We’ve loved Carters of Moseley the previous times we’ve been, but time flies and we found we hadn’t visited for over a year! Fine dining can sometimes seem inaccessible due to the price, particularly on a regular basis, but we found a fabulous deal using Bookatables ‘Star Deals’ for Carters lunch menu. 4 courses for just £28pp.
When we arrived the place was already buzzing – really lovely to see on a Friday lunchtime. We started off with half a bottle of house wine – reasonably priced at only £8 and perfect to ensure you don’t over indulge with lunch. They change their ‘house’ wine quite often and the white that we tried was Grillo Baccaria 2013 – described as elegant, thirst quenching and fruity with the archetypal Grillo aromas of apricot, peach and orange.
The service as on previous visits was very friendly and well polished. Our waitress even took time to talk us through the menu, explaining about the dishes, how they were put together, some of the local ingredients and describing some of the more unusual elements incase we didn’t know what they were.
We were brought some sourdough bread to start with, along with some ‘pig butter’ – butter whipped with back fat from a Tamworth Pig. A heart attack in a little ceramic pot, but blimey was it tasty. Shortly following on from this an additional course that wasn’t on the menu, a taster of Chicken liver parfait topped with toasted seeds and raisens. Creamy and delicious and one of the nicest parfaits I’ve tasted.
The menu had a choice of 2 courses for the starter, main and dessert. I chose to start with the Flamed Mackerel with cucumber, wild fennel and horseradish infused buttermilk. This dish was so beautifully presented. The cucumber was prepared in 2 ways, and the tiny cubes of pickled had an amazing zingy flavor that cut through the soft flesh of the mackerel and creamy buttermilk. Lee decided on the Lichfield Asparagus, Moliterno Broth and Italian Summer Truffle. He described this as very light and flavoursome, and the addition of the truffle brought an earthiness to the dish. I tried a little bite big bite and adored the broth – like liquid parmesan!
As our second course we received the chefs dish of the day – Blood Cake, Nectarine, Green Beans & Tarragon. This was certainly a combination that I’d never tried before and the sweet nectarine went so well with the blood cake and the tarragon mayonnaise was delicious.
For the main course we both went for the Cornish Lamb, Peas and Garlic Scapes. I’d not heard of garlic scapes before – apparently though they are the green bits that grown from garlic and are only in season for a few weeks a year. The lamb was perfectly cooked and the peas just so fresh. Holly, the maitre d’ caught me trying to finish the lamb jus with my fork, and sensing my struggle bought over a teaspoon and some more bread. I have no shame.
Both dessert courses sounded wonderful to me. I eventually decided on the Elderflower Sherbert. This was wonderfully light and refreshing to end the meal. Lee declared his Sheep’s Yoghurt Mousse, Chaunsa Mango and Pistachio one of the best desserts he’s had in a long time and perhaps ever. The whole things was beautifully harmonious. I can vouch for this too – it was a delicious dessert.
To finish off a coffee and petit fours – homemade cardamom flavoured chocolate.
We absolutely loved our experience at Carter’s. The food was even better than we remembered and the service absolutely spot on. Somewhere I would thoroughly recommend if you are looking for something special in the Birmingham area.
Our total bill came to £75, not including service, for the lunch menu for 2 half bottle of wine, another glass of red wine and one espresso.
Disclosure: On this occasion we dined courtesy of bookatable, all opinions are our own, and if you’re in doubt of this, have a look at the review from our very first Carters visit – we loved it then too!
