Cafe Rouge Summer Menu Launch, Birmingham
I last visited Birmingham Mailbox's Cafe Rouge restaurant at the beginning of the year when I was kindly invited to their Secret Steak Supper Club event. I was not only pleased with the standard of service from their team but their food was extremely tasty and definitely encouraged me to visit their restaurant chain again. I re-invited back to the same restaurant to sample their Summer menu along with some Gin Bloomers to wash it all down with. With the weather being glorious as it was and the restaurant doors open to look over the canal it was the perfect atmosphere for the evening.
This time we got to sample some of their cold meats, Pate and a taste for their starters. I thoroughly enjoyed the pate dish and cold meats but wasn't too much of a fan of their onion soup that was on offer. It wasn't to my preference but at least I gave it a good go.
If you're looking for somewhere to dine during the Summer then Cafe Rouge really have a wide range of dishes to suit your needs, including Gluten Free and Vegetarian options. We decided to sample one of their new dishes on offer in the Main Menu on this visiting, Jordan sampled their Lamb Cassoulet. A recipe which is inspired by the traditional southern French cassoulet (stew dish) that originates from the province of Languedoc.
The dish consists of a tender rump of lamb, served pink and on a rich cassoulet of haricot beans, bacon lardons, spinach, carrots, celery and onions. The lamb was cooked to perfection with a tender centre of beautiful pink meat which was offset by the crisp outer texture to produce a lovely cut of lamb. The cassoulet left a little to be desired, but otherwise a delicious meal.
I decided on a more simplistic meal for this evening, as I find it hard to find some dishes which are suited to my personal palette. I opted for the Demi Poulet, a half roast chicken marinated in garlic & herbs, served with thyme, fries and gravy. The serving was a generous helping, with the chicken taking up most of the space on the plate. I thought the meal was simplistic but did the ticket, however there wasn't enough gravy on the side therefore the dish became quite dry after a while. I would recommend that you'd ask for more of the gravy if you don't want the meal to become too dry so quickly.
If you're wondering where to head this Summer for a fine dinner in a great restaurant then I would definitely recommend that you head on over to Cafe Rouge in Birmingham's Mailbox!
thanks for reading,
*Restaurant Review. Invited to review Cafe Rouge's Summer Menu. All photos, views and words are my own.