Cafe Rouge (Spinningfields)

I really hate to admit this, but the food here isn't bad. I've never, not once in my life set foot in a Cafe Rouge, as I have a personal thing about large chain restaurants.

So it was with a sense of dread that we entered, and did so only because of the 50% discount cards that they hand out at Spinningfields these days. "What the hell, for 1/2 off, I'll give it a try" I thought....in particular as it's very near the outdoor cinema screen showing movies every Thursday night (a brilliant idea, by the way).

So....the food. I had the prawns in garlic for a starter, that were fine. It came with an tomato salsa of sort....and while the salsa was out of place with the prawns, it was actually delicious, and tasted great on the bread that came with the plate. The Mrs. Had the duo of fish, some perfectly good smoked salmon, and a really good crab in mayo mixture. So far so good.

I had an unusual steak, a "Bavette", which I would guess is a variety of rump. In any case it was good, and came with a nice garlic sauce. The Mrs had "Poulet Bretton" which was chicken in a fairly weak white wine sauce. This was the low point of the meal, as it was just a step above the type of dish you'd get on the "rubber chicken" circuit, though it was perfectly edible.

The deserts were a good chocolate tart, and an equally good lemon tart. Again, not extraordinary, but perfectly good.

Service was outstanding.....fast and friendly.

To be honest, at full price I'd only go here occasionally, though I would drop in if there were an event nearby I was otherwise going to. But at half off it's a steal, and a nice night out for not a lot of money. I reckon with Spinningfields dying a death these 1/2 of deals will be with us for a while.
Comment on this reader review

Adam Roberts
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Tuesday, July 07, 2009