Handmade Burger at The Bread and Bitter

The last couple of weeks or so I have found myself supping my beer on a Friday night at The Bread and Bitter up on Mapperley Top. This is a totally different part of Nottingham for me to hang out in and a welcome change, brought about partly from the arrival of twins to one of my partners in crime and the need to stay closer to his nest (Congrats to Martin and Kate)

It has also been my gain as The Bread and Bitter is an excellent pub in the Castle Rock Stable serving good and decent real ales, including my staple sup of Harvest Pale. They do some pretty tasty food as well and I have made it my quest to sample one or two things from their menu, all in the aid of the MyFoodHunt family

Now Normally when in a decent real ale pub serving pub grub I am clamouring all over a traditional pub classic and this last week was no different as I went for one of my go to favourites ordering the “Handmade Burger” which proved to be a pretty good decision.

It is a pretty simple affair executed really well, for your money you get a juicy burger patty served in a glazed brioche bun with a slice of gouda cheese, slice of tomato and a bit of lettuce.

In amongst those basic layers there is a nice relish which I should have paid more attention to when I was reading the menu I think it is some sort of aioli, so lets just say that it was a bit of a grown up mayonnaise.

The chips were once again those great big chunky ones and if I am honest I will say that they are too chunky and too, well, kind of healthy for me. I like mine fried not baked. They are solid enough though and sit on the plate in their special tin alongside a really nice simple side salad.

There are plenty of pub classics on The Bread and Bitter menu and plenty of specials on the board, classic wise I almost had the “Homemade beer battered fish, chips, and crushed peas” for £9.95. I heard someone on another table comment that it was really nice but overpriced for what it was.

It did sound nice on the menu; “Harvest pale battered fresh cod loin, with homemade chips, caramelised lemon, crushed peas and homemade tartare sauce” Yum to the max!  maybe another time?

Caribbean Curry – a little bit of home spun flair

On an earlier visit to The Bread and Bitter I stepped out of my pub classic comfort zone and ordered “Nuldas Caribbean chicken” for £9.95 mostly because this was described as being “made to our own chefs traditional family recipe”

It was basically a plateful of chicken breast, sweet potato, sweet peppers in a Caribbean style sauce

This was not as spicy as I was expecting, I was anticipating a little big more of a punch of flavour wow, but having said that it did leave a little bit of gentle heat on the palate and an intriguing backnote on the palate. It was a little bit sweet, probably a combination of that soft red pepper sauce and those soft sweet potatoes.

There was a smaller amount of chicken than I would have liked for my 10 quid, but enough to fill the dish and leave room for a few more pints of Castle Rock. There was a big ring mould of rice on the plate, what I would call “posh Uncle Ben’s” and a pretty nice mixed salad.

It was all very eatable I wouldn’t mind sitting having a never ending bowlful from a steaming pot on the stove for my tea at Nulda’s kitchen table. I would have just like a tad more spice and a bit more seasoning, it was all a bit subtle for me, maybe all it really needed was salt and pepper? (which I could have added myself)

We also ate some chips when we got peckish

I really liked the sound of a lot of the items on the menu at the Bread and Bitter, but I really think that you need to pick your way through to get a good pricepoint. They have Homemade Gnocci which sounds great but £10.95 seems a lot so perhaps have it as a starter as that is just £5.95

If I was feeling more adventurous or perhaps on a real intrepid MyFoodHunt then I would be really keen to try the Boss Eggs for £6.95 which is described as “Feta and truffle scrambled free range eggs served with avocado, prosciutto or smoked salmon and sourdough bread

The Shalshuka sounded interesting, “a smoked red pepper ragout served in a pan topped with a poached egg and served with warm ciabatta bread and fresh houmous“; You can get that for £5.95 as a starter or for £6.95 from the breakfast menu.

Talking of breakfast, 0ne of MyFoodHunt companions comes up here a lot at the weekend and heartily recommends the “Full English Breakfast” which is favourably priced at £6.95 or £12 for two. I liked the sound of this too, even pre recommendation; “Sausage, bacon, fried egg, hash brown, beans, grilled field mushroom, grilled tomato, toast and butter, and served with tea or coffee” now that sounds like a real bargain!

The Bread and Bitter is located up on Mapperley Top at 153-155 Woodthorpe Drive (NG3 5JL). I rode the number 45 bus up from the City Centre up here and got off at the Mapperley Top shops. My mate with the twins staggered up the road all sleepy eyed from somewhere a bit closer 🙂