We had the pleasure of sampling some dishes from one of the newest places to eat in town, 1699 Bar and Restaurant, on Lower Bridge Street.
It’s one of those places in Chester you might not have heard of yet, but we think that’ll change pretty quickly once people get wind of the quality of the menu and the relaxed atmosphere it offers, all situated inside a stunning Georgian building inside the city walls.
After a tour of the recently renovated Amphitheatre Apartment, it was time for canapes and the obligatory prosecco (always a good start), plus a bit of mingling. Then it was time to sit down in the spacious dining room and choose our starters.
(Left to right: Main Course – Pork Fillet, Starter – Butter Poached Chicken, Main Course – Gnocchi, Dessert – Fresh Fruit Pavolva)
There was a choice of butter poached chicken with wild mushrooms and baby leeks served with garden peas, watercress salad and crisp ciabatta, or goats cheese and honey bonbons with quinoa, garden beetroot and balsamic dressing.
Both looked fantastic and tasted equally as good. They left us wanting more and really looking forward to the main course.
And when the mains came, they didn’t disappoint. The meat dish was a pork fillet and slow cooked pork belly with mashed potato, café au lait sauce, and a toffee apple. Yes, you read that right – a toffee apple. This was a ball of crackling on a crackling stick with a hit of sharp apple sauce inside it. It tasted fantastic and had that stickiness you get with a traditional toffee apple.
The non-meat option was just as tasty: wild mushroom gnocchi with baby spinach, garden peas, asparagus and Parmesan shavings.
Now it was time for dessert. You knew it was going to be wonderful from the description – fresh fruit pavlova with passion fruit and prosecco jelly. It was everything it should be. Sweet crunchy meringue full of whipped cream loaded with strawberries, blueberries and kumquats sitting side-by-side with the jelly squares. All the flavours and textures worked beautifully together and ended the meal perfectly.
There was wine to complement each course, and the staff were attentive throughout. The chefs even came out afterwards to introduce themselves and answer any questions about the food. The only one asked was: ‘Can we have seconds, please?’.
1699 Bar & Restaurant is part of the Townhouse hotel, so you can stay in one of their 30 bedrooms after you’ve dined.
For more info, check out the Chester Townhouse website now.