They won Gordon Ramsey's "Best Restaurant Award" last year, and Scott and I have been there before - about 2 years ago. Last time, our 10th wedding anniversary, we had the 10 course taster menu, one course for each year of our marriage. We tried to remember each year with each course, but the wine befuddled our memory and we just laughed a lot! We especially laughed because the china was great, but the food was so small in the middle of it, that Scott couldn't find it!
This time was a whole lot better and we were celebrating a 100th birthday... the combined ages of myself and Ali, my singing friend.... Gasworks Choir/Naked Voices/old Sweet Soul Sister partnership. We also had the company of Ben, my No.1 son, and Sarah, another friend of many years who loves food but who's partner is a wheat-free vegan and is not that interested in gastronomy. Casamia is tucked away behind a wrought iron gate and you walk past the kitchen and can see the chefs working as you go in. I was a bit disappointed to be given a rather large oblong table, so we were far apart and talking to each other was a bit difficult for the three opposite who were in rather a line!
The menu had a definite Italian flavour - campari sodas, homemade focacia bread with rosemary and bread sticks flavoured with star anise with a creamy creme fraiche dip, olives, and nuts rolled in stuff. The staff were really friendly and a smiley girl remembered us from 2 years ago, and the twinkly eyed house manager remembered us from the Crown at Whitebrook where he was working before!
We started with a neatly decapitated duck's egg on a cardboard egg tray complete with straw. The chef who made it came to explain that you should dip the tiny spoon to the bottom and eat all the layers at once to get the full effect. Scrambled ducks egg with tiny pieces of smoked duck with thyme air... delicious. A fresh white wine heralded the next plate which was very pretty and bright with textures of carrot... puree and sliced with paper thin slices of tasty wild boar salami and soft little balls of fresh sheeps curd and dots of pesto. Yum!
I remember the beetroot and barley risotto from before and I believe this is now a signature dish. Flavoursome, deep red with a crunch of something like pistachio and served in china that had a rich ringy resonation when tapped. I liked it very much but it didn't go down well with everyone. The next plate of poached salmon cooked slowly in a waterbath which keeps it's raw texture (must be fashionable, we had that last Friday!) with my favourite horseradish garnished with a flourish afterwards. A delicious fruity red wine accomanied the meat dish, Iberico pork sliced in small salty rounds, sitting on a bed of mushroom and celery root puree, with a matchstick of white celery root and the jus poured on with a flourish by the waitor.
A dramatic bowl of Amalfi lemons were brought in, liquid nitrogen poured on and much to our amused gasps... a lemon fog surrounded us! The dessert was a tiny but delicious pine nut pannacotta with lemon sorbet which went very well with the sweet muscatel served in tiny glasses. Ali liked it so much she asked the waitor to perform the lemon mist again... and he did! The very last dish was a retro tiramisu from the old Italian restaurant days... amusingly served in lidded foil takeaway dishes with jars of "aroma of Renato's Numero Uno" coffee beans which we sniffed and with nostalgic "aahhh"s.
But it wasn't the end.... Some juniper and lemon chocolates, and an ornate silver box of "Narnia inspired" homemade turkish delight were produced. "Is this torrent of tit-bits ever going to end?" exclaimed Scott as they brought yet another tasty morcel..... dehyrated chocolate digestives that you had to pick out of a lidded jar and put in your mouth really quickly and they made your tongue all cold!
We got a taxi home and I got up with Ben at 7.30 to pick up my car, fresh as a daisy! A delightful evening, well worth the £100 per head!
What a feast for all the senses!
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