If you've been keeping up to date with my Instagram then you will know that for the past 3 Fridays me and Laurie have been doing date night! If you haven't got me on Instagram you're missing a lot of glorious pug pics and the odd food one too.
Anyway two Friday nights ago, as part of date night we were invited down to try the new Sweet Afton menu - for anyone who has been before they are still serving their bar food so you can still get that awesome chicken burger but have now introduced a new evening menu under the guidance of new Head Chef David McClelland who has definitely imposed his ethos of fine dining into Sweet Afton.
So I have just said about Sweet Afton hiring a new head chef and with that comes a new vision, I definitely got a sense of fine dining and sophistication from the menu, which was fitting given the venue and surroundings. Check out the menu below and decide for yourself. It is a quite a small menu with only 5 choices (good choices tho) per course but I think with the inclusion of Specials - this is just about enough. Especially as this is only their evening menu.
Anyway - after a slight drool and a rather large glass of Merlot I decided on the Spiced Pork roll for starter (think posh sausage roll) and the Cherry Vallley Duck Fillet with Blackberry Jus. Laurie went for the Ham Hock to start followed by Market Fish which was Hake (I tried this and it was sensational - quite a meaty fish). We were both very impressed - presentation was exceptional and taste definitely matched. The blackberry jus with mine added a lot - I would have liked more potato but that's the Irish boy in me talking. Check out the pics below.
Well I absolutely devoured my two dishes, and I was a little disappointed that Lauren scoffed both of hers as I usually get her left overs, damn you woman! (she gave me one bite of her main....one bite Christ sake)
So after mains comes dessert - again 5 choices and a hard decision lay ahead of me, but I decided on the Bailey's Creme Brulee and Laurence went for the Guinness Sticky Toffee - anyway,you can't really say too much about desserts, you just need to see them. So here they are.
Well - my meal was over but the night was not, there was no rush for me to leave my table - this is a real positive for me because if I get rushed out of a restaurant after a meal I will not return - so I was delighted when the offer to stay on and order more drinks arrived, however I still had half a bottle of Red Wine to finish.
To conclude; I was very pleased with my meal, and I believe this which shows the quality of the ingredients that Head Chef David McClelland and Sous Chef Jonny Walsh are working with. I would have liked some extra vegetables with my dish, maybe a honey glazed carrot or parsnip just to give me an extra ingredient but overall a very tasty night!
Thanks to Brittany B from Massive PR for organising this blog for me and for their continued support as I eat my way around Belfast!