Out to play @Rocpool, Inverness

View from the Rocpool restaurant

On Friday I got out to play for the first time since I injured myself through slipping on black ice on 2nd January. We took the train from Kingussie to Inverness to meet up with Diane and John, who we met in an international hotel in Beijing last year, for an indulgent Friday lunch at the Rocpool restaurant. 

The great advantage of having the restaurant's wine list on-line is that you can choose at least the first bottle in advance, so we were able to order a bottle of the Domane Wachau 2016 Grüner Veltliner even before we sat down. The GV (sensibly closed with a screwcap) was very crisp, clean and citric making it a good apéritif.

This was my first visit to Rocpool for a number of years and I was definitely impressed with the food, wine list and the quality of service. Both the food and wine list are typically Modern British eclectic with influences from many different cuisines. We opted for the set lunch – two courses for £16.95. It was little surprise, however, that after our two courses we went for either a dessert or cheese. 

Our starters:

 Fritto Misto of king prawn and baby calamari with
marinated plum tomatoes, fresh lemon, chilli &

crispy capers

  

Carpaccio of beetroot with Highland blue cheese & 

roasted hazelnuts with fresh mint and aged balsamic  

      salad of parma ham & shaved Williams pear with 

pecorino cheese, broad beans, lemon & mint 

Once we had finished the Grüner Veltliner we moved onto some red with an impressive – soft and spicy – 2015 Primitivo Salento, Critèra from Schola Sarmenti – as our initial choice.

Main courses: 

Pan fried breast of chicken with wild mushroom risotto, 

black pudding, rocket & shaved parmesan

Pan fried fillet of sea bream with oriental stir fry 

of baby pak choi, steamed jasmine rice & crispy fried
shallots with cashew nuts, sesame & basil

2nd red: 

2011 Colline Teramane, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo

Fantini Farnese

 

 

The 2011 Colline Teramane, Montepulciano d'Abruzzo Fantini Farnese is obviously from further north with greater acidity and also more structured than the Primitivo. 

Desserts & cheese:

 Affogato – vanilla ice cream with a shot of 

expresso & liqueur of your choice

 Triple chocolate praline tart with salted caramel ice cream

Instead of a dessert I opted for a selection of cheese from Rory Stone (Highland Fine Cheeses). All were made from ewe's milk.

A visit to Rocpool is definitely recommended.....