Lunch / £££ / 7/10

I was invited out for lunch by 2 very dear friends and Cleaver and Wake was suggested as the venue. Having had a pretty mediocre Sunday Lunch for the price of a months gas and electricity in November I decided to swallow my criticism and do as I said in the original review. Try the restaurant on another occasion, give it the benefit of the doubt.

Reviewing the menu I felt a sense of de ja vu, the lunch menu is also a fixed price for 2 or 3 courses and the dishes that appealed to me the most carried a surcharge. Given the earlier issue with the beef wellington I decided to stay on the fixed price (hence why this review is one £ cheaper). I ordered smoked salmon for starter and beef cheek for main course. The starter was a riot of flavour. It impressed with different textures and hit all the taste notes you would hope with the savoury smokiness of the salmon, earthiness of the beetroot and sharpness of the pickled cucumber. The split sauce was a nice addition but it didn’t add much to the flavour so for that purpose let’s call it the ‘cream and green sauce’ (as I cannot remember what was in it and was having far too good a time with my friends to take a photo of the menu – rookie error).

Next came the beef which was slow cooked and melted as soon as you took a mouthful, imparted with all the juices it had been cooked in it went well with the drizzly day. The crumb on top added a nice contrast in the mouth but lacked flavour so wasn’t very interesting. The potato and vegetables were well cooked but needed a thicker sauce with a bit more depth. This was all eerily familiar. One of my friends (who is self admittedly ‘fussy’, but let’s call her ‘discerning’) had the chicken and was pleased to find a dish she didn’t need to amend in anyway when ordering, she enjoyed it very much.

I finished with a chocolate orange mousse (after having the internal argument that it’s not really a very good review site if the writer just orders sticky toffee pudding for EVERY meal). The ice cream was delicious, the popcorn had a slight saltiness to it that I loved and the aerated chocolate made me wonder why I don’t eat Aero’s more (clue – they aren’t as good as that aerated chocolate). The chocolate mousse though was hidden under all this and lacked the big air bubbles that burst on the toungue that I love. The orange segments were oddly lacking in orange flavour as well so I missed out on the freshness they should have delivered.

My other friend ordered a coffee to finish her meal and asked if they had any petit fours when it arrived solo, they said they did and would get some. My eye twitched – so you have something that might offer a diner a little burst of happiness and you don’t bring it as standard. Why? What are you waiting for? If it is a dinner service or tasting menu than that’s a damn shame. A lunch costing nearly £100 per person shouldn’t be treated like an after thought. The petit fours were really good – they should bring them to the table whenever a coffee is ordered.

There is definitely a place for Cleaver and Wake in Nottingham, it would be perfect for hosting clients or a safe pair of hands for a special work dinner but all the side bits were better than the main bits. Which isn’t enough to get me there (spending that much) again.