Out For Dinner At Hart's Hotel And Kitchen, Nottingham
Published On Saturday 31 Aug 2024 by Sticky Beak
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Hart’s Hotel and Kitchen holds many happy memories for The Man and I, so we were overjoyed to receive an invitation to dine in the 2 AA-Rosetted restaurant, Hart’s Kitchen, recently. The parking onsite is for guests of the hotel, so we parked a minutes’ walk away on one of the streets and then sauntered back to this superb Nottingham venue.
As soon as you walk down the steps and into the restaurant, a sense of calm washes over you and melts away your everyday cares. We were greeted very cordially by the team, all super smart in their black and white uniform and aprons, and shown over to our table. Our bar drinks were sorted out almost immediately, and then the table glasses filled with chilled water.
The Hart’s Kitchen dinner menu, created by Michelin Star Executive Chef Aaron Patterson of Hart’s sister venue, Hambleton Hall, and Hart’s Kitchen Head Chef Lucasz Jaworski, offered a choice of 12 dishes across the three courses and a further four options for sides. In addition to this, there is an extended vegan menu available on request.
I do love a soufflé, so went for the twice-baked Goat Cheese one with Waldorf Salad (£9) to start, followed by Roast Duck Breast (served Pink) with Spiced Lentils, Pak Choi, Feta Cheese, Watermelon, and Red Wine Sauce (£29). The Man Bird fancied the Chicken Liver Parfait on Sourdough Toast with Blackberries as his first course, opting to have Grilled Fillet Steak, Hasselback Potatoes, Asparagus, Chanterelle Mushrooms, Carrot Purée, and Red Wine Sauce (£36) for his main. On taking our order, the lovely gentleman serving us replaced our standard knives for steak ones, returning soon after with a basket of sliced white and brown Sourdough (from Hambleton Bakery) and placing our choices on the side plates with tongs.
Whilst Chef Lukasz and his team set-to, we sat back and took in our surroundings a little more. The walls are adorned with a montage of autographed photos of stars from the entertainment world who have also enjoyed the magnificent Hart’s hospitality over the years, and it is lovely to see who you recognise! The gentle, subdued lighting enhances the relaxed ambience in Hart’s Kitchen, as do the carefully chosen soft furnishings and general décor; the stripe of the carpet is picked up in the seatings’ upholstery and scatter cushions, tying everything together beautifully.
Our starters were carefully placed before us and were gorgeously presented: nothing was out of place and the multitude of colours made it a real visual feast for the eyes. We couldn’t wait to tuck in! My Goat Cheese Soufflé was total perfection; cutting into the golden outer’s thin crust revealed a light, bouncy inner that softly melted in my mouth. The cheese was excellently partnered with herbs, whose verdant flecks could be seen within the soufflé’s body. It wasn’t just the soufflé that was marvellous though; the Waldorf Salad was also delightful, the bitter mixed leaves pierced with fine slices of Celery and Green Grape as well as matchsticks of crunchy, sweet Apple. Walnuts added their rich, earthy flavour to this light salad, and a drizzle of Balsamic finished this treasure off perfectly.
Chef had transformed the Chicken Liver Parfait into something tantalisingly glamourous; think of Disney’s Pumpkin-into-Carriage scene in Cinderella, and you’ll be in the right area. The super-smooth Parfait had been piped into charming Rosettes that perched upon a slice of toasted Sourdough, from where their beauty could be properly appreciated. Where the Parfait was rich and indulgent, the slivers of Radicchio, Frisee and whole Blackberries provided a snap-back-to-reality pop of bitter and sharp, making this a superbly balanced starter.
As well as checking that we were enjoying our food, our server came to refresh our water glasses and then, after giving us a short while, came to clear away our clean starter plates. In the interval between our first and second course, I don’t think either of us shut up about how fabulous our starters had been – I bet Chef Jaworski’s ears were burning like crazy!!
Soon enough, our mains and side dish of Tenderstem Broccoli and Chilli (£5) were being brought over to us and, after checking that we’d got everything we wanted, the young lady left us to savour our food. As with our starters, the presentation was stunning and we had a moment of appreciation for Chef’s efforts.
Sliced for presentation purposes, my Duck Breast was blush pink in the middle and its rich, velvety flavour flooded over my taste buds; the skin had been crisped beautifully and the fat within it added a deeper layer of taste to savour. A more robust-tasting meat needs an equally confident partner to dance with, and Chef really pulled it out of the bag with his incredible Spiced Lentils – honestly, I fell in love with them! Multiple notes of spice sang joyously to my palate, though not in a lip-tingling way, I’m pleased to say, and their taste popped against the sweetness of the charred Watermelon cubes on my plate. Creamy, salty Feta pieces brought their influence to the dish, and the Pak Choi was wonderfully crunchy at its base with soft wilted tips. The Red Wine sauce was just the cherry-on-the-top of this very cleverly balanced main course, making it a meal that I would have time and time again.
His Nibs’ grilled Fillet Steak was done perfectly medium/rare, as requested, and yielded instantly to the merest pressure from the knife. A tastier piece of Fillet you couldn’t wish for; deep, rich, sweet and earthy, the fibres simply melted on the tongue. The Hasselback Potatoes were comfortingly soft inside, with attractive [lightly crisp] ridges, and had that hint of nuttiness to their flavour. Chef had cooked the Asparagus and Chanterelles superbly, retaining crunch and firmness and, most importantly, taste. The same Red Wine sauce that I had came with The Mans’ steak, and he felt exactly the same as me: this was a total gem of a sauce.
Even the sides are extra at Hart’s, the humble Tenderstem transformed into a star by flakes of Red Chilli and served in a chic, white oval platter! Superbly crunchy in the mouth, the vegetable’s natural grassy sweetness paired with our choices of mains excellently.
Two squeaky clean plates were testament to the satisfaction and enjoyment we’d had in eating these DeLorean-worthy dishes, and our professions of delight had our server smiling happily. Clearly, this gent has worked in the gastro industry for quite some time as he wisely gave us a little hiatus before bringing the dessert menu over to our table.
For dessert we ordered the Homemade Tart (Blackberry and Almond on this particular evening, £9) which is usually served with Vanilla Ice Cream, but I swapped it out for some Vanilla Mascarpone instead as I wasn’t feeling the ‘cold’ element. The Man chose the Warm Chocolate Pudding with Hazelnut Ice Cream (£9.50).
My individual tart was garnished with a beautiful edible flower, whose bright colours epitomised summer. In a separate little dish was a perfect sphere of Vanilla Mascarpone and, unable to resist its creamy charms, I dibbed my dessert spoon in to savour its luxury solo. As the Mascarpone hit the warmth of my tongue and melted, I couldn’t help but smile to myself happily. I didn’t think I could get any happier, but then I hadn’t tried the pastry outer just yet…oh my word, this buttery minx was bewitching! Buttery and crumbly in my mouth, it hadn’t disintegrated when I cut into it with the pastry fork; I tell you what, when I win the lottery, I am paying the pastry Chef to make this treat every day. The filling was - I’m going to stick my neck out here – Crème d’Amande, which resulted in a lighter, sponge-like appearance, rather than a denser form from its cousin, Frangipane. That marvellous, sweet fragrance of Almond was beguiling on the palate, especially when paired with the intense, in-season Blackberries that studded the top. Also decorating the top of the tart were flaked Almonds, gently browned during baking, which made them take on a toasty flavour. A truly magical dessert, that’s all I can say!
Visually, there was no denying that His Nibs’ Dark Chocolate pudding and its diametric opposite, pale Vanilla Ice Cream, was stunning to behold. But would this beauty taste as good as it looked? The short answer is, yes, it blooming well did! Impossibly decadent in the percentage of cocoa in the Dark Chocolate, the flavour lingered indecently in the mouth, the puddle centre coating the insides of The Man’s cheeks and seducing his taste buds. You would expect Ice Cream to lift the mood and mount some sort of rescue mission for enchanted palates, but no, the Hazelnut Ice Cream craftily slunk in and added another layer of culinary sorcery! His Nibs was spell-bound by his choice of desert; bravo, Chef Jaworski and your team.
A quick check-in from our wonderful server established that we were still alive, although we were somewhat stupefied by the magnificent meal that we’d consumed and probably didn’t make much sense when he asked if we’d enjoyed ourselves. Giddy, maniacal grins conveyed our satisfaction, though, I’m sure!
Hot Wings more than happily awarded to this excellent Nottingham restaurant! To book a table ring 0115 988 1900 or visit the website www.hartsnottingham.co.uk and hit the ‘reserve a table’ tab at the top of the page.
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