A stylish, unique approach to fine dining while still retaining comforting, home cooked food is one way to sum up Stone’s latest restaurant, Cullens.
As it only opened on Friday I thought it would be a great thing to go and try out the restaurant and I assure you that quality is something which shines through, in food and service. The inviting signage and decor from the outside of Cullens makes you feel welcomed into a homely environment, sleek and stylish with a hint of contemporary.
Below is my review from today’s lunch. Enjoy :) By Jack Taylor
Bread of the day:
The breads of the day were Walnut Bread and Roasted Black Olive Bread all handmade at Stone Baked, served beautifully with a small pot of creamy butter. The breads were presented on a wooden board and the waitress showed them to me before serving, describing each individual bread. The breads had been slightly warmed which made the butter melt, giving an extra flavour to the olives. A great start to your meal, very thick wedges that would be great with a hearty winter soup.
Starter
The Smoked Haddock Croquette on a bed of Mature Cheddar Creamed Leeks and Spinach was for starter today and the size was more of a main, good or bad thing? For myself, not being a big eater, I would have preferred a smaller portion as I was nearly full, even before my main. The crisp on the Croquette was perfect and showed that it was freshly made, also it was piping hot. The flavour was of the smoked haddock accompanied the creamy sauce that bound the leeks and spinach.
A great starter that really left a nice humming aftertaste of mature cheddar and smoked haddock – unusual combination but it works! Presentation was beautiful in pure white crockery, only thing that let it slightly down but easily changed was the water mark on the cutlery but a quick polish of your napkin and you wouldn’t know that it was even there.
Main Course
Braised Blade of Beef in Red wine, Creamed Potato, Buttered Cabbage and Caramelised Shallots in Braising Jus, served with seasonal vegetables and boiled potatoes.
The main course was just ‘to die for’! Cutting through the beef was like a hot knife through butter as it just fell away. It had definitely had the care and attention of a quality chef to get the seasoning perfect. Creamed potatoes were creamy and not at all lumpy, which for me is a must! The vegetables and the cabbage were great accompaniment to the beef but were not much to rave about as they are basically just the same however you cook them!
The caramelised shallots were lovely and sweet, giving a different edge and flavour to the beef when you mixed the two together. The jus was absolutely stunning as a gravy as it was rich, flavoursome and very beefy which i *love* in a good gravy. Presentation was brilliant and the whole course was just stunning. Great portion size as well.
Dessert
Dark Chocolate, Fudge & Sea Salt Brownie with Damson Rippled Ice Cream was just perfect, even if a VERY large portion. Portion size on this was definitely too big, and by the end of it you really did need a drink of some sort to wash it down with. However, it was accompanied by the very refreshing Damson Rippled Ice Cream which was absolutely delicious and refreshing. Creamy, sweet and tangy with the hint of the autumn; the best time for picking damsons. The pistachio nuts around the brownie gave it an extra level of texture. One other criticism of the brownie was the amount of cocoa powder on it, and at one point made my cough as it was very strong and too much of it. Great presentation, but far too much for a dessert after the large portions you have previously had.
Coffee & Petit Fours
Homemade Petit Fours and a great freshly ground coffee made a lovely end to a fantastic meal. Homemade marshmallow, chocolate and Ameretti truffle and lemon Madeline with clotted cream accompanied the coffee beautifully and rounded off a beautiful meal. Marshmallow was light, fluffy and full of flavour which is what every good marshmallow should be like, the truffle was literally melt in the mouth and the Madeline was light and fluffy and the clotted cream made it taste just like a small slice of lemon cake, nice and refreshing. A great end to the meal and it would even be nice just sitting in the window of the restaurant on a winter’s day with a nice coffee. Presentation was simple but lovely and enabled each item to shine and stand out.
Overall
The restaurant is absolutely great and will no doubt put Stone back on the culinary map of Staffordshire. A must visit! Best of luck to Richard and Kara, all the best for the future.
Price for 3 Courses (Lunch) & Coffee + 1 Coke (1 Person) = £20.30
Cullens website – www.cullensrestaurant.co.uk
Want to win lunch for two at Cullens? Enter our ‘Autumn in Stone’ photo competition (closing date 15th November 2013). Click HERE for more details
