There has been so many new bars and restaurants popping up around Birmingham that sometimes you forget about the staples we already have (& love) in the city. I mean it's not every day that you want your cocktail covered under a veil of a heavy white fog or your dinner to come in those tiny terracotta dishes smothered in oil. Sometimes you just fancy a roasted duck, a glass of red wine and a belly-bursting amount of cheese. Well, Cafe Rouge's got your back. And their restaurants are placed rather strategically around the whole Birmingham city centre - in the quaint Brindley Place, in the manic Bullring and in the high end Mailbox.
French cuisine at your fingertips - and now the leaves have coloured red & yellow Cafe Rouge has revamped the menu to suit the foggy mornings, chilly lunch walks & nights that come too early. The autumn menu features a couple more steaks and hearty options to give you the warm and fuzzy belly feeling we're all after these days.
From their starters I'd pick the Champignons a L'ail any day. They remind me of those childhood family trips to an abandoned castle somewhere in the middle of the Czech Republic where we spent the whole morning picking mushrooms and then we'd eat them fried on toast until our bellies were so full that we'd just snuggle up in front of the telly with a cuppa and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. Dishes that remind you of your childhood are they best, aren't they?
I'm a duck obsessive so when I spot it on the menu there's no going back. Cafe Rouge makes an exquisite Confit de Canard. It's so ridiculously tender that you question all your previous eating out decisions. I could eat it every day. On the weekdays I'd eat with their orange sauce because it gives it a spicy kick to wake you up and on the weekend I'd dip it in their cherry sauce - it's oh so sweet and comforting.
You must not forget to try their Selection de Fromages (a cheeseboard if you like). I have found my personal goats cheese favourite through this very cheeseboard. It's called Rond du Cher & I urge you to specifically request this one kind if goats cheese is your cuppa tea. It's so buttery and soft and makes you want to smother your face in it.
Oh and have I mentioned the Creme Brûlée? You'd be a fool if you didn't try it! The gentleman sat at the table next to us shamelessly shouted that this is the BEST brûlée he's EVER had (and he was only half way through his cup).
Have I swayed you for a spot of French cuisine next week?
Find out more here.
Find out more here.
