Credit Crunch Lunch - Cielo
Place: Cielo, 6 Oozells Square, Brindleyplace, Birmingham. Tel: 0121 632 6882
Why go?: This heavyweight Italian puts imposters to shame.
Price: Three-course fixed menu £15.95 (two courses £12.95). Value-lissimo.
Rating: * * * *
The meal: First of all, top marks for a fixed-lunch menu that changes each week. (It is also offered early evening, before 7pm). This, of course, is what restaurants should do, in order to offer choice and variety, entice regular customers and keep the chef from going stir crazy. But so few do. The same old grotty, wipe-down menu is hauled out for months on end. Not at Cielo.
When Jerry and I visited last week, there were four starters, including soup of the day (a reassuring minestrone), three mains (meat, fish and rice were all covered) and a choice of desserts from the a la carte menu. When I looked this week, the menu was completely different – and if anything, looked even better. There was veal ossobucco, red wine and thyme jus, saffron risotto. Just the job for a blizzard.
Secondly, I am absolutely delighted lunch was so good. A previous meal at Cielo was not without “incident.” I was disappointed; they were disappointed I was disappointed; there was a full and frank exchange of views. I’d heard great things about the place and couldn’t understand why. Now I can. I loved lunch, I absolutely loved it: good, flavoursome, clean cooking and good service.
I had the rigatoni pasta with four cheeses and mascarpone sauce to start. The trump card was finishing it with ground pistachio, lending the dish a moreish crunch. Jerry is trying to lose weight – he was on telly and his wife said he looked fat – so he had filo pastry with oven-roasted Mediterranean vegetables. Pastry is fattening, I told him.
He disagreed. He asked the waitress. She said it wasn’t. She said pastry was lovely. She was lovely, too, but I know Jerry will look even fatter next time he’s on the box.
It was Friday, so I had fish – grilled fillet of plaice with spring onions, red peppers and carrots in a white wine jus. Plaice, such a simple fish, is hard to beat in my books. It came on a disc of mashed potato, making for a unified plate of invigorating comfort. The classic sauce was unfussily effective.
My guest had breast of chicken with tarragon, chilli and mixed herbs in a red wine reduction. I didn’t ask to taste it as I suspect Jerry is not entirely comfortable with his sexuality and may have taken offence at plate-sharing.
Being a big girl’s blouse, he didn’t have dessert but I had a good bitter chocolate tart with vanilla ice cream. The meal was rounded off with a couple of decent double expressos. Don’t you find a lot of places have bad coffee these days, burnt tasting and watery, the product of duff machines and inept managers? Not here. Top coffee.
And good wine. We followed the restaurant manager’s recommendation of Gavi “La Luciana”, Araldica Italy 2007 (£19.50) and it tickled the spot extremely well. An ideal lunch wine.
Bread watch: Inclusive. Tasty ciabatta rolls and little sticks. No glares when asking for more.
Verdict: Incredibly good value lunch. Immaculate table settings. For such assured cooking and great ambiance, £15.95 is a steal.
