Eat My Words: We review Gilt café bar, Bingham
A lovely setting, lovely food, and lovely company is the brief version of my evening at Gilt, Bingham.
Since the sun was shining and the weather on our side, my colleagues and I took the opportunity to visit the café bar and make the most of its extensive outdoor seating.
The elevated garden overlooks Bingham’s pretty market place, and despite it’s town centre location is delightfully green with trees overhanging the seating area and flowers in the planters lining the entryway.
Inside is just as attractive, with a muted and luxurious feeling décor scheme, but the sunshine was simply to pleasant to pass up.
We ordered wine — it would be rude not to! — with small glasses of a nice, sweet Pink Orchid White Zinfandel coming in at £6.30 a pop. With notes of lychee and tropical fruits this certainly set the tone for a nice summer’s evening.
Gilt operates a very respectable tapas deal of three for £19.50, with 12 dishes to choose from, so we elected to sample three as a starter.
I can never pass up on Padron Peppers when they’re on the menu, so that was my pick, while Marta chose calamari with aioli, and Fionn opted for the halloumi fries with honey and sesame seeds.
All three came together on a wooden board, in uniform tapas bowls, and were generous portions.
The peppers could have done with a little more salt — though this was rectified easily enough with the salt shaker which had dutifully been brought to out table with the cutlery — but were otherwise perfectly prepared with just the right level of blistering to the fried skins.
The halloumi fries were, in Fionn’s words, “the best” he’d tried and lacked the deep fried sponginess some have, but were instead perfectly crisp on the outside and not overly greasy. The honey also added a nice balance of sweet and savoury.
As for the calamari, Marta said it was really good, with a nice crispy coating. The aioli dip which accompanied it was the perfect pairing.
Then we moved on to mains, which as we’d ordered them at the same time as the starters came swiftly after our tapas was devoured.
Gilt has a very wide range of options for the main course, from burgers, to salads, to classic dinners — so no matter what you’re craving there seems a good chance you’ll find it.
Our choices couldn’t really have varied more, from a classic cod and chips, to a spiced aubergine and tomato tagine, to a Poke Bowl.
The latter was my choice, as I fancied something a little lighter. The base is rice, vegetables, and sauce at £13.50, with the option to add a salmon fillet, chicken, prawns, etc, which ranged in price up to £5.
I chose to stick to the plain bowl, which certainly didn’t leave me feeling like anything was lacking. It was loaded with a large portion of sticky rice, heaps of sliced avocado, shredded carrots, cucumber sticks, edamame beans, and spring onions, then topped with lashings of creamy sriracha mayonnaise and a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
A pot of ginger soy sauce also came on the side.
This was right up my alley, and in my opinion the perfect kind of meal for a sunny evening. The vegetables were crisp and fresh, the rice soft and sticky, the avocado perfectly ripe, and with the soy sauce poured over the top it was a wonderful blend of flavours.
Marta opted for the £16.95 beer battered cod, served with skin on chips, mushy peas, and homemade tartare sauce.
What arrived was a beautiful hunk of fish, delicate and perfectly golden, topped with a sprinkle of sea salt.
It was nothing short of divine (I may have stolen a bite — obviously necessary as the reviewer), the fish was so moist and flaky, and the batter has a lovely crunch to it without being too greasy or overpowering.
The chips were crisp outside and fluffy, well seasoned, and the mushy peas were very flavourful, but could’ve been a bit warmer.
While not usually a fan of tartare sauce, Marta said Gilt’s was creamy and had a nice tangy taste which complemented the fish and chips.
Fionn’s spiced aubergine and tomato tagine was also the essence of a summer dish, with fluffy herb and mixed pepper couscous on the side of a slow-cooked aubergine, lemon, and apricot.
The apricots gave it a nice sweetness, and it was flavourful but not spicy — however it would benefit from an accompaniment of bread to add some more crunchy texture to the dish as it was otherwise entirely soft.
The tagine came in at £15.50.
It was safe to say that after all that food, while the dessert menu was very tempting we couldn’t stomach more than one sweet treat to finish.
The choice was a Chocolate Trillionaires Tart, at £7.50, served with summer berry compote and vanilla ice cream.
The slice of tart was attractive with a splash of gold on the top, and was indulgently chocolatey without being sickly.
Kudos must also go the compote, which added another layer of flavour to the dessert and was refreshingly tart.
I also opted to end the meal with one of Gilt’s mocktails — a Tropicaltini — which caught my fancy. With a mix of vanilla and passionfruit it had sharp yet slightly sweet flavour and was served in a way that felt as luxury as a real cocktail.
In fact — the presentation of the entire meal couldn’t be faulted, with nice blue and white crockery, authentic style tapas bowls, and simple garnishes on every meal.
Out of five:
Food: Perfectly cooked, generous portions, and a great variety of dishes to choose from no matter your taste. Aside from a few minor details Gilt served up a culinary storm and we very much enjoyed our meal. ****
Drinks: Gilt has a good selection of both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks — particularly the small selection of mocktails which are always nice to see when you’re driving. We had three glasses of wine, a half-pint of pineapple juice, a half-pint of Diet Coke, and the Tropicaltini. *****
Decor: The interior décor was attractive and welcoming, and the toilets well-maintained. The outside seating area was pretty, clean and tidy, and comfortable, however nothing extra special. ****
Staff: The staff were attentive, efficient, and welcoming. They checked back to ensure everything was ok with our meals, were prompt at clearing the table and brining the next course, and readily available when we wanted to order more drinks mid-meal. *****
Price: Gilt is a little on the pricier side for places to eat, but absolutely not unreasonable for the quality and location and on-par with restaurants I’ve visited of a similar nature. Our bill came to a total of £103.25 for three people, with six drinks, three mains, three tapas dishes, and a dessert. It is also worth noting the tapas comes on a three for £19.50 deal which saved us £5.95, and it’s surely worth a visit on Thursdays when there’s live music and a deal for two main and a bottle of house wine for £40. ****
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