Brasserie Abode – The Perfect Setting #Review
Stephen Wundke
10th August 2018
In a city the size of Chester we don’t do high rise like London, or Manchester or even Liverpool these days, so the opportunity to take guests to lunch in a place with both breath taking views and a wow factor is very tricky. That was of course until Brasserie Abode opened its doors. Situated on the 5th floor of the HQ buildings this restaurant and bar overlooks the racecourse and has amazing views of the Welsh and Cheshire Hills. It is unique in the City and the recent refurb has brought the place to life. Dissimilar to their predecessors you are now welcomed upstairs for just a drink, afternoon tea, or as we did, visit the restaurant to feature in our special lunch series.
I was delighted when I discovered that the Brasserie Abode had 2 courses for £15 and 3 courses for £20 as a Prix Fix Menu, not that I am tight, but we all like to work to a budget at lunchtime and that is how this series started. We made our way through reception to the lift, which delivers you right to the 5th Floor bar and reception and that is the first wow. Gone is the bar which previously blocked the view, it has been moved to the other side of the room and in its place are booth type seating areas so that even more people can take advantage of the light, airy and atmospheric restaurant, which feels special from the moment you arrive. If you have read this series regularly then you know we only allow an hour for lunch, so we declined the offer of pre-lunch drinks at the bar and were promptly seated at a nice table for 2 by the window where were able to really enjoy the views.
Our menu featured 3 starters, 3 mains and 3 desserts and as throughout the rest of this series, we opted for the first two courses. Gaile had the Asparagus with Poached Egg, both were cooked well but she thought they could have been a bit warmer. They looked pretty on the plate but nowhere near as summery and pretty as my choice, the Ham Hock Terrine and Homemade Piccalilli. The ham hock was very well made and full of nice chunks of flavoursome ham and although the piccalilli looked great, it lacked flavour. I think a tad more seasoning all round would have taken this from a good dish to a great dish. Accompanying our starters were generous portions of bread with nice “salty” butter, thanks Chef! Most chefs seem to insist on serving unsalted butter which we personally find a bit dull, particularly on nice crusty bread!
Our mains arrived in good time and Gaile’s choice of Mussels in a traditional Mariniere sauce was a generous serving, but the sauce was a little cream heavy with no discernible flavour of wine which would have given the dish the ‘oomph’ it needed. I opted for the Steak Bavette, cooked rare and served with fries and a great tasting, well made, Bearnaise sauce. It was spot on. Perfect rare meat with loads of flavour (please, please, don’t order this if you don’t like it rare – it just works perfectly this way) and lovely crisp, thin, skin on chips, I loved it!
We completed our meal in 56 minutes, so the hour deadline was easily achieved and we felt we had eaten well in a place that with a few additions could be great. Brasserie Abode is in a super setting with spectacular views and it really should be used by a lot more people. Give it a try and treat a friend. It’s very good value.
Ratings:
Service 8/10 Ambience and Setting 8/10 Food 8/10 Value for Money 9/10 Total Score: 33/40
Brasserie Abode Chester
ABode Chester, Grosvenor Road, Chester, CH1 2DJ
Relaxed, sophisticated dining that moves effortlessly from day to night. Join us for brunch, lunch, dinner and cocktails and some of the best views in the city!
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