Sat Bains, Nottingham.

Lost for words (almost)

If I was to tell you what was less good about all the other restaurants’ tasting menus I have had over the years, you will see why Sat Bains is so superior.

The individual courses are all very nice but they don’t stand on their own as an inventive dish. A nice piece of cod and a slice of chorizo is fine but I could do that. Sat invents dishes that sound bizarre on paper but are amazing to taste. Yes, smoked eel and chicken velouté does work! Yes, chicken parfait and frozen granola does work!
The courses come one after another. Fairly obvious, but the thing is that they don’t link to each other or complement each other. At Sat’s, each course reminds you a bit of the last one and leaves you anticipating the next. The crossover course, taking you from savoury to sweet is brilliant. This time we had a sundried tomato jammy dodger (yes, it does work!). Last time is was miso fudge.
Wine waiters like to show off and nudge you to the expensive end. At Sat’s, the sommelier is a genius. I simply described the flavour of wine we wanted and he found one for us, a delicious Washington State syrah. Next time I will have the accompanying wine-tasting menu too (although when I did that at Hambleton Hall I lost memory of the last two desserts, I think one was fois gras ice-cream but that’s only because I kept the menu).

So please keep it up Sat and team, you are the best by far!