Choosing somewhere to take your other half for Valentines Day can be a bit of a lottery. There’s a lot of choice, special and set menus and of course, the battle to get something booked up before everywhere is full! Because of all this I often avoid Valentines night itself and opt for something a little different, but If you are still looking for somewhere to book, look no further than Bun & Bowl – the deluxe burger and shrimp restaurant in the Cube in Birmingham. I loved their prawns last time I went! Last Sunday evening I was invited along to see and try and sample of what they will be offering on Valentines Day. Bun & Bowl are offering a set menu for £30pp including a glass of Red Fruit Champagne (rather like a berry bellini), with several choices including a vegetarian, for each course, so there’s no problem if you don’t eat meat or fish. They have also booked a Violinist, Rebecca, to serenade you while you eat, who we were lucky enough to have playing for us as well. I started off with a mocktail – a Virgin Mojito, which was refreshing and tangy. There were lots of cocktails around the table and they were all a resounding success by the sounds of it so I would recommend getting one of these if you eat there! We started by trying some little appetisers – A ‘Mushroom Cappuccino’ and a Smoked Salmon and Avacado Ballotine. They were really trying hard with the presentation, and I enjoyed the smoothness of the mushroom soup, and its hard to go wrong with the classic salmon and avocado combination.
We were then treated to an Fresh Oyster, served on ice, with a Lobster and Champagne Bisque. Now I didn’t try this unfortunately (bad oyster experience once upon a time – don’t ask!) but it seemed to get generally good feedback from around the table, and again it was presented in a lovely manner.
For the main we had ‘Bun & Burger Bowl A La Rossine’ which used rib eye steak mince for the burger with an Onion Relish and Fois Gras as well as a Truffle Mayonnaise and Fries. I really enjoyed this burger – it was served slightly pink and was very juicy, and the luxurious additon of the creamy fois gras and tang of the onion all went very well. They are really pushing the boat out with luxury ingredients and the truffle mayo was a great thing to dip the chips in! The burger can be swapped out for a Veggie or Chicken Burger, both of which were tried around the table and well recieved.
For pud we tried mixed berries on a soft meringue with mint granita and cocoa. This was refreshing, but for me it could have done without the dusting of cocoa which detracted from the dish for me. Never the less it was a nice light way to finish the meal. Our service throughout was warm and attentive, with no request too much to ask. Bun & Bowl are serving this menu in their restaurant and next door in Madeleine for Valentines Day so if you like the look of the food above, get booking! They still have space left but I’m sure that won’t last for too long. Disclosure: We tried the Valentines Menu free of charge, but all opinions on the food are honest as always.