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Dinner at the Opulence Restaurant in Derby


Published On Sunday 21 May 2017 by Sticky Beak
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Opulence restaurant in Derbys Cathedral Quarter Hotel really does live up to its name. As you step inside your gaze goes skyward, taking in the ridiculously high, ornate ceiling and huge statement lights suspended from the heavens. The black and grey flocked wall paper and wood panelled walls add even more theatre to the room; dazzlingly white cloths cover the dining tables and the polished cutlery gleams and glints invitingly.



A lovely monochrome-attired young lady showed us to our table, took our drinks order and handed us the menu to peruse. Although it isn’t the most extensive menu you will ever come across, perhaps only 6 or seven choices each of starter and main courses, there is something to please everyone.


As we were making our choices water was poured into glasses for us at the table, and a wooden platter of Multi-seed and Rye- and Sundried Tomato Focaccia- bread was placed before us to nibble on.



The seeded rye bread was jam-packed with a plethora of different seeds and nuts and had a wonderful rich taste and chunky texture to it. Along with a beautifully vibrant Sun-dried Tomato hit, the Focaccia also had a lovely Rosemary hint to it which was nice and cleansing on the palate.


For starter I had the Spiced Cod Bites. The succulent fish was coated in a superbly light, crispy batter with just a hint of spice to it; it wasn’t at all greasy and I thoroughly enjoyed every morsel. In contrast to the warm fish was a punchy Tomato and Caper salsa that really was clean and bright in its flavours. I loved the slightly chunky texture of this salsa and the bright colours popped on the plate visually.


The Man Bird had opted for Chicken Liver Pâté with Brioche, Port and Shallot butter, Fruit Chutney, and Watercress salad. It was a nice sized slice of rich, smooth Pâté for a starter and the slice of toasted Brioche was just enough to be going on with.

The Pâté was fairly robust in flavour and the fruit chutney, seasoned butter and peppery Watercress notes were all able to hold their own against it. All the elements worked well together, none over-powered the other, and His Nibs was very happy with his choice of first course.


Our very polite, attentive server (whose name I forgot to get!) came to check that everything was satisfactory with our starters and enquired if we would like anything else at that moment. When we had finished our starters the plates were very quietly removed and it was only a short while before our main courses were served to us.


I had selected the breast of Gressingham Duck with Five Spice, Star Anise Carrot puree, Pak Choi, Carrots, Potato fondant, and Soy and Red Wine reduction for my main; The Boy Wonder went with the  braised Belly Pork, Sweet Potato puree, sautéed Savoy Cabbage, Black Pudding crumb and Kale, roasted Carrots, and Red Wine sauce. In addition to this we ordered sides of Caesar salad and triple cooked chips.


Both main courses had been carefully presented and they looked very inviting on the plates. My duck breast was served very pink which wasn’t a problem at all for me, but some of you may wish to have it cooked an extra minute or two to eliminate any blood oozing. The duck was very tasty and the five spice was discernible on the crisped skin, just to a nice level.

Both vegetables were cooked perfectly to retain their natural crunch; the star anise lent a warm hint to the pureed carrot and the Potato fondant was superb, so I was very satisfied with my meal.



Caesar salad is always a tasty accompaniment to a meal, and this one was lovely; it had crispy gem lettuce a-plenty, with nice shavings of Parmesan and the lightest, gossamer Croutons I’ve ever come across. All this was drizzled with a tangy Caesar dressing that didn’t drown everything but was detectable in every mouthful.


His Nibs’ Belly Pork was exceptionally tender, literally falling apart in ribbons as soon as the cutlery looked at it! It had a beautiful creamy flavour to it that all good Pork should have, and it was a lovely sized portion for a main course. As with my own dish, all the vegetables retained a hint of firmness.



He tried the Black Pudding crumb and Sweet Potato together in the same forkful and thought the balance of sweet, smoky, and savoury notes was spot-on. The triple cooked chips were also crowd pleasers with their crispy outers and soft, fluffy inners; I tried one and they were rather good I must say.


Our server had come over again to check that we were satisfied with our meals and asked if she could get any more drinks for us. I was seriously tempted to have another glass of the Argentinean Malbec, but declined due to it being a school night and The Man Bird was chauffeur so he stuck to his single pint of Moretti lager.


For pudding His Nibs went for the classic combination of Banana and Toffee in the guise of Sticky Toffee pudding with Banana Ice Cream, glazed Bananas and Toffee sauce. I also chose a classic dessert; glazed Lemon Tart with Chantilly Cream, Raspberry puree, and Raspberry pearls.


My Lemon Tart was a beautiful pastry case that contained a gently zingy Lemon filling. It caressed my tongue softly and wasn’t cloying in the slightest, and the Chantilly Cream was gorgeously soft too. The wonderfully bright, summer note of Raspberry kept the taste buds wide awake; the result was a delicious dessert that was a light and refreshing end to my meal.


The Boy Wonder was chuffed to bits with his Sticky Toffee pudding because it was satisfyingly dense, rich specimen that was lovely and moist to chew. Rather than being in slices and caramelized, the Banana was sliced lengthways and coated in sugar which had been burned in a Brulee style; this meant that the fruit kept its shape and firmness.



The ice cream wasn’t overpoweringly Banana flavoured either; just a nice rounded hint of the fruit was discernible. You can’t beat a proper toffee sauce and the one at Opulence is really rather good, the texture of it is neither too thick nor too thin and it has a lovely richness to its taste.


A silver Cafetiere of coffee brought our evening to its conclusion and it had been a most pleasant evening at that. Several other tables of diners had come in through the course of the service and a couple of times the popping of corks could be heard. If you haven’t been before it’s well worth going and experiencing it for yourselves, and of course the Cathedral Quarter Hotel provides great accommodation if you fancy staying over.


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

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