Cornichon – A dinner party with friends #Review

Stephen Wundke
28th September 2016

Cornichon opened its doors in September 2015 which was welcomed by the residents of Tarvin, having lost The Gunnery six months previously.  The building was once a grocery shop run by the Gunnery family and the old shop fittings and many original features are still in place, making it a very interesting and unique place to dine!

The business is very much a family affair, run by two brothers and their wives, which always bodes well as making something a success when your livelihood is at stake, certainly focuses the mind!

The entrance is through a door to the side of the building and leads into the bar area where a member of staff with a lovely smile directed us through to the restaurant.  It immediately felt welcoming and unpretentious, the bare wooden tables and chairs offering a more relaxed approach and the candles on every table added light and warmth.

We were seated next to the window which, with the clever addition of low level curtains, meant that we weren’t dazzled by car headlights or distracted by passers-by peering in!  Our waitress then delivered a bowl of popcorn, flavoured with smoked paprika which was delicious and gave us something to nibble on whilst we looked at the menu.

There are a good selection of dishes to suit all tastes, including vegetarian options.  To start, we chose Pan fried scallops, sesame, caramelised cauliflower, truffle puree, cauliflower cous cous (£9.50), Seared tuna nicoise, quail eggs, confit cherry tomatoes, anchovies (£8.00) and Deep fried Brie, pickled raspberry, peach & rocket (£6.50).  The crisp coating of the Brie gave way to a molten centre, the sharpness of the raspberry complimenting the richness of the cheese.  The tuna nicoise was a perfect example of the classic salad, and the use of quails eggs and cherry tomatoes, just right for a starter.  The scallops, cauliflower and truffle puree worked really well together, the slight bitterness of the cauliflower complimented the sweetness of the scallop, the truffle puree adding a rich earthiness.

Whilst we waited for our main courses we noticed that Cornichon has three ‘feature’ nights during the week, the first being Taste Cheshire Early Bird Tuesday, where their classic set menu is available all night with 2 courses for £12.50 or 3 courses for £15.00.  Wednesday is Burgers, Beers & Blues night, a choice of burger served with salad, slaw and skin on fries with a pint or bottle of beer for £13.50 and finally Thursday night is Mussel Night, a choice of mussels served with sourdough and skin on fries with a complementary glass of Prosecco for £13.50!

Our main courses duly arrived, House made cheeseburger, special sauce, slaw, pickles and skin on fries (£12.50), Lamb cutlets, chickpea dahl, rainbow chard, mint crème fraiche (£17.00) and Grilled halloumi, baked aubergine, butter bean hummus, pinenuts, coriander dressing (£13.50).  The sharp saltiness of the halloumi worked really well with the soft smoky aubergine and creamy hummus, and the coriander dressing was fresh and aromatic.  The lamb dish was big and bold, the cutlets pink and juicy, the dahl adding texture and a spicy kick, mellowed by the mint crème frache.  And finally the cheeseburger, a great example of how a burger should be cooked and served, the meat succulent, the fries crisp and golden, the bun fresh, the accompaniments classic, all in all, a triumph!

Even though our belts had significantly tightened by this stage, our waitress managed to persuade us to order dessert, although persuasion was not really needed as they all sounded so nice that it would have been our loss to go without!  However, rather than push ourselves too far, we opted for two to share between the three of us Chocolate fondant, salted caramel ice cream & miso fudge (£7.00) and Banofee mille-feuille, banana ice cream (£6.50).  As it has been seen many times on BBC1’s Masterchef, fondant is not something that many people make successfully, but the chef at Cornichon should sign up for the next series as it was absolutely spot on, a rich liquid centre encased in sponge, complimented by the slight saltiness in the caramel ice cream and the miso fudge adding an almost savoury element to the dish.  The Banoffee mille-feuille was light and crisp, the ice cream full of flavour, a perfect end to a very enjoyable meal.

A night at Cornichon is like going to a friend’s house for dinner, it is warm and welcoming and even on the first visit, you feel as if you’ve been there many times before.  They really care about their food and more importantly, they care about their customers.  Pay it a visit very soon and you too will feel that you’ve made a new friend!