THE glorious seafood smell hits you the second you step inside Bistro Verde.
Even though the weather we’ve been having of late has veered from scorching to squelching, just that seaside smell alone brings the sunshine back.
Needless to say, if you are one of those folk who moans “I don’t like fish...” Bistro Verde is probably not for you.
Your loss ...
My starter was seafood lover’s dream – mussels with a tomato, chilli and garlic sauce (£5.95).
Forking the plump orange seafood from their shiny black shells then dunking them into the deep, rich broth was immensely satisfying.
It wasn’t long before the bowl was empty and I was soaking up the last drops from the bowl with some crusty brown bread.
My wife went for the daintier, less messy, option – potato blinis with smoked salmon and dill creme fraiche (£5.95).
The blinis were perfectly made, but she wished the salmon and dressing had packed a bigger punch.
She followed that with a dish that took us both back to summer holidays abroad – whole roasted seabream wrapped in Parma ham, rosemary and garlic mayo (£16.95).
This was typical of the kind of food we would gorge ourselves on while abroad and this was just as good (even if the surroundings weren’t quite as sun-kissed).
Simply cooked, without the need for loads of accompaniments or garnishes, this was the perfect summery meal. Even though it contained a number of bones that looked like they could skewer your brain from inside your mouth, with a bit of time and care the amazing flavours more than compensated for the hassle factor.
Although I was ogling my wife’s plate, I wasn’t exactly doing too badly on my side of the table.
My fillets of halibut and sea trout (£16.95) were cooked to flaky perfection and the fresh samphire and velvety butter sauce added crunch and richness.
By the end we were both absolutely stuffed to the gunnels so there was only one thing to do – order dessert.
After a slightly irritating wait of 20 minutes before even being offered the sweet menu, we plumped for the chocolate nut torte with white chocolate ice cream and chocolate sauce (£4.95) – every bit as bad as it sounds. And, as we all know, “bad” in a chocolate sense means “very good indeed”.
Bistro Verde isn’t the cheapest of nights out but that al-fresco feeling it invokes is worth every penny.