What's New On The Sticky Beak Blog


Casa Hotel
Chesterfield, Derbyshire
01246 245990
View The Full Profile
A Recent Dining In Review


Sunday Lunch At The Robin Hood Near Baslow
This Review | All Reviews

Sticky Beaks' Hot Wings Award



Like Us On Facebook


Dinner At Cocina Restaurant @ Casa, Chesterfield


Published On Sunday 18 Oct 2015 by Sticky Beak
See Recent Dining Out Reviews | See All Recent Reviews


Last night saw the Boy Wonder and I at the very swanky Cocina restaurant located inside Casa, Chesterfields only four star hotel.

The hotel itself is very striking from the roadside and the restaurant is no less impressive. Beautifully polished hardwood floors are throughout the space, with dark wood tables and chairs that have neutral textured upholstery on them. The display shelves and interior walls are a combination of dark and lighter woods with modern, angular lines being the theme. The inclusion of floaty drapes between the tables and recessed ceiling lights soften the look so that the overall effect is one of cosy contemporariness, and it is exceptionally pleasing to the eye.

Cara (the restaurant manager) and her team are absolutely at the top of their game; last night was a very busy weekend service period and the whole restaurant was running like clockwork. I love the uniform the servers wear, black trousers paired with a deep claret shirt and black waistcoat, and finished off with a mid-shin length black apron; the whole look was clean, professional and trendy.



As we sat down, a very pleasant young lady asked if we would like some bread to nibble and water for the table whilst we looked through the menu.

For our starters we had the Ham Hock Terrine with Onion puree, Apple chutney and toasted bread and the Lobster and Crayfish ravioli with shellfish bisque, fresh Chervil, braised Fennel and Lemon dressing. The terrine was, according to His Nibs, wonderfully meaty, nicely seasoned and the chunky chutney really accentuated its flavours beautifully. I must say, the little piece of terrine I tried was fantastic; very flavoursome.

My own ravioli was simply divine with its delicate filling caressing my taste buds gently. The pasta was al dente, down to the exact second of perfection, and the flavours of Chervil and Fennel worked harmoniously together to enhance the delicate seafood flavours in the bisque.



Next up were the main courses; fillet of wild Stone Bass with braised Chicory, Orange infused Fennel puree, wilted Spinach, tender stem Broccoli, creamy Potato and an orange and shellfish reduction for me and the rump of Walton Lodge lamb with a Walton Lodge Faggot, Rosemary Pomme Anna, spiced Aubergine puree, grilled Courgette, Salsa Verde and rich roasting jus for The Man Bird.

For those that don’t know, the owner of Casa, Mr Steve Perez, also has his own farm (Walton Lodge) and takes great pride in rearing his own meat to present to diners in his restaurant. The quality of The Boy Wonders Lamb was second-to-none.  I always maintain that you can tell well reared animals in the taste of the meat they produce, so I think it safe to say that Mr Perez’ lambs are as happy as Larry J.

Cutlery was surplus to requirements as the meat just fell apart and melted on the tongue, it was so tender. Regular readers will know of His Nibs aversion to bloody meat, so he was a bit nervy when the server told him the lamb was presented pink. No need to worry however as the meat was perfectly pink, well rested and no blood in sight. The Faggot was a really punchy little number; nice and dense in texture with a great bite to the seasoning that made it a great contrast to the delicate lamb rump and the aubergine puree went superbly well with it. The Pomme Anna made quite an impression too with its rosemary hint.
Judging by the portion on my plate I think the world record for Stone Bass was broken when this beauty was caught, and the Chef certainly did it justice. The skin was well seasoned and deliciously crisp and revealed a juicy, plump, firm flesh that had a beautiful sweetness to it on the palate. As you would expect in a restaurant of Cocina’s calibre the vegetables were cooked to perfection, and provided the ideal counterpart to the fish.

We indulged in side orders of Polenta chips with shaved Parmesan and Tomato chutney and a Rocket and Parmesan salad with Balsamic dressing, both of which were delicious. In fact, The Man declared the fries and chutney “to die for”, high praise indeed.



Pudding was just amazing. I chose the Fig and Pistachio tart with Rum syrup and Vanilla cream and Boy Wonder opted for a Dark Chocolate and Caramel fondant with Honeycomb ice cream and Blood Orange syrup.

The Fondant was delicious and rich with a gorgeous oozy middle that had my companion in raptures of delight; the ice cream was equally tasty with the separate Honeycomb pieces providing some crunchy texture to the dessert.

My tart had a nice crisp base that showcased a marvellous Pistachio filling studded with pieces of fresh Fig. The vanilla ice cream accentuated the delicate flavours with a lovely amount of rum syrup to add an extra dimension to the dish without overwhelming the other ingredients.


Two lattes brought our evening to a jolly nice finish as we observed the other diners. There was a great mix of diners of all age groups and the atmosphere was lovely and lively for a Saturday evening. If you haven’t been before I can thoroughly recommend that you pay this impressive establishment a visit, the food is top quality and the service equally good. “Hot Wings” to team Cocina.


All Prices Correct At The Time Of Publishing

Some form of incentive was provided to visit this venue read more

Read Some Of Our Recent Reviews

Sunday Lunch At The Robin Hood Near Baslow
Sunday Lunch At The Robin Hood Near Baslow Before you all jump on me, I'm just going to clarify that I do like the warmer weather. But.... Come on, 30 degrees+ is just too much for a pasty English Rose; I can't function: I'm sweaty, lethargic Read The Article

Dinner At Roka Turkish Kitchen In Ripley
Dinner At Roka Turkish Kitchen In Ripley After a day at the Spa, the last thing either myself or The Man wanted to do was cook! We scratched our heads as to whether to get food delivered, order pick-up takeaway or just bite the bullet and go out Read The Article

Dinner At Nicco Restaurant & Bar, Pride Park, Derby
Dinner At Nicco Restaurant & Bar, Pride Park, Derby The Man and I have eaten in Pride Park before, but this was our first visit to Nicco Restaurant and Bar. I'm happy to say that the car park is a decent size and we found a spot for the jalopy Read The Article

Out For Dinner At The Merchant's Yard In Tideswell
Out For Dinner At The Merchant's Yard In Tideswell I've always been a huge fan of our stunning scenery here in the Shire, but I'd forgotten just how glorious the scenery is on the drive up to Monsal Head. Even with storm clouds threatening Read The Article

Sunday Lunch At The Bulls Head Inn, Foolow
Sunday Lunch At The Bulls Head Inn, Foolow The Man and I had kindly been invited along for the Sunday Roast at The Bulls Head Inn at Foolow and, I tell you what, you'd be hard-pressed to find a traditional English village Read The Article

Sunday Roast Platter By Hogbroast At The Mixing House, Derby
Sunday Roast Platter By Hogbroast At The Mixing House, Derby Well, what a blast from the past! The Man and I were kindly invited along by Matt and Jordan of HogBroast to sample their Sunday Roast Platter at The Mixing House Read The Article

Back To The Village Inn In Marehay For Their Pizzas
Back To The Village Inn In Marehay For Their Pizzas The first rule of life? Don't razz your Mummy off; or, if you prefer to look at it a different way, keep Mummy on-side. Happy Mummy = Happy Sticky = Happy Man Bird, Fledge, BB etc.. Read The Article

Out For Dinner At The Dog In Pentrich
Out For Dinner At The Dog In Pentrich The Dog at Pentrich is [now] the sister site to Tony's Bar and Grill in Beeston, a restaurant His Nibs and I recently visited, and enjoyed. It's been a fair while since we've pootled out to Pentrich, so Read The Article

Sunday Lunch At The Scotsmans Pack, Hathersage
Sunday Lunch At The Scotsmans Pack, Hathersage I don't care what anyone says, as a Brit, there's one meal that screams home: the iconic Sunday Roast. The Man and I were on our way to Hathersage and The Scotsman's Pack Country Read The Article

Dinner At Anoki Indian Restaurant At Egginton Near Burton-upon-Trent
Dinner At Anoki Indian Restaurant At Egginton Near Burton-upon-Trent Well, after more years passing than I care to admit for us to visit Anoki Indian in Egginton (near Burton-upon-Trent), we nearly whizzed past it! You need to keep your eyes Read The Article

Read More