The foodie flood gates have been opened. With so many new restaurants popping up left, right and centre in Birmingham, it can be hard to know where to go for a consistently beautiful meal. Luckily for us Brummie folk, luxury hotel and bistro Hotel Du Vin on Church Street is an iconic establishment which boasts brilliant wine pairings, service and satisfying food. Recently taken over by the new General Manager, Barry Sherwin, I was looking forward to sampling their new bistro menu at a VIP bloggers event.
Bubble Lounge Drinks
We were welcomed to the Bubble Lounge and started off by tasting some Gusbourne, a refreshing English Sparkling wine. It was lovely to see some familiar blogger faces that I haven’t seen in a while, and I had the pleasure of meeting Laura from Bite Your Brum for the very first time. Be sure to pop over and read her review afterwards! The bubbles were accompanied with some light nibbles and olives and we slowly sipped our welcome drinks before making our way to the main restaurant area.
Entrées at Hotel Du Vin
We were led to a large table at the back of the restaurant, positioned perfectly behind the sommelier table which we had the pleasure of being shown after the meal. The new menu is full of french classics as you would expect. Starters vary from snails to French onion soup, mussels to various meaty options. After careful consideration I opted for the Steak Tartare that can be eaten either as a starter (£6.95) or main (£14.95). A generous portion in the centre of the plate, this dish won’t be to everyone’s taste. Served with pommes frites and fine chopped beef, capers, gherkins and shallots, it was a simplistic yet delicious combination of flavours and textures. The golden globe egg on top was perfectly executed and rounded off the dish entirely.
Apéritifs at Hotel Du Vin
Sticking with the red meat that paired well with both the red and white wines, I chose the Gloucester Old Spot Pork Belly for main with pomme mousseline and jus de veau (£17.50). The salty flavour and crunch of the pork belly skin made up for the simplicity of the dish and worked well against the creamy mousseline. Various portions of vegetables were placed strategically on the table so we could help ourselves. The perfect balance between the moist pork belly and crunchy skin made for an ideal main course.
Desserts at Hotel Du Vin
Personally, the best part of the meal was the pudding. After eating two heavy courses, I craved something sweet to counterbalance the taste. Dessert ranges from Sorbets to Profiteroles, Creme Brûlées to Tartes, I really liked the sound of the Ile Flottante, Crème Anglais with Caramel sauce and chopped pink pralines. (£6.95). My sweet tooth always gets the better of me after a meal and this dessert didn’t let me down. It was so deliciously creamy, and paired well with the praline. I would 100% order this again, much noms!
Soon after finishing, we were treated to a brief introduction to the Sommeliers Table. This small cabinet against the back wall is where certain wines are available for diners to try by the glass. People may not realise what it’s there for, but if you see it when visiting, it’s worth asking to try some samples. You never know what you might find! Once again, I had a really lovely meal at Hotel Du Vin. A complete contrast to the summer menu which I previously reviewed. I’m itching to go back already and would love to take my boyfriend Josh with me next time as he’s never eaten here before. I couldn’t fault the staff either, they have nimble ninjas fingers and you hardly see them take plates from the table. Take a peek at the Hotel du Vin menu here.
Bistro du Vin, Hotel du Vin, 25 Church Street, Birmingham, B3 2NR
Please note: I was invited to sample the new menu as a guest of Hotel du Vin, Birmingham. My meal and drinks was complementary in return for an honest review.