You know, one of my favourite things in the world is a beautiful bar that serves great cocktails and even better food while being relaxed and comfortable with no pretensions. At the moment the US really have the front in this race, so it's not surprising that when I heard about Nosh and Quaff a bar restaurant in a gorgeous old marble clad building in Birmingham serving up lobster rolls, shrimp and grits and other Southern delicacies alongside cocktails and ice cold beers I knew I had to give it a visit. When my dad said he wanted to have a day in Birmingham for his birthday it seemed like the perfect excuse to give it a try and so we headed there for lunch on our way to the art gallery which is just around the corner.
We arrived early way before the lunch rush which meant I was able to snap some lovely photos of the interior while we all ordered up some drinks and chose what to eat. Naturally I wanted to try a cocktail and I decided to go for the Southern Gentleman which was a really refreshing drink that included marmalade vodka and something peachy - you all know I love anything peachy! Then out came the food...
Little sis went for the Cajun Grits which came out in a little skillet pan. There was a nice portion of creamy grits (think mashed potato but made of rich seasoned polenta) topped with a sweetcorn salsa and big chunks of poached lobster with a nice slab of corn bread on the side. The accompanying sauced came in the form of a cute little milk churn full of super creamy seafood bisque which was the natural accompaniment to this dish. It got a big thumbs up from everyone that tried it and it was definitely the best grits I've had since our trip to the US.
Dad went for the Big Apple Dog and absolutely loved it. The sausage itself was an all pork kielbasa as opposed to your regular frank and it has a nice crisp snap when you bit into it with a juicy centre. The dog was topped with bacon jam, caramelised onions, ketchup and American mustard and was served with some nice vinegary slaw and awesome fries. The buttermilk bun was a nice twist too, again elevating it way above your standard hot dog.
I had known from the start that I was going to go for the lobster roll. I'm a big seafood nut and yet I'd never tried one of these before so it just had to be done. Now I am always honest as you all know and so I have to say that this wasn't all I had hoped it would be, but I think that is down to my personal taste and not the actual product being badly done. There was a good amount of lobster meat in there along with some nice chunks of celery and spring onion but it was the dressing that just didn't do it for me. I wanted it to be super creamy with a nice citrus twist but it was more sharp and just not as luscious as I'd hoped. The sweet potato wedges with sour cream dip were wonderful though and like I said, I think my disappointment was down to my palate and not the dish itself - you may well adore it!
Momma went for The Cheeky Burger and the first thing she said after she took a bite was "well somebody knows what they're doing"- what more can I say? The burger patty was cooked perfectly medium rare as requested and it was topped with rich and super tender pulled slow cooked beef cheek, cheese, crisp onion rings and truffle mayo. Again it was served in a buttermilk bun and served alongside was a nice big pickle spear and the same delicious fries.
Not that we needed it with all that food but I also ordered us a Blooming Onion to share as I've always wanted to try one. It's just a big white onion cut very cleverly and dusted with seasoned flour before it's deep fried and opens up like a flower! Then you can just pull off the petals and dip them in the house sauce! It was just as yummy as I had imagined and I can definitely see why so many folks in the US love them so much - you can definitely count me in as a new blooming onion convert!
All in all we loved our meal at Nosh and Quaff - the service was beyond great (they even brought dad out a little surprise birthday cake!), the surroundings were gorgeous and the food and drinks were fabulous. We'll definitely be coming back and I'll be bringing the husband next time too - maybe then we might finish that giant onion!
Not that we needed it with all that food but I also ordered us a Blooming Onion to share as I've always wanted to try one. It's just a big white onion cut very cleverly and dusted with seasoned flour before it's deep fried and opens up like a flower! Then you can just pull off the petals and dip them in the house sauce! It was just as yummy as I had imagined and I can definitely see why so many folks in the US love them so much - you can definitely count me in as a new blooming onion convert!
All in all we loved our meal at Nosh and Quaff - the service was beyond great (they even brought dad out a little surprise birthday cake!), the surroundings were gorgeous and the food and drinks were fabulous. We'll definitely be coming back and I'll be bringing the husband next time too - maybe then we might finish that giant onion!
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