A celebratory dinner

On Saturday (yes, if you hadn't already worked out it was anther weekend of dinners out!) we helped D's brother and his girlfriend move into a new flat. It was a fun day, I helped unpack the kitchen mainly, which is my favorite room in the house, I love shopping for kitchenware! 

As a thank you, they took us, and D's dad out for dinner, to Café Rouge in Reigate. We had a great evening, the company was perfect and the service was impeccable. We had a small amount of tesco vouchers to use - and I must admit this is my favorite thing, every time D and I get our vouchers through the post we order Café Rouge vouchers for a little treat - they're worth 4 times your voucher value! 

I was in a bit of a tetchy mood if I'm honest, I wanted the food to be perfect... And sadly it didn't live up to expectations. 

To start, I had chorizo. I expected it to come like it would in a tapas bar - cooked and ready to eat. Instead, it was cold, fresh out the fridge. I still enjoyed it, but was slightly disappointed and it's not a course I would choose again visiting that restaurant. 

Steak, as you will know if you have read my profile, is one of my favorite things. Café Rouge is one of those places where I thoroughly enjoy steak, and therefore tend to float towards it as my dish of choice, and this occasion was no different. I went for a sirloin, with peppercorn sauce, and chips, cooked medium rare. The thing that frustrates me the most, is that restaurants never seem to be able to cook steak to the right level, so I always go for medium rare as inevitably it will be overcooked. I was not surprised, the dish was nice but overcooked, it was more medium-well than rare, and I was very glad I didn't go for medium (which is actually how I like it!) The peppercorn sauce was perfect, not too spicy, and nice and thick, and it tasted amazing covered over the chips. 

We, once again decided to go for a dessert. I really fancied the chocolate pancakes, which came with banana... I love fresh bananas, but am not really a fan of them in puddings. So just to confuse things, I asked for the pudding, without the banana, and with salted caramel ice cream instead of vanilla. It was the perfect pudding, a great combination of hot and cold, salty and smooth, rich and sweet, it was melt in your mouth heaven. And I wasn't the only one who ordered exactly that dish! (The thing on top is crumbled white chocolate - not cheese!) 

I must mention, once again, the incredible service received by the staff. I was being a bit picky, and fussy (which I always have been with food), and he pandered to our every need. If I was being a difficult food critic on purpose, he would have scored 10/10, so for that I thank you. Your staff are excellent.

7/10

Time for bed.

SD 

Paigey x