Joseph Benjamin & Porta Tapas, Chester

Joseph Benjamin is the Michelin Bib Gourmand rated bistro, situated next to Chester’s Northgate. Along with the neighbouring Porta Tapas, it is owned and operated by the eponymous brothers Joe and Ben Wright. It’s also listed on my @NW55Best at No.32.

They are set to open a second branch of Porta Tapas opposite Altrincham’s Market House – more info @porta_alt.

What Michelin say about JB, ‘This personally and passionately run bistro is named after its owners, Joe and Ben. The light, simple décor mirrors the style of cooking and the monthly menu offers tasty, well-judged dishes.’

What Michelin say about Porta, ‘Close to the city wall, behind a narrow terrace, is this cosy, characterful little tapas bar. It has no phone number or reservation system, but it does offer generous, tasty dishes which are served by a friendly young team.’

Arriving early, we swung by Porta for drinks and some Jamón Ibérico from Jabugo, Gordal Olives and, the special, Sobrasada Pintxo with globe artichoke & Idiazabal cheese – three tasty treats to kick start our appetites.

In Joseph Benjamin, to start, I selected the Asparagus, monk’s beard, duck egg, Doddington cheese with lovage mayonnaise – a delightfully fresh, summery dish.

My wife opted for the equally vibrant Smoked duck breast, fig, Fivemiletown goats cheese, rhubarb & honey purée.

For mains, my Braised pig’s cheek, saffron risotto, white asparagus & rainbow chard was another strong example of quality bistro cooking.

With a generous serving of pink juicy steak and intense salty cheese, my wife’s Chargrilled bavette steak salad with pickled beetroot, Picos de Europa blue cheese & caramelised walnuts was not the light, salad option she’s anticipated. This suited me as I got to finish it off!

Side of Roast cauliflower, cumin & almonds and excellent Chips completed a delightful dinner.

For pud, we shared a Crème Brûlée.  

Having seen the people on the table next to me enjoying the Galician Octopus dish, we decided to return the next day.

This time, we started with the Baked St Marcelin cheese sharing board with cured chorizo, Serrano ham, chutney & sourdough. 

Along with with some Garlic bread with cheese and Gordal olives.  

My wife had the Sunday Lunch, Slow roast pork belly with roast potatoes, carrots, kale, green beans & parsnip purée.

My Galician octopus, seas bass, caramelised fennel, cannellini beans & blood orange was worth returning for – a delightful combination of flavours and textures. Puffed wild rice and crispy fish skin provided crunch which contrasted beautifully with the luscious fish flesh. Classy, grown up flavours came from bitter clouts of blood orange, buoyed by sweet licks of caramelised fennel with its inklings of anise. A real humdinger of a dish!  

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Sticky Walnut, March 2015

So I went to this place called Sticky Walnut for lunch. I ate bread, quail, brassicas and plaice. It was all rather delicious. Then I had some chocolate tart with bits of orange and a sorbet.

To start, people who work in the kitchen had put breast and leg from a quail in a bowl with a carrot purée, choi sum and some dukkah (which is a mixture of nuts, herbs and spices from Egypt (where the Pyramids are). Around this they had poured a vegetable ‘nage’, which is a type of poncy broth.  

The same people had done some clever things to vegetables; they had caramelised cauliflower and served it with broccoli, carrot and walnuts (the place has walnut in its name too!) I particularly liked the Romanesco broccoli, which they had pickled. It made me happy.

With the plaice they had put some ox cheek into breadcrumbs, which I liked a lot. The fish was on what some restaurants would call a ‘bed of’ pearl barley (here they just called it ‘pearl barley’). They also used some wild garlic, which is a type of garlic that grows in the wild! I know, crazy huh?

One particularly clever person made a chocolate tart and served it with some clementine segments and a blood orange sorbet – I’d like to marry him.

Some nice people who do not work in the kitchen brought the food to me on plates. They were smiley and chatty but not overly so. I liked them.

I took some pictures… wanna see?

Breast & leg of quail, carrot, choi sum, dukkah & vegetable nage

Brassica salad, pickled Romanesco, caramelised cauliflower, purple sprouting broccoli, carrot & walnuts

Plaice fillet, braised gem, pearl barley, wild garlic, pickled cucumber & oxtail croquette

Hand cut truffle & Parmesan chips

Dark chocolate tart, blood orange sorbet

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The Chef’s Table, Chester

Anyone who follows me on Twitter will know that, over the last couple of weeks, I have been ever so slightly obsessed with Hoole bistro Sticky Walnut’s Kickstarter campaign to raise money for a second site.

My reason for this is a selfish one; there is talk that, Burnt Truffle (the name of the new venture) could be closer to Manchester – thus saving me the 90 minute round trip to Chester.

However, Sticky Walnut is not the only place in Chester worth making the journey for… as well as the Michelin starred Simon Radley at the Chester Grosvenor, the city boasts some great little bistros and gastropubs – Joseph Benjamin, Artichoke and the new Mockingbird Taproom are worth a special mention.

The Chef’s Table can now be added to that list. According to their website and twitter bio, The Chef’s Table is an “independent foodie hub” but please don’t let that put you off.

It’s actually just a charming little restaurant in a lovely location in Chester, just off of their famous medieval rows. The décor is homely and a little quirky and I found the service friendly.

The menu is produce driven – they make a big deal out of the food being fresh and seasonal and from local suppliers… “very foodie”. More importantly for me, I found the quality of cooking on offer to be quite accomplished. 

Roasted Jerusalem artichoke, salt roast beets, watercress, smoked crème fraiche & Old Winchester cheese – I enjoyed this dish very much; it looked beautiful and ate well. Great acidity from the pickled elements and well controlled smokiness in the crème fraiche and cheese. 

Whole roast partridge, maple glazed parsnips, gin & Chambord sweet & sour pears, chard, bacon, cobnuts & partridge jus – a well conceived and delightfully autumnal looking dish. Being picky, the partridge was a little overcooked and tough for my personal preference and I’d have liked bolder seasoning. The side of Triple cooked chips were perfect.

Roasted apples, granny smith parfait, caramelised filo, macerated blackberries & blackberry sorbet – no complaints from the dessert!

I will be dining at the Chef’s Table again.

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