Friday Evenings at Opus Restaurant

Last Friday, I was invited to Opus Restaurant to try their Friday Evening menu. Myself and a handful of other Brummie foodies were treated to a lovely evening doing what we do best – eating, talking and talking about food!

When we arrived, we sat and had a catch up with a glass of something at the bar and a few nibbles. We were then invited into the kitchen, to see where the magic happens. Head chef Ben, gave us the low down on how they source the market menu. The kitchen was surprisingly quiet – no kitchen nightmares in here! We also got to see the chef’s table, which was impeccably laid ready for it’s next event.

Friday Evenings At Opus

Opus restaurant has a special Friday evening menu during the spring and summer. The menu features market dishes that are fresh and inspired by the flavours of the season. It is exclusive to Friday nights, served from 6pm and you can dine for £25 per person, which includes two courses and a half a bottle of house wine. You can choose a starter and main, or main and dessert, but either way, the fine dining experience is consistent throughout your meal. The menu has a good amount of choice, including good Vegetarian options, which means you don’t have to leave your pals behind! I think the menu is excellent value and is a sure fire way to start the weekend in style.

What’s on the menu?

To drink, I opted for the house white, which coincidently, ended up going very well with my meal in the end. My taste for white wine is gradually improving so I found myself enjoying this quite a lot.

I decided to go for a starter and main course. To start, I had the tomato soup served with buttermilk cream. I described this on my first mouthful as ‘a hug in a bowl’ – it was just a really tasty tomato soup. The texture was smooth and the addition of the buttermilk added a touch of tartness to the sweet tomato base. There was a selection of bread on the table which accompanied my soup nicely. This was a great light starter.

Other options on the menu featured whipped rosary goat’s cheese served with radish and a salad. This was a beautiful and bright dish that just screamed spring. A few people had this and it seemed to go down quite well. It certainly looked like a fresh dish.

For main, I chose the fish dish. The fish of the day was a fillet of cod which was served on a bed of baby potatoes, asparagus and roasted radish. The dish was drizzled in a buttery sauce with wild garlic which made this the perfect fresh tasting spring dish. The flavours were very simple, but not at all boring and each component married together perfectly. The radishes surprised me the most – I was expecting something quite sharp and sour, but was met with a soft, sweet flavour with a subtle ‘zing’ that had obviously developed whilst they were roasting. The fish was perfectly cooked, melting in the mouth with the gorgeous sauce. Heavenly!

Other options included pork served with mustard mash and vegetables and a beetroot risotto (which was vegetarian). I would have usually opted for the pork but had decided to try something different. The beetroot risotto was certainly eye catching and it was nice to see a wholesome and tasty veggie option. Everything was beautifully presented and just looked so great on the plate. They do say you eat with your eyes first!

Although I didn’t have a dessert, I couldn’t help but snap a photo of Emily’s peanut and caramel delice. No one had the cheeseboard, and I’m not surprised, because this soft fluffy desert packed a peanutty punch! Once again, it was beautifully presented, drizzled in a toffee sauce. The generous serving might have been to much for me as I don’t love peanut that much, but the texture was enough to win me over.

A big thank you to Sian at Clive Reeves PR for hosting this event for us foodies, and to Opus Restaurant for having us! The service was great and my wine glass didn’t stay empty until I left… oops! It was a lovely evening to catch up with fellow bloggers which was helped by the lovely dining experience we had.

You can find sample menus and booking information on the Opus Restaurant website. 

Have you tried Friday Evenings at Opus?

* This meal was complimentary for the purposes of this feature. This does not affect my opinion or love of food!