By The SuffolkEater
152 Restaurant, has now been around close on ten years. For almost all of that time Chris Selby held sway in the kitchen. He left in the last week of May and his successor rattling the pans is Wayne Tong, whose cooking Eastward Ho! has yet to sample. The review, therefore, is based on the food produced by Mr Selby. An update will follow when Mr Tong has had a chance to settle in.
Most lunch times and evenings the friendly, matey, greeting you get at 152 is that of the owner/front-of-house man Andy Lister. It sets the tone for the place which provides a comfortable wrap-itself-around-you atmosphere which is the setting for the provision of good food.
In the present situation, with a new chef in place, it is probable that the style of 152 will not alter a great deal, so I think it is safe to say, the menu will still comprise many locally sourced ingredients and the cooking will continue to make quite straightforward use of them. So the most recent menu sampled may be a useful guide.
Dinner Menu
Nibbles: Mixed breads with basil pesto, red onion chutney and oil and balsamic dips… £4.25
Starters
Homemade soup served with fresh baked bread…. £5.25 // Smoked chicken caeser salad with crisp pancetta…. £6.95 // Parma ham wrapped taleggio cheese with spicy tomato compote…. £5.95 // Smoked mackerel pate with Melba toast and pickled cucumbers…. £6.95 // Radish, beetroot and goats cheese salad with walnut oil…. £5.95 // Herring rollmops with a chive potato salad and beetroot salsa…. £6.95
Main Dishes
Confit duck leg with parmentier potatoes, red cabbage, crispy leeks and Grand Marnier jus…. £15.95 // Slow cooked Pork belly with sage mash, apple puree sporting broccoli and cider jus…. £14.95 // Local Seabass with prawn and saffron risotto…. £17.50 // Herb crusted cod with garlic crushed potatoes, rocket pesto and fine beans…. £13.95 // Grilled plaice fillet, crayfish and lemon butter, new potatoes and mixed leaves…. £11.95 // Sweet potato pancakes, carrot and courgette ribbons and basil pesto…. £10.95 // Aldeburgh cod and chips with chunky tartare and dressed leaves…. £10.95
Desserts
Espresso crème brulee with biscotti…. £5.50 // White chocolate truffle tart with raspberry sorbet…. £5.50 // Vanilla cheesecake…. £5.50 // Meringue filled with mixed berries and Chantilly cream…. £5.50 // Selection of homemade sorbets in a brandy snap basket…. £5.25 // British cheeses, grapes, chutney, apple and water biscuits…. £7.50
In addition to the Dinner Menu, there is a daily specials board.
EVALUATION
Several encounters with the Soup of the Day have brought forth favourable comments from our table – “fresh ingredients… gentle but flavoursome stock base….nice balance”. Mackerel Pate better than the usual run. Zingy flavoured Caesar Salad. The choice of starters is clever.
Main courses range from classic fish and chips (highly praised by guests of ours) with local cod, and a stand-out for me: the simply cooked sea bass resting on a subtle saffron-tinged risotto. Herb crusted cod with garlic crushed potatoes, rocket pesto and fine beans had the same effect on my wife and one of our guests. The confit of duck comes succulently off the bone with the ease and that almost caramelly flavour you always hope for.
Puddings are top notch. Mary adores the Espresso Crème Brulee. I am a sucker for the white chocolate tart and raspberry sorbet. A guest wallowed happily in the home-made sorbet collection.
Ratings – out of *****
Note: food evaluation based on cooking of previous chef.
Food: ****½ Service: **** Ambience: *** Value-for-money: ****
Summary:
Meal for two with wine from £60.00 . Two courses for £12.95 and £15.95 for three courses. Service and ambience unlikely to change following chef-change – friendly, informal, efficient. Comfortable and welcoming atmosphere (fire in winter). Food: watch this space. Wine: modest list of acceptable young wines at quite reasonable prices.
152 Restaurant, 152B High Street, Town Centre, Aldeburgh IP15 5AQ Open every day for lunch and dinner. Booking recommended. Telephone: 01728 454 594 Parking Nearby. Disabled access. Eastward-Ho! “Recommended Roster”.
A View from the (Recent) Past
Towards the end of my 21 year sojourn in Cyprus, with the articles and reviews approaching 1500 in number, following a three week trip to Suffolk in 2010, I wrote about 152 in my column “Cyprus Gourmet Weekly” – which makes some comparisons between Cyprus and UK.
“At lunch on Sunday with friends, we were asked whether we’d had any good meals at restaurants whilst in England. Mostly, we’d cooked for ourselves or, when out, eaten in Pubs (where you get the best value, and often the food isn’t bad either), but one place in Aldeburgh in Suffolk, “152” by name had been well enjoyed on several occasions – not for its luxurious appointments but for quality of ingredients and the cooking. “How much did it cost?” someone asked. “With a bottle of decent Californian wine, about St£80.00 (€93.00)”, I replied”. “Goodness”, the enquirer said, “Almost as much as Limassol”
The next question was inevitable: was the food better than one finds in Cyprus? The answer, I am sorry to say, is “yes” – less pretentious in composition and presentation, perhaps, but much better in flavour, because the chef had confidence in good, fresh ingredients and his own skills with simple sauces and well cooked accompaniments.. “With what could it be compared?”, followed. I couldn’t think of a direct comparison. I named one local place, but everyone thought the chef and the cooking are now pretty tired. The lad, Chris Selby, at “152”, despite his having been in the kitchen for the past eight years, and his food certainly are not.
There’s a lot of talk about our providing “Quality” and “Value” around at the moment, to which we in Cyprus Gourmet are devoted.
