the outskirts of Hucknall as it's a little bit quicker than a drive up to Mapperley Top or Arnold from mine and we fancied a change. It's ages since I went in the Bowman but having cycled past plenty of times.

Ordering a Pulled Pork Burger I thought I'd get a generous serving of Pulled Pork but this arrived.

Where's the Pulled Pork? At the Bowman Hucknall

After raising the issue with a member of staff I was told that I had been served "A Portion" to which I was rather shocked. If that's how much Flamming Grills class as a portion of Pulled Pork they really should be calling the item something different and not having Pulled Pork as the lead in  the description. I was shocked!

The member of staff did go back to the kitchen to get me some more but in my eyes the damage had already been done. If that's a serving I certainly won't be returning to the Bowman anytime soon.

In terms of a review the burger itself was rather nice with a lovely toasted brioche bun however the Pulled Pork, despite being in a slightly spicy sauce was dry and very tough. I defintely can't recommend a trip to a Flaming Grill on last night's evidence.