Sunday Lunch At No.5 Bistro, Berry Hill Quarry, Mansfield
Published On Sunday 10 Dec 2023 by Sticky Beak
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A few weeks ago, His Nibs had enquired about Sunday Lunch at No.5 Bistro in Mansfield but, due to Bonfire Celebrations, they were closing early, so we had to rethink our plans that day and went elsewhere. However, we didn’t forget, and booked our table for 3.30pm on this particular day. Located in Madeline Court (a small group of outlets within a housing estate in Mansfield’s Berry Hill Quarry), No.5 Bistro has certainly changed since we visited it in its previous guise as Brown’s!
The front is still the bar and TV area, and this is dog-friendly – there was a gorgeous, honey-coloured Labrador/Retriever-type canine there with their hoomans, laid lazily on a blanket, watching the activity at the bar. We introduced ourselves and confirmed our reservation, and were then taken through to the quieter back area that is used for more formal dining. This now open-plan space is also used for functions/parties, and larger groups of diners; there was a large family group already in, celebrating a birthday, complete with colourful banner on the wall near their table.
Settling in to the grey and yellow tub chairs that are randomly paired at the dark wood tables, we turned our attention to choosing our drinks; having been working hard, we were in need of refreshment! Our server swiftly got us sorted: large glasses of Shiraz for Mummy and I (£5.80 each) and a pint of Peroni for The Man Bird (£6), and gave us a few minutes to look at the menu. I’ve just got to mention the amazing sputnik style lights – my lighting fetish was well and truly satisfied.
The Sunday Lunch Menu is pretty extensive, and has some great choices on offer, though sadly the ‘Whole Roast Chicken to Share’ (£35) had sold out: this would be absolutely bang-on for a family or group of 4!! However, given the other choices, we weren’t too saddened. All of us skipped starters and went straight to the mains: Mummy had Steak and Ale Pie (that days’ pie-of-the-day, £14.95), His Nibs and I both had the Roast Trio of Derbyshire Beef, Pork Belly and Lamb (£15.95). All of No.5 Bistro’s roasts come with Creamed Mashed Potato, Roasties, Buttered Seasonal Vegetables, Cauliflower Cheese, Yorkshire Pudding and Pork and Sage Stuffing. It’s no secret that our Flock love Cauli Cheese, so we ordered another portion of it (£3.50) just to make sure we wouldn’t run out; we hadn’t visited here before for Sunday Lunch, so we erred on the side of caution.
We weren’t waiting overly long before our meals were being placed in front of us, along with a handled wooden board that housed the bowls of vegetables, the Cauliflower Cheese, and a boat of extra gravy. The extra Cauli Cheese we’d ordered came in a separate cast-iron skillet (which kept it beautifully hot throughout the meal), and you actually got a good-sized portion for your money; sometimes I’m a bit under-whelmed by the size of extra/side portions, so it was a refreshing change to get value-for-money. Fans of this particular morsel will be very pleased to hear that a) the vegetable florets were a good size and still lightly firm, b) the sauce was lovely and thick, and c) there was plenty of punchy Cheese in the sauce, and it had formed a superb golden, baked crust on the top of the dish.
Having ordered the trio of meats, The Man and I both thought that we’d get a slice of each but, no, we got two slices of each cut of meat - good job we’d brought our appetites! All the meat was excellent, both beautifully tender and incredibly flavoursome, and the meat-fest continued with the bona-fide sausage-meat stuffing. The mash was exactly as described, and the rich taste of butter was discernible on the palate, much to His Nibs’ happiness. Normally, you get 2, maybe 3, roasties on your plate, but here at No.5 Bistro there was a quartet of sizeable ones to tuck into; all of them were crisp on the outside and nicely seasoned.
The seasonal vegetables were nicely glossed with butter and the Kale, Savoy Cabbage and Carrots were all still nicely crunchy. Mummy Bird left the carrots; she found them a little too firm, but they were fine for me and The Man Bird. You can’t beat homemade Yorkshire Puds when they’re done right and Chef at this venue certainly did do them right: sky-scraper high, with crisp, golden tops and softer, rich-batter tasting ‘bodies’.
His Nibs and I weren’t the only podgers at the table… Mummy Bird was doing a damn fine job of polishing off her pie, which was no small task, given the fact that it was stuffed to the lid with big chunks of tender steak. There was a definite tang of the Ale that was in the thick ‘gravy’, a fact that Mummy happily commented on. The shortcrust pastry used to form the pie was wonderfully rich and ‘short’; you could taste the fat content in its richness on the tongue. This was a great example of honest, satisfying food and it certainly filled Mummy’s tummy; so much so, she was adamant that she wasn’t joining The Man and I in pudding.
When she spied the dessert menu, however, she soon changed her mind and called ‘dibs’ on the White Chocolate and Baileys Cheesecake with Boozy Cherries and Vanilla Ice Cream (£6.50)! I quickly decided that I was having the Lemon Posset with Blackberry and Gin Compote and Lemon Shortbread (£6.50), but His Nibs took a while longer to choose as he was torn between the Warm Chocolate Brownie with Salted Caramel Ice Cream and the Sticky Toffee Pudding with Vanilla Ice Cream (both also £6.50). In the end, after asking our server if he could swap Ice Creams, he settled on his perennial favourite, STP.
As with our main courses, the sweets were a generous size and beautifully presented. I snaffled a bit of Mummy’s Cheesecake and, wowsers, you really could taste the Baileys in it – happy days. The base was easily cut into for the most-part; it just proved a bit tricky at the edge, where it was thicker, so I gave Mummy a bit of assistance. The Boozy Cherries certainly were boozy – always a good thing, I feel!
My Lemon Posset was wonderful; it’s texture nicely comforting, its flavour indulgently creamy with a nice citrus zip cutting through it. I loved the contrasting fruit elements in my choice, but would’ve liked the Gin to be a bit more prevalent in the compote; likewise, the shortbread was delicious but could’ve been a tad lemonier for me.
The Man Bird is generally a happy chap, often found smiling, but the width of his grin when he had that first glorious mouthful of pudding was heart-warming! A pleasingly satisfying texture made this morsel the perfect winter dessert and, paired with a sumptuous, flavoursome Toffee sauce was the stuff of pudding-a-holics dreams. Contrasting temperatures between the warm pudding and cool Ice Cream meant that the senses were also stimulated, making this a truly wondrous end to His Nibs’ meal.
Throughout our meal, the team had checked that we were happy with our food, checking if we wanted any sauces at the beginning of our meal, and asking if we wanted any more drinks. Each time they approached, all the staff had smiles on their faces and we were made to feel very welcome; will we be returning? You betcha!
Hot Wings very happily given to this great Mansfield Bistro. To book your table ring 01623 237747 or visit the website www.no5bistro.co.uk to book a table online and to view the menus.
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