We don’t eat meat very often, and sometimes we have a meat craving. On the night the craving manifested itself it happened to be the steak night at The Cross Keys, but the place was so packed that we decided to go somewhere else. There are several places in Nottingham where you can eat decent steaks but if I had to choose one, it would definitely be The Larder on Goosegate. (tl;dr summary at the end.)
We have been to The Larder many times now for various occasions and quality has always been top-notch. More importantly, I just love their food ethos. They always try to source locally their ingredients and they make do with what they can find at this specific time of the year. I remember that at some point they had a lot of pig on their menu because they had bought a whole pig from a Nottinghamshire farm. You can tell they respect their ingredients, and sadly this is not what happens in most establishments.
I also love the fact that they do not try to do something else than British cuisine. You sometimes feel that restaurants are ashamed to cook British, and they try to do ‘european’ or ‘mediterranean’ (if that makes any sense) instead. The Larder on Goosegate follows the bold approach of sticking to British cuisine and making it good. If someone asks you to bring them to a British restaurant to taste British food, The Larder is the right place.
But let’s stop talking in such general terms. Reader, meet the steak; steak, meet the reader.
Different cuts are available — another good point. You can choose between the Bavette, the Picanha, the Hanger or the Flat Iron. Those are very funny names and and they would fit perfectly in a superhero movie, but for having tried them all I can tell you that a, say, Picanha is very different from a Bavette. The grain and the texture are worlds apart as well as the flavours.
One of my criteria for judging a steak is whether or not it will be cooked as I ordered it. I usually ask for my meat to be blue, and very often it leaves the kitchen medium. Eating meat at least rare is really a conundrum in the UK; but not at The Larder. I asked for a blue steak, and blue I had it.
Long story short: the meat is delicious. It is probably one of the best meat I have ever had. It is incredibly tender and has an amazing taste. I would love to know its precise origin — something I should ask. Last time we had steak at The Larder, it had been salted a little bit too much but this time it was seasoned perfectly.
It needs to be noted that the ‘seasonal leaves’ were also surprisingly good. It is usually something that you leave or you eat without too much thought, but here the dressing was really nice.
The only real downside was the chips. It has been my only complaint each time we have been there. They are good, but they are just… average. I am not even sure they are homemade. This is really surprising when compared to the top-notch quality of the rest of the food.
They are other small details which make The Larder enjoyable. They have sauces you can order along your food. This time we opted for the tarragon and mushroom sauce and it was a nice addition to the chips. Another thing I love is this:
That is, every meal comes with slices of bread as a starter. Another good point is their wine and beer menu — especially the fact they have a good selection Blue Monkey beers.
Of course The Larder is not the cheapest place. A steak will cost you between £16 and £21. However, I do prefer eating meat less often but eating better meat. This is exactly what The Larder on Goosegate offers: top-quality meat in a pleasant surrounding. If only they could improve the quality of their chips, everything would be perfect.
The Larder on Goosegate
Fonzillo's Kitchen 