Limes restaurant, 102 Friargate, Derby, DE1 1EX

Limes wasn’t what I’d imagined when I agreed to have a midweek catch up with a friend, but I’m never one to miss an opportunity especially as head chef Ian Boden is firmly establishing himself as one of the regions top talents and has recently reached the final of the prestigious Knorr National Chef of the Year competition.
After a well earned cold beer was taken in the downstairs bar, we headed up the stairs to Hepburns restaurant. It was good to see that even on a Wednesday night there were a few tables in.
We nibbled away at some hand made bread rolls, spreading the soft butter on thicker than I ever would at home, ah well.
Momentum was maintained with the arrival of an appetiser, fennel velouté with tapenade and truffle oil was an exquisite opener which certainly woke and amused our taste buds.
For starters I chose the Langoustine & crab trifle with crab cake, poached pineapple and fennel & pernod sorbet. An contemporary plate that compartmentalised each element of the dish injecting an element of fun into this well thought out starter.

My only criticism would be that my ‘trifle’ was a bit too much jelly and not enough fish, the sorbet and crab cake were a joy. My friend Andrew went for the free range chicken and foie gras roulade with quail egg and truffle salad. A chunky slice of terrine veined with vibrant green brassica, accompanied by a perfectly cooked quail egg and a dressed pea shoot salad. We were both suitably impressed and ensured we sampled each others before they disappeared down the hatch.
For mains I paid the £5 supplement and had the roasted fillet and pressed blade of Derbyshire beef with braised carrot and a cabernet sauvignon vinegar and bay leaf sauce. It appears that one of Ians signatures is to serve beef in two ways (I had that at Christmas). Meltingly tender fillet with a carrot cooked in orange juice certainly gave my palette something to think about. Top drawer in every respect. Andrew chose the slow cooked cod with roasted fennel, black olive tapenade and saffron aioli, garnished with pea shoots. Ian seems to be getting carried away with the pea shoots and fennel this week. The slow cooked cod was delicate and its shape was held by the thin sleeve of prosciutto. We were once again captivated.
Quality rather than quantity ensured there was room for dessert and there was only one place to go, the assiette of Hepburn desserts to share. A polished granite platter with a mix of delicately prepared sweet morsels: A cone of rich chocolate torte, banana and mandarin sorbets a dainty slice of fine plum tart and a miniature version of the classic ice cream sandwich (my least favourite) were chased around the plate by our competing spoons until everything had vanished. It was a fine end to an worthy meal.
I was gutted that the lighting was to dark for my covert camera action, but I need say no more than this is certainly up there, competing as Derby’s no 1.
2 courses £24.95 and 3 courses £29.95 was certainly well worth every penny. Probably not your midweek ‘decentgrub’, but definitely the place to take the missus for your anniversary next month. Go on, she's worth it...........she'll be more than pleasantly surprised.

Limes source as much local and free range produce as possible and support local farmers.

Food 8.5/10
Service 8.5/10
Venue 8/10

www.limesbar.com

Tel: 01332 613665

Zest, 16 George Street, Derby, DE1 1EH

Click to enlarge

Zest is like Scotland to me. I know it's there, I really want to go, but I never get round to it. Well sister and myself have booked a flight in mothers 'Rover 200' to Zest this evening. At last we're going!

It must be a couple of years since local restauranteur Bill Poynton relinquished the reigns at Zest, giving the new owners plenty of time to stamp their own mark on the place. I must say I do prefer the new aubergine colour scheme to the previous stark white interior, the 'cosy control' has been turned up a notch or two. It certainly needed it this evening as the relentless winter downpours continue (whatever happened to snow?).
We were lucky they still had tables on the ground floor. I prefer this to the balcony. Various drinks and a dish of herby olives were ordered. We were preparing for take off....
As usual mother by passed starters leaving it to sister et moi to sample the openers. Intrigue lured me towards the cod, spinach & mascarpone wellington (£5.95) and sister commenced with butternut squash & ginger soup (£5.25). The ubiquitous butternut squash soup was as you'd expect, but with a hint of ginger and star anise. I do wish restaurants would "step out of the box" when it comes to winter soups. I'm getting quite bored of butternut squash. The cod wellington was a sausage shaped filo parcel containing steamed spinach and a thumb sized piece of cod, sat on a pool of tangy orange hollandaise. It was light and felt healthful, with most of the flavours packed into the sauce. We were in full flight....

For the main event mother went for pork tenderloin with caramelised pears & brandy sauce (£15.25). It was cooked just right and served on a bed of potato with a cluster of pan fried pear slices forming a perfect peak. My sister ordered the saute of chicken breast with apples and parsnip(£14.95), her accompanying brandy & madeira sauce imparting most of the flavours in this delicate, yet once again perfectly cooked dish. It was no surprise I chose the most expensive main course, venison steak with rosemary and cherries (£18.50), came perfectly seared pink and succulent on the inside. The astute combination of rosemary and cherries creating a perfect winter dish. The accompanying selection of winter brassicas were also cooked spot on.

For a dessert I had their panettone bread & butter pudding (£5.25), it was a lucious slice of gooey, squidgy pudding with plenty of sticky butterscotch sauce. I loved it. Mother surprisingly had room for a banana mousse (£5.25), a light mouse with slices of banana and more of their finger lickin butterscotch sauce, a well executed take on a banana split.

It had been an enjoyable flight....

Zest provides comfortable, contemporary dinning without getting too involved in "foodie fashion". You won't find snail porridge or essence of quail with a lagoustine foam here, just modern, stylish dinning. Book early for valentines!

Food 7.5/10

Service 6.5/10

Venue 7/10

Tel: 01332 381101

http://www.restaurantzest.com/

"Now I gotta reason, Now I gotta reason and I'm still waiting" (Holidays In The Sun, Sex Pistols, 1977)