Browns Lane Restaurant Review

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of spending the day with the lovely Emily from www.recipesandreviews.co.uk . We had met previously at a blogger meet in Birmingham where Emily and I realised we lived close to one an other and actually went to neighboring schools when we were younger! Small world. We decided that we would have to meet up and and have a good long chat about food, whilst eating some good food obviously...Which brings me on to Browns Lane in Loughborough (brownslane.co.uk).

To start, we both had the same; Calamari fritti with dressed leaves and aioli (£6.00) 

Lets start with the presentation - In short, the presentation was very good. I love all the little quirky details, like the little silver buckets and the fact it's served on a slate plate. 

Onto the actual food -  I was impressed with the taste and texture of the calamari, as so often you get them and they are rubbery. These were lovely and the batter was ever so light but well seasoned. The leaves weren't great; when I see the words 'dressed' I don't expect them to just be dressed in oil - there was no taste there. Perhaps a nice sweet/zingy dressing to bring out the flavours on the rest of the plate? 

For my main I opted for the Brown's Chicken Fajitas (£14) as I'd heard pretty good things about them. Needless to say they certainly did not disappoint.

Presentation - again very good! I love the fact they add a sprinkling of cheese onto the top on the chicken, it melts into the mix and just adds that extra bit of something. Those who know me, know that cheese makes everything better so in my book this gained bonus points!

Taste - Wow. I loved the flavours and spices that the chicken absorbed. The meat was lovely and moist and wasn't dry at all. I also liked the fact that they didn't just use the same standard vegetables that you'd find in a fajita mix; they had mange-tout and shredded courgettes. It's so nice to see seasonal vegetables being used in food, it makes a pleasant change.

So after my meal with Emily, I decided that this was going to be the place to bring one of my good friends the following week. I've included some photos of the food we had then. 

Lamb Kofta dusted with nuts & spices served with mint yogurt and soft tortilla (£6)

Presentation - Fab. Loved the fact the koftas arrived still on the skewers.

Taste - Delicious. The spice mix was quite powerful however mixed with the mint yogurt was perfection. All the flavours really complimented one another - I just could have done with another kofta to ratio out the plate.

Slow roasted pork belly with creamy potato, seasonal greens, spiced sticky apple served with cider cream and apple crisps (£14.00)

Presentation - Again, fabulous!

Taste - Oh my god. This, hands down was the best thing I've tasted in a long time! The pork was so succulent and mouthwatering, yet the crackling was crisp and juicy. I would recommend anyone to try this, I guarantee you won't be disappointed. The cider sauce that came with it was out of this world and really complimented the pork and mashed potato. Even talking about this makes my mouth water. 10/10 !!

Whole free range roasted poussin topped with streaky bacon, stuffed with garlic, parsley & thyme sausage-meat, served with french fries watercress and aioli (£14.00)  

Presentation - Brown's don't disappoint on presentation. I think we get this now.

Taste - As this wasn't my meal, I didn't get to try any. however I'm assured it was just delicious! The only downside was that there was far too much watercress. 

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So if you're anywhere near Loughborough I'd certainly recommend going to Brown's Lane and sampling some of their delicious menu. It's so nice to have a good restaurant on your doorstep. I'm sure they'll be seeing a lot more of me in the future. 

I hope you enjoyed this review and let me know down in the comments what your favourite dish was and other restaurants you recommend.

Anyway, as always it's been a pleasure. 

Char

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