6 minute read
DINING OUT Enjoying a visit to
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She despairs of me, does the current Mrs Davis. Her palate was honed in the not exactly exotic North East of England, and she’s not especially well-travelled.
Still, you can’t fault her open-mindedness when it comes to food. She’ll try anything, and enjoy most of it. Meanwhile my palate is a bit more conservative, leading her to tease me mercilessly when we’re perusing restaurant menus; ‘let’s see if we can find something bland for you, shall we?!?’
In fairness, I’m getting better thanks to some really good experiences with local chefs who have pushed me a little out of my comfort zone and into enlightenment. But ever so occasionally I have to retreat to the familiar; to my favourite dishes. And should I design a menu of personal favourites, it would comprise of local asparagus, pork belly, then something with white chocolate and raspberry in it for dessert. Joy of joy, that’s exactly what this month’s dining out feature, Orbis of Oakham, served me recently. Just on the cusp of May I took great joy in venturing out into Oakham post-lockdown for my first Rutland dining out feature in a good long while.
OPEN FOR FOOD
Monday, Wednesday to Saturday 11am to 11pm. NB: Please call for up to date opening times, which may by subject to change according to Covid-19. The local hospitality industry is currently best described as ‘cautiously optimistic,’ but Orbis of Oakham has weathered the choppy year better than most restaurants, serving up takeaway meals and, during our visit, opening up for outdoor service.
Not only that, we’re delighted to reveal that a second restaurant, Orbis Stamford, will be opening in the town as Pride goes to press. Orbis Stamford will be on the first floor of Hoppi Dorri in the town, but the ground floor of the restaurant will remain as Hoppi Dorri following Orbis’s Jonathan Spencer taking on the building and the business.
Happily that means Jonathan will provide local diners with the pan-Asian Hoppi Dorri experience, but also the Orbis concept in Stamford and Oakham, too. >>
on the MENU
Amuse-Bouche Crispy seaweed £5.50. Sourdough bread from Kavanagh’s £5. From the Land Peking duck breast with spring onions and cucumber ribbons £10.50. Maple syrup belly pork £9.50. Brazilian spare ribs with sticky pineapple sauce £10.50. Sriracha chicken with yuzu mayo £9.50. From the Sea Firecracker prawns served sizzling £11.50. King Do prawns in a sticky Asian sauce £9.50. Salt and pepper squid with garlic alioli £8.50. Pan seared scallops with cumin cauliflower and crispy pancetta £15. From the Garden Wild mushroom and tarragon risotto £6.50. Pan fried soy asparagus £6. Oyster mushroom larb with green onion and garlic £8.50. Dessert White chocolate and raspberry tartlet with raspberry sorbet £7.50.
NB: All menu items at Orbis are gluten-free, Please note, menu items are subject to change.
Orbis Oakham, Church Street 01572 720411, or see www.orbisoakham.co.uk
>> The idea of Orbis is to take culinary inspiration from across the world, without being constrained to authenticity.
Jonathan and his excellent Head Chef Sam McDonald concede that their dishes are Anglicised to some degree, but point out that being familiar with local dining preferences and having a wealth of local ingredients around them, they’d be remiss in not tweaking traditional dishes to appeal more to their customers.
They also make a rather valid point that as they’re combining dishes from lots of different countries, the restaurant is already making concessions to geographical culinary precedents anyway.
An enjoyable facet of Orbis is the fact that instead of serving up a traditional starter course, main course and dessert, you can choose any number of small dishes, with a single simple menu divided up into sections for small plates of meat, small plates of seafood, small plates of vegetable-based dishes and a couple of signature dishes too.
It’s a sort of tapas format, which allows you to choose just a dish or two if you’re grazing on the terrace over a glass of wine, or create a sort of mix-and-match dining experience to sample and to combine as many of the dishes as you please.
And so, diners may opt for a Japanese-style Wagyu beef dish with sesame, soy and truffle, or perhaps the Gallic whole baked Camembert. There’s a spare rib dish inspired by Brazil, a Thai-inspired Sriracha chicken dish and duck breast created in the style of a Beijing fine dining restaurant.
All well and good, but how does it go down with the culinarily timid Editor? Glorious. My grilled asparagus was sublime, pan-fried with an umami soy dressing. Next, a pork belly dish which doffed a beautifully salty and peppery crackling hat to reveal silken
juicy porcine gloriousness beneath... both were beautifully presented, all technically flawless. A perfect ten would hinge on presenting a dessert which delivered, and when a pretty white chocolate and raspberry tart arrived with raspberry sorbet, a hat-trick of enjoyable excellence was complete.
This is very good quality and sublime dining, and being free from convention allows Sam, his sous Josh Betts, and Jonathan to provide a great dining experience which admittedly does its own thing... but does it so well that nobody could question it. A word of praise, too, for the front of house team who were lovely throughout our visit and help to create a relaxed and really very cool but also professional vibe.
By the time Pride lands on doorsteps, we hope that the restaurant’s 38 covers indoors as well as its 20 outdoor covers will all be much in demand. Persist with trying to secure a booking, though, either in Oakham or in Stamford when Orbis opens there. It’ll be a great experience and you won’t be disappointed with a dining experience that takes you right around the world. n
MEET THE CHEF
SAM McDONALD
Sam McDonald works alongside Josh Betts to create an international dining experience at Orbis using local produce from names like Price & Fretwell – for quality butchery – and Fish Rich. Sam’s favourite dish on the menu is his Denver of Wagyu.
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Words: Rob Davis.
