Select a region
As cafés and restaurants reopened this week, it got Express’s secretive and totally independent restaurant reviewer thinking about his ‘last supper’ before lockdown.
Harry Smiles had this to say about his pre-Christmas trip to sample the fayre of Corbiere Phare...
I have been longing for the day where we will have somewhere to get dressed for (birthdays in the lounge just don’t call for much effort), where I will excitedly scour the menus online, salivate at the thought of a meal I haven’t cooked (or dished in the case of a takeaway) myself and have to surreptitiously undo one of the buttons on my trousers.
And that time finally came earlier this week on Monday. The menu scouring has now begun as I plan my first foray back into dining… in the meantime, it got me thinking about my ‘Last Supper’ before lockdown.
(Yes I know Chief Minister, I can spend as much time as I want outdoors, so it is not a ‘lockdown’ - but, bearing in mind it’s the winter and there is nowhere to go, I’ll call it what it is.)
Before we knew what was coming, my main squeeze and I joined one of our friends for a birthday meal at Corbière Phare, and the place didn’t disappoint...
Pictured: The main course - duck, with roasted potatoes and chorizo and pickled red cabbage.
As you already know by now, I am one of those unfortunate souls who cannot eat gluten without suffering terribly from it; so I looked on the Phare’s menu ahead of our visit. I was pleased to see they had many gluten free options available, including in the dessert department. Most places do well in terms of starters and mains but more often than not I have noticed the only gluten-free dessert they have is a cheese board…without crackers.
Ultimately, I settled on their duck, which was served with roasted potatoes and chorizo and pickled red cabbage.
I am incredibly picky with my duck - I can count on one hand the number of places who know how to cook it - so I was half expecting it to be a disaster; but I just couldn’t resist the appeal, when I haven’t been able to visit France in a year.
Pictured: Express's food reviewer described Corbiere Phare's offerings as "remarkable."
In the end, I was floored. It was, simply put, ducking delicious. The skin was crispy, there was not too much fat and the meat itself was tasty, and had just the right amount of juice. The trimmings were equally scrumptious - I am still dreaming of those potatoes and crispy bits of chorizo - and complemented the meat to perfection.
It was a complete success and even though it was listed among the starters, it was perfect as a main. (I had ordered some house chips on the side, just in case the portion was too small, but I couldn’t finish even half of them.)
With three gluten free options on the dessert menu (four if you include ice cream), I simply had to order dessert. It would have been rude to turn away the ‘Sticky Toffee Pudding’ that had my name written all over it.
Pictured: "It had the perfect consistency - not too sickly - it tasted bloody amazing and the toffee sauce was rich and thick as I like it."
I did not regret my choice as, much like the duck, my pudding was faultless.
It had the perfect consistency - not too sickly - it tasted bloody amazing and the toffee sauce was rich and thick as I like it. Some gluten-free cakes sometimes feel a bit like a pale imitation of their gluten-full counterparts, but this pudding definitely rose to the occasion. I can’t guarantee you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
All in all, this was a remarkable meal, only made better by the lovely company of our waitress.
Pictured: "All in all, this was a remarkable meal, only made better by the lovely company of our waitress."
Over lockdown, the thought of that meal made me yearn to go out even more.
Now, it fills me with excitement at the fresh dining possibilities that lay before us… Let’s not talk about the awkward mask sitch. We'll cross that potential-for-foodie-embarassment-laden bridge when we come to it.
