It always makes our hearts sing when a business flourishes; this is exactly why we do the blog: to support and shout about local ventures. Bouquet is a truly family-run business, the passion of wife-and-husband team Rebecca and Lee, that has recently moved from its original [bijoux] premises into a larger, swankier site at Unit 3b on the Old Hall Mill Business Park in Little Eaton. Not that you would recognise Bouquet HQ as being an industrial unit; the team have gone all-out and given the space a glow-up to create a fabulous space in which to drink and/or eat!
Outside, there is a beautiful area to enjoy the sunshine, with shade coming from the expansive parasols above each table and seating. Inside, the venue has two distinct areas: the front one incorporates the well-stocked bar, Derby’s only SELF-SERVE WINE MACHINE (Yes, you read that right!!!) and larger group/communal tables with benches, and repurposed Barrel tables and stools; the rear area has a much comfier, louche feel that makes it perfect for the Tapas-style small plates to be enjoyed.
This rear space, aka The Snug, is set with squishy sofas, and plush low chairs that provide the ideal place to kick back in. As well as free-standing floor lamp, lighting comes from multitudinous strings of fairy lights, fancy-filament lightbulbs and trendy, ceiling-hung pendants. I was in my element, relaxing as I tuned in to the 80s/90s soundtrack of The Cure, New Order, A-Ha, and figuring out which of the many wines I needed to sample – it’s a hard life, eh?! Before we could savour the wines, though, we were tempted with ‘Lemon Velo’, a nifty little Radler produced by Shiny Brewery; at 3% ABV, this is lower than most lagers or beers, making it ideal for drivers. With its distinctly citrussy blast, this was ruddy fabulous in the evening heat!
Clearly, our gluttony is becoming infamous; as we studied the food menu, our server, Joanne, (a fellow Bull-breed Momma) turned to us and said “shall we just get you a bit of everything?”. That’s my kinda gal! One of the things that I particularly love about Bouquet is the fact that they support other local businesses: the bread comes from Danny and Tim at The Loaf in Crich, cakes from The Cake Club in Derby, Duffield Dairy supply their offerings, and many of the Beers and Lagers come from Shiny Brewery and Thornbridge Estate. This is the way to ensure that the ‘Shire thrives.
Right, before I wang on about the [frankly indecent] selection of marvellous wines, I need to spill the tea for you all on the mouth-watering small plates feast that we were tucking into. We had arrived too late to sample the choice of Bouquet Toasted Sandwiches that are available until 5pm every day but, to be honest, there was more than enough to keep us occupied! Gordal Olives, Caprese Salad (with pillowy soft Burrata – nom nom), a selection of Spanish Meats and Cheeses, Iberian Chorizo with Honey, Salt & Pepper Squid, Patatas Bravas, Tomato Bruschetta, and Sobrasada Sausage with Goats Cheese and Honey were soon winging their way over to our table. As you can imagine, the colours and aromas stimulated our senses immediately, and we tucked in enthusiastically.
His Nibs doesn’t like Olives, which is fine by me at any time but when it came to indulgent Gordal ones, the pleasure was even sweeter! Between you and me, because this variety of Green Olive has a low oil content (which is why it’s grown solely as a table Olive, rather than for the oil market), it is less ‘bitter’ than its peers, so I think he may just have liked them – ooops. Meaty in texture, with a lovely firmness to the bite, Gordal’s smooth buttery flavour makes it ideal to eat with sharp cheeses, such as Manchego, which just so happened to be on one of the platters.
Now, I’m not 100% sure, but I think the Spanish Blue Cheese on the platter was Cabrales; I’m basing this opinion on the fact that its smooth, creamy texture belied the intensity of taste that it held: umami, ozonic and robust, this cheese had some serious Queso ‘riz’! Equally superb was the Iberico Ham and Spanish Salami, and their softness contrasted beautifully with the crunchy, halved Gherkins. Spain has coastlines on the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, so seafood plays a large part of their typical Tapas offerings; at Bouquet, The Man and I were treated to some of the most glorious Salt & Pepper Squid that we’ve ever had. Super-crunchy, lightly batter-coated outers surrounded large pieces of scored-skin Calamari that were tender and mild, with that irresistible sweet kiss on the palate – they were so good, we ordered a second portion later in the evening!
Long have I said that sometimes it’s the simplest of dishes that captivate you, and nowhere was this truer than with the Tomato Bruschetta. On a scorching summer day, the juicy sweetness of the chopped Tomato, tangy drizzle of Balsamic, and fresh, crunchy bread was beyond smashing; refreshing, clean-tasting, and light on the tummy, this also got a second order as I was sipping my way through the trio of wines on the ‘Bouquets Top Sips’ wine flight (£11 for 3 x 125ml glasses – bargain!!!). The Crostini was topped with [spreadable] Sobrasada Sausage, whose smoky, gently sweet tones really popped against the tangy, acidicly sharp Goats Cheese it was paired with.
Bringing a more relaxed, mellow element to the Tapas arena were the classic Patatas Bravas, Caprese Salad, and Spanish Croquettes. All of these were soothing in the mouth; soft and comforting, their flavours and textures complementing each other superbly. We have had Croquettes before but these ones were unctuous perfection, running like molten silk over our tongues. The final dish to mention is the Iberian Chorizo with Honey, and the first thing to note is that you get a hefty dish of this marvellous morsel! Some Chorizo can be a bit harsh and the dreaded ‘repeat factor’ creeps in for me, so I always approach with caution. At Bouquet, though, I was jolly happy to discover that this was a rounded-yet-spicy variety of Chorizo, and one that I was going to have no repercussions from - much to the remorse of His Nibs!
Throughout our evening, the Bouquet team had regularly checked on our progress, enquiring if we were enjoying the food and wines, and if we needed anything else. One of the best things (and Bouquets out-standing strength) is that there is always someone to give advice, if needed, on wines: a whopping 7 members of the team have wine quals!! So, let’s give you the skinny on the wines…
First up, that magnificent self-serve wine machine that, WHEN I win the lottery, I am most certainly having installed! Rebecca and the team strive to represent wines from all over the world, and the selection is changed very regularly. This particular selection covered New Zealand, Australia, and several continental Europe countries (including Georgia!), offering Orange, Rosé and White wines in 25ml sample-, 125ml standard unit-, and 175ml medium glass- sizes. Prices start at £2 for 25ml and £4.50 for 125mls, which is a cracking idea, I think, as you can try a whole raft of styles without a) breaking the bank, and b) wasting a large glass – which, let’s face it, is sacrilege!!
We ended up bringing a couple of bottles home with us, and there’s a lovely bonus here, too: if you buy a bottle to take home rather than enjoy on-site, you get a tenner off. Get in!! Bouquet do a rather nifty ‘Winesday Special’ offer Monday-Wednesday, all day: for £25pp you can have any pair of House Wines or Beers and a trio of Tapas dishes - what a peach of an offer.
Bouquet is open Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm, Fri-Sat 9am-10pm, and Sunday 10am-8pm. You can book a table by calling 07983 683391 or visit www.bouquetwine.co.uk and hit the ‘book a table’ button.
Hot Wings more than happily given to Rebecca, Lee, Joanne, and the whole Bouquet team.
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