Tag: Fenwick

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Blog In-Store Dining Newcastle Restaurant Reviews

A First Taste of Hjem : Express Menu at the Fenwick Newcastle Pop-Up

I’ve been familiar with the word hjem all of my life. As a child growing up in the North East of England, a person’s home was often referred to as their “yem”. In later years, when a turn of events led to me living in Norway, the word became part of daily life.

Hjem is the Norwegian word for home. My observation of life in Scandinavia was that people would far rather be outdoors in the fresh air than stay inside. Still, home is a place of warmth and comfort which you feel glad to return to.

Restaurant Hjem is nestled in the Northumberland countryside and uses produce from the region in its Scandinavian-style cooking. The restaurant holds a Michelin Star which it first gained in 2021. Hjem currently has a residency in Fenwick department store in Newcastle and I had the opportunity to try it out last week.

The Food

With less time available than I would have liked, I opted for the “Express” three-course set menu. (Though I was assured there was no need to rush!) Three leisurely courses could be enjoyed in the time I had.

Slices of chilled, cured salmon arranged on a plate with a garnish of thinly sliced pickled cucumber, two different dressings, sprigs of dill and golden crumbs.
Gravlax, Dill Creme Fraiche, Pickled Cucumber

The menu started off with a plate of dressed gravlax. The salmon was tender and silky textured. The curing process provided seasoning without overpowering the flavour of the fish. Freshly pickled cucumber added a slight crunch and a sweet sharpness to balance out the richness of the salmon. Freshness was added with dill-infused creme fraiche and a drizzle of oil/vinegar-based herb dressing. A final flourish of fresh dill sprigs with their grassy, anise flavour and some crunchy crumbs added texture and balance to the dish. The flavour combination carried me straight back to my Norwegian home. The starter was accompanied by a generous portion of gorgeous, crusty sourdough bread and butter.

A cooked, sliced, Flat Iron steak arranged on a plate with a garnish of dressed, green salad leaves. Flakes of sea salt crystals can be seen on the surface of the seared steak.
Flat Iron Steak
A close-up image of golden, crisp-looking french-fry style chips with a sprinkling of red and black spices.

The second course was a Flat Iron steak with brown butter hollandaise. Had I been handed a bowl of that sauce, a spoon and nothing else, I’d have left the restaurant happy. It was as rich and deeply flavoured a hollandaise as you will ever taste, but it was also incredibly light due to aeration. It was just exceptional.

The Flat Iron steak was well seasoned and carefully cooked. The meat had been seared well which enhanced its flavour. The crust provided texture and a slight “chew” giving way to the very soft pink interior. It oozed juice and flavour. The spicy fries were hot and crunchy and the salad – merely a handful of mixed leaves – was elevated to something special by thoughtful dressing.

A close-up image of glistening, thick rice pudding with a pool of dark red berry jam. A sprinkling of ground cinnamon can be seen garnishing the dish.

To end the meal, a dish of creamy rice pudding – in the Swedish Style – was served along with jam. The ten-year-old me would not believe a time would come when I’d love rice pudding. I couldn’t bear the stuff. At that age, I’d yet to discover the Scandinavian (and Greek) way of making a very thick and creamy pudding and serving it well chilled. I didn’t know how good it can be.

The jam (I like the simplicity of jam being called what it is without resorting to extravagant vocabulary) was a dark, sweet, flavoursome conserve of autumn berries with just enough sharpness to counter the richness of the dairy dessert. Once again, I was transported back to my former Nordic home but at the same time to the blue skies of the Greek Islands.

The Wine

The wine list was interesting. A couple of wines caught my attention but I listened to descriptions and suggestions before ordering. To accompany the salmon, I chose the recommended skin-contact wine. Sometimes referred to as “orange wine” (but not always particularly orangey in colour) I’ve never found one I’d like to drink for the sake of it. Pair it with the right food, however, and it takes on a whole new character. This wine’s aroma held no appeal – fresh but not fruity, sharpish but without depth and just the faintest whiff of something akin to petroleum. Tasted with the gravlax, it started to feel creamy and revealed a richness and slight spice. Just enough sharpness remained to balance the rich salmon.

Two possible wines were suggested to accompany the steak. I opted for the slightly lighter red which had peppery and faintly smoky notes. Again, its richness and smoothness emerged when combined with both the meat and that stunning hollandaise.

To finish, I enjoyed a glass of sparkling Vouvray to accompany the pudding. Vouvray, from the Loire Valley, is one of my favourite wines and I don’t often see the sparkling version on restaurant lists. I wouldn’t have thought of pairing this wine with such a rich dessert but the suggestion worked well.

Prices:

For the purpose of this stand-alone review of the Express menu, I’ll limit any information to this meal only. The price of the Express menu is £25.00. A service charge of 10% is added which I understand to be discretionary. (In my opinion, the service merited the “tip”.) Of course, add a glass of wine or two and an extra snack and the price will quickly climb. It would be easy to double your bill.

Nonetheless, I’m a great fan of the model of set lunches. They offer diners the opportunity to sample a chef’s talents and cooking style at a modest price when compared with eating similar dishes from a la carte or tasting menus. For me, this Express menu rates among the best value in town at the present time. (A vegetarian equivalent menu is also offered.)

Accessibility:

The restaurant is on the first floor of the store. Lifts and escalators are available. There are toilets close to the restaurant but these are accessed by stairs. An adapted toilet is available on the first floor.

In summary:

Sometimes it’s best not to mess with traditional foods and dishes. This meal demonstrated that principle very well. There was no part of the Express menu which was especially innovative or experimental. It was simply a collection of good quality ingredients prepared and cooked with skill and with a very pleasing result.

Whilst the decor and ambience of a temporary, in-store dining room is unlikely to match the carefully crafted styling of the flagship restaurant, this space is bright, airy and uncomplicated – in line with Nordic principles. Service was excellent. Staff were friendly, engaging and knowledgeable. I learned enough about this restaurant, its head chef and team members to want to return and sample more.

Details:

Head Chef: Alex Nietosvuori 

Address: Restaurant Hjem, Fenwick, 39 Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7AS

Fenwick Website: fenwick.co.uk

Booking Website: favouritetable.com

A.P 31 October 2024

Photo Credits: © A.P.

Please note: an edited version of this review appears on the Tripadvisor website under the username Aileron777.

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Blog In-Store Dining Newcastle Restaurant Reviews

Saltwater Fish Company

Whenever I’m visiting a city for the first time, I seek out fish restaurants in the vicinity. I adore seafood and will eat it at every opportunity. With that in mind, I can’t really explain why it took so long to visit Newcastle’s Saltwater Fish Company. Actually, I do know the reason. I don’t like bar stools. More specifically, I dislike sitting on high seating at a bar counter for anything other than a drink or snack.

The Seating

Saltwater Fish Company’s dining area is arranged around two counters with bar stools which are immediately adjacent to a fishmonger’s chilled display cabinet and an open kitchen. Fenwick Food Hall customers can buy wet fish to cook at home or they can stay and eat at the dining counters.

Eventually, the strength of temptation overcame my dislike of perching and I braced myself to try some light dishes at the elevated, marble-topped counters. After a few visits I was relieved to discover that it is possible to be seated at a “normal” dining table in the attached-at-the-hip Porterhouse Butcher and Grill and order food from Saltwater’s menu. You can even mix and match. Choose one course from Saltwater then the next course from Porterhouse, for example.

The Food

I’ve taken advantage of that flexibility on many occasions and grown to be enamoured with the quality of the produce and the skilled treatment of the seafood. I’ve also appreciated the friendly service with staff willing to advise on dishes and accompanying wines. The wine list is well chosen and from time to time, some very interesting “guest” wines are available.

It would be difficult to choose a favourite dish from this kitchen. Each time I’ve eaten a meal there I’ve been inclined to rate it as the “best yet”.

The key to the success of Saltwater’s cooking is the use of supremely fresh produce as a starting point.  Then there is a willingness to add classic sauces and garnishes to some of the dishes while at other times offering inventive, even rather surprising combinations.  Whether traditional or avant-garde, the accompaniments never overshadow the fish.  The seafood remains the star of the show every time a plate leaves the kitchen.

An All Day Menu changes with the seasons and offers a range of dishes from snacks to main courses and desserts.  In addition, a blackboard displays the day’s specials. 

A speciality of this restaurant which I have yet to try are their “Fruits de Mer” platters. I’m also of little help in recommending desserts as I’m usually too full before I reach that section of the menu!

The most effective way to describe the variety of Saltwater’s food is visually!  Some highlights:

Oysters: raw, cold dressed and hot dressed:

Calamari: Grilled and Deep Fried:

Scallops:

Main Courses and Side Dishes:

And the winner is:

I did say it would be difficult to choose a favourite dish from this kitchen. Not impossible though. Utterly hopeless at cooking monkfish at home, I only eat this fish when a skilled professional cooks it for me.

When the daily “specials” board offered a starter of deep fried monkfish pieces accompanied by wild garlic aioli, the combination sounded irresistible. It was the juiciest, most flavoursome, most tender monkfish I’ve eaten and all encased in a hot, crunchy coating. The aioli – from foraged wild garlic – had the texture of silk and a flavour which had depth but avoided overpowering the fish. It was just spectacular in every respect.

Accessibility:

Saltwater Fish Company is situated on the ground floor of Fenwick department store. The nearest store entrance is located on Northumberland Street and can be accessed without the need to negotiate steps. The restaurant does not have it’s own bathroom facility but toilets and washrooms are situated within the store and can be accessed either by lift or escalators.

Prices:

Starters are currently priced from £9 to £19, main courses from £18.50 to £48 and desserts at £7 to £13. Oysters are normally priced starting from £4 but are often on offer. Plateaux de Fruits de Mer start at £80.

Comment:

I’ve eaten in seafood restaurants on the French and Portuguese Atlantic Coast, in Mediterranean and Aegean villages, in Norway and in the southern United States. I’ve enjoyed fish in Britain cooked by Nathan Outlaw, Tom Brown and Roy Brett. The dishes coming out of Chris Eagle’s kitchen at Saltwater Fish Company rank among the best I’ve ever tasted.

Details:

Executive Chef: Chris Eagle

Address: Porterhouse Butcher and Grill, Fenwick Food Hall, Northumberland Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7AS

Telephone Reservations: 0191 239 6613

Restaurant Website: saltwaterfish.co.uk

Reservations can also be made through Open Table’s website or App

Management: Terry Laybourne’s 21 Hospitality Group

A.P. 26 August 2023

Abbreviated versions of this review appear on tripadvisor.co.uk under the profile Aileron (@aileron777 ) and on OpenTable under the profile AmaziliaPeacock.

Photo Credits:

All photographs © AP

Categories
In-Store Dining Newcastle Restaurant Reviews

Porterhouse Butcher and Grill : Review

A glass of champagne and a wooden tray with three small dishes of snacks: green olives, savoury popcorn and spiced nuts. Set on a marble-topped dining table.
Afternoon Offer: Champagne and nibbles.

For some time I’d considered the best deal in town to be the afternoon treat offered by Porterhouse Butcher and Grill.  For £9.99 it was possible to take a break from the bustling streets and stores of Newcastle’s busiest shopping district and sit in the quiet and calm space the restaurant offered.   Sipping chilled champagne while grazing on savoury treats, I found it to be the most reviving, restoring and really quite delicious indulgence.  

What impressed me was not only the wine from a respected champagne house – served perfectly chilled – but the thought and preparation which had gone into the tray of “nibbles”.  Succulent anchovy-stuffed olives, a selection of nuts spiced and roasted beautifully and – something which has claimed its place in my list of favourite savoury snacks – truffle flavoured popcorn.  A variety of colours, flavours and textures all of which complemented the champagne well.   That afternoon offer achieved the goal I suspect it was intended to – to encourage the customer to stay or to return for a more substantial meal.

Over a period of months I tried light dishes in Porterhouse. Those light meals and “small plates” were all enjoyable with good quality ingredients carefully cooked and presented. On my last visit – just prior to the onset of pandemic-induced restaurant closures – the main feature of the meal was steak. Porterhouse offers a range of dishes but – as the name points to – what this restaurant is really about is good quality steak.

Cuts of steak come in many shapes and sizes and to make matters more complicated, different countries and regions sometimes use different names for the same cut. Not relying on the menu alone, I asked a staff member for advice and recommendation. This proved to be a wise move as the meal I received was exactly what I’d had in mind.

Picanha Steak

The 220g pichana steak was ordered. It came with a very simple garnish – watercress leaves – and a portion of chips along with a selection of mustards and a béarnaise condiment. The presentation could not have been plainer in fact I’d describe it as austere. The simple display served to make the meat the focal point. There was nowhere for the chef to hide. No pouring sauce to cover imperfections whether in appearance or flavour, no frills to distract. The steak would have to be cooked to perfection and a very good quality piece of meat.

The steak was tender, juicy and packed with flavour, having been seasoned well enough to enhance but not so much as to overpower. The thin-cut chips ( people outside of the UK would likely call these French Fries ) were hot, crunchy and well seasoned. The watercress, which had appeared little more than a colourful decoration, proved to be a good compliment for the steak as it provided freshness and a peppery kick. To accompany the meal, a glass of Amaru Malbec was an excellent match – just as the waiter had advised it would be.

The cost of that 220g picanha steak meal was £19.90. (Currently £24.80) There are cheaper steak meals to be found in Newcastle city centre and, to be frank, that is part of the reason it took me a while to stay for a full meal at this restaurant. A mental barrier had initially gone up at the idea of spending this amount on a meal at a venue other than a “proper restaurant” – one where it would be easy to sit and relax and I’d be happy to pay for the restaurant experience as much as the food itself.

What those occasional champers-and-nibbles treats had provided was the opportunity to discover that once inside the dining area and settled, it really did offer a “real” restaurant experience. Staff were friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, food was cooked very well using top-rate produce and the ambience was really quite enjoyable.

The decor of the dining area is what I would term a muted monochrome with cheerful additions of colour. Rather than a severe black and white contrast, ivory colours are set against a backdrop painted dark brown and upholstery in a muted orange shade adds warmth. Marble topped tables add to the cool, airy feel of the dining area. Should you wish to watch the chefs in action, stools are available to sit at a counter and watch over the food preparation area. The restaurant is not fully closed off from the store, so it is still possible to observe activity in Fenwick’s Food Hall, but I can’t say I’ve found that feature either noisy or an intrusion.

You may be wondering where my descriptions of starters and light meals are hiding. Reviews on those dishes will be included in a future review because – and this is not as complicated as it sounds – they came from a different restaurant! Porterhouse Butcher and Grill is situated immediately adjacent to another 21 Hospitality Group restaurant, The Saltwater Fish Company. Another reason for my hesitance to dine at Porterhouse had been, quite simply, my preference for seafood. It took me a very long time to learn that these two restaurants operate what I would term “a mix and match” approach. On many an occasion I’d been undecided whether a juicy steak main course trumped a succulent seafood starter until I eventually “twigged” that I could combine the two.

Prices:

Steak cuts and other main courses from the Grill Menu range from £19.90 to £41. Snacks are offered for around £5 and “small plates” are priced from £10.50 to £18.80. Desserts cost from £6 to £9.50. In addition to the Grill Menu, a blackboard list offering larger cuts of steak and a mixed grill menu allowing customers to compile their own selection of items is available.

Wine is offered by the glass starting from £6.70. Bottles begin at £26 and go North (quite a long way North!) into the range of wines which the restaurant describes as its “Big Guns”.

Look out for offers such as the one currently available at the time of publishing: “Autumn in the City” which includes a 150g rump steak served with peppercorn butter, watercress and shallot salad and thin-cut chips for £14.50.

Accessibility:

Porterhouse Butcher and Grill is situated on the ground floor of Fenwick Department Store. The nearest store entrance is located on Northumberland Street and can be accessed without the need to negotiate steps. Although the restaurant does not have it’s own bathroom facility, several toilets and washrooms are situated within the store and are accessible by lift or escalators.

Comment:

In my opinion, the cost of meals at Porterhouse mean that this venue is one I’d have to regard as a “treat” rather than an everyday fuelling station. In some respects, this reflects my personal approach to buying meat products in general. I’d rather eat a small amount of a very high quality product infrequently than purchase cheaper meat more often from outlets where the source of the products and their farmers’methods of rearing and feeding animals is unknown.

In Summary:

This in-store restaurant from the 21 Hospitality Group offers freshly prepared food from carefully selected producers. Staff are approachable and friendly and help customers make menu choices that they will enjoy without, in my experience, attempting to up-sell either the food or wine. The dining area is comfortable, airy and provides a good atmosphere in which to relax.

Details:

Executive Chef: Chris Eagle

Address: Porterhouse Butcher and Grill, Fenwick Food Hall, Northumberland St, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7AS

Telephone Reservations: 0191 239 6612

Restaurant Website: porterhousencl.co.uk

Store Website: fenwick.co.uk

Reservations can be made through Open Table’s website or App

A butchery counter is located at the entrance to restaurant, within Fenwick Food Hall.

A.P. 31 October 2021

Categories
In-Store Dining Newcastle Restaurant Reviews

Porterhouse Butcher and Grill

A view of the exterior of Fenwick Department store in Newcastle upon Tyne as viewed from Northumberland Street.
Fenwick Department Store, Newcastle upon Tyne

I was pleased to receive an email a few days ago from 21 Hospitality Group, the group of restaurants and cafes in Newcastle and York headed by chef Terry Laybourne.  I was pleased to learn that  Porterhouse, one of the group’s restaurants within Fenwick department store in Newcastle city centre, is once again able to offer dining seven days a week and I was glad to have my memory jogged back to the last time I dined there. 

To be more specific, my visit to Porterhouse in March 2020 was the last time I ate out anywhere – just as the global pandemic was beginning to apply its grip and activities which we had come to view as normal began to be curtailed.

I remember my thoughts as I sat at my table watching the staff working around the grill and service areas:  “This may well be my last visit for a while”.  As the months passed, I started to view that meal out as a sort of pre-Covid personal landmark .  I pledged to myself that if this restaurant could survive the financial and practical difficulties the pandemic was causing that I would make it the first restaurant to head for when the dust settled from this extraordinary global event.

I wondered what might have been holding me back from reviewing the restaurant.  Perhaps uncertainty about prospects for the survival and continuation of businesses in the post-pandemic phase had been acting as a restraint.   Now, with the restaurant up and running, it’s time I converted my recollections and scribbled notes into a report.  Look out for a review of Porterhouse Butcher and Grill midweek.

A.P.

24 October 2021

Photo Credit: ID 156303264 © Kerry Taylor | Dreamstime.com