Hang out
A groovy little eating place. A part restaurant, part charcuterie bar in the recently revived and re-vamped foodie hub of Bedford Street in the centre of Middlesbrough, home to a number of artisan and independent cafes, bars and shops.
Decked out
Funky wallpaper, retro chairs, bare walls. Feels modern and welcoming. A well-flicked shelf of read-me books offers up a nice way to while away your time.
Sip
An impressive array of wine, gin, craft beers and cocktails. Wines well-matched with some of the cheese and charcuterie plates on offer.
Food matters
Charcuterie is their thing, so you can pounce on a platter of hand-made and well-sourced meats, which might have their origins in Italy, Spain or Britain. You can add regional cheeses to these and eat them daytime or evening. A very continental approach. In the evenings, there’s a menu taking in specials, usually with a hint of the smoker in there. Also a neat menu which covers fish, meat and veggie options. The brunch offering of French toast, house-cured streaky bacon, seasonal fruit, thyme and honey syrup sounds pretty splendid.
We ate
A three-course Sunday lunch (this was Father’s Day) was splendid value at £19. A starter of mackerel pate offered up a flavoursome moussey pate on dense sourdough with an impressive flourish of herbs, pickles and fine sauerkraut. A textbook terrine of chicken chorizo and lemon came with perky home-made piccalilli as a great accompaniment – and that crunchy sourdough. Main courses of sirloin were a bloody joy (if that’s how you like your beast – and we do). Thick layers of pink sirloin – Grand Reserve from Country Valley up the road. Nicely cooked and with a bold, airy Yorkshire pudding alongside. We were impressed by the veggies – a big bowl of greens and buttery parsnips, plus creamy leeks. Lemon sole as another main was a fleshy piece, but cooked just right for ease of eating off the bone. It was on a bed of spinach with juicy, sweet chorizo nuggets. We only managed one dessert between three of us – lunch lightweights! Comfort food at its best; baked custard with stem ginger and punchy smoke rhubarb, plus gingerbread ice cream. Gone in seconds. We plan on going back soon to dive in to some of those made-with-love charcuterie platters.
