This evening, my boyfriend and I headed to Quite Simply Food in Lancaster for a meal out. We visited Quite Simply French, its sister restaurant, for my birthday last June and it was fantastic, so thought we'd sample the English equivalent.
The restaurant has a lovely ambience when you walk in; low lighting, plush sofas and inviting colours on the walls, it is hard to imagine that it is a simple cafe and deli during the day. We went quite early to take advantage of an offer that is available during the week where you pay different amounts for a main course depending on the time you order it (at 6pm it's £6, 6.30pm it's £6.50 etc) which considering the main courses are normally £11 a go, is a really reasonable deal.
As we were saving money on the main course, we decided to have a starter to begin with, and both chose the fishcake. It was served with a little salad with balsamic vinegar, and was absolutely gorgeous. You could tell that the fish was good quality, as it melted in the mouth and was deliciously fresh, and there were bits of pepper and onion in it that complimented the flavour well. For the main course, I had the beef bourguignon, while my boyfriend opted for the monkfish cheeks. My dish had huge chunks of steak in it, in a lovely mushroomy bourguignon sauce, and the portion was a very healthy size! I was quite dubious about the monkfish, as I have had it before and not enjoyed it, but it was cooked to perfection. The main courses don't come with any side dishes unless specified on the menu, but as we both had starters, it was ample food to fill us up.
Being a fan of desserts, and spotting the long menu, I pushed the boat out and had a third course. I got the almond creme brulee, a personal favourite, and the french roots behind the restaurant were apparent in the dish, as it was very traditionally made. I love hearing the crack on breaking through the caramelised sugar coating!
Overall I couldn't recommend this restaurant highly enough. Not only does it have a good variety of food, but there are a number of different offers available throughout the week, so there really is something for every budget. The service is timed exactly right so you don't feel rushed, but are not sat around hungry waiting to be served. The only thing I would say is that alcoholic drinks are quite pricey, but then it's not the kind of place you would go to get hammered. A small glass of wine is around £4.50, which easily lasted me for my meal, and you can tell that they have chosen to serve quality wines rather than compromise to make it cheaper. I shall be returning at some point I'm sure!
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