by Amy Glasgow
333 Great Western Road has been home to various eateries in the past few years, from Public House by Nico to The Hebridean. Then, last year, in 2020, it became The Loveable Rogue, a gastro pub offering pub classics and more modern, seasonal dishes in a relaxed setting that still manages to feel special.
While their unique and varied menu has served them very well since opening, head chef Joe has introduced a new concept to the restaurant with a Wednesday Tasting Menu.
This weekly tasting menu is designed to take pub classics to a whole new level, with dishes such as the humble chicken kiev, fish and chips, and shepherds pie all getting a make-over. In fact, when our plates arrived in front of us, I’d never have known what the original pub classic they were based on actually was.
This wasn’t a bad thing though, as despite the modern, delicate appearance of each dish, the flavours of their classic predecessors shon through in a really quite remarkable way.
Joe’s take on a classic Fish & Chips, for example, instead consisted of poached lemon sole fillet, chickpea panisse, crispy mussels and sauce gribiche. It was as pretty as a picture on the plate and tasted even better. Delicate, flaky fish, mussels coated in a chip-shop style batter, fluffy panisse and the sauce all came together to emulate the flavours of one of the nations favourite dishes. It was, quite honestly, exceptional.
Similarly, the Shepherd’s Pie was just as astounding. This time, the dish consisted of a seared lamb rump, lamb ragu, smoked potato, crispy lamb tongue and a lamb jus. Now, I should preface this by saying that I am generally not a lamb fan. I find the taste and smell of it honestly quite off-putting. So, imagine my surprise when I was literally scraping my plate clean! This dish was a joy to eat, full of flavour and texture. I was gobsmacked.
Each course was so beautifully presented, was full of flavour, and was reminiscent of the pub classic on which it was based, but elevated beyond comprehension. At just £27 per person for six courses, it’s also extremely good value for money.
The Joe Goes Rogue tasting menu is available every Wednesday and will change regularly, so while you might not get to enjoy the exact dishes I did, if the standard remains the same, you are in for an absolute treat.
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