Updated (see original review below)
It’s been a year since we first visited Brasserie Blanc in Gunwharf Quays and wrote about it on our blog. Since then we have returned numerous times including my Mum’s birthday and my Great Auntie’s 90th. My parents dine here regularly and it’s become one of our favourites too, especially for a date night or special occasion.
There’s nothing worse than revisiting somewhere you love and it not being the same. Luckily, we haven’t experienced this at Brasserie Blanc and it’s consistent every time. Carlos and I were invited to try the new autumn menu which includes wholesome seasonal dishes as you’d expect this time of year. Inside it felt relaxed and cosy with candles and a view of the spinnaker tower all lit up.
Starters
After a delightful glass of fizz, we ordered the cheese souffle with a rich coastal cheddar sauce and the goats cheese and leek tart with an apple walnut salad and red onion marmalade. I don’t think we’ve ever visited Brasserie Blanc without ordering the cheese souffle, it’s one of their signature dishes and for good reason. This is definitely something you can’t make at home! The goats cheese and leek tart was also nice with exceptional pastry and bedded on a nice salad.
Mains
As I always say, I’m a ‘flexitarian’ which, for me, basically means if it’s good quality, high-welfare meat then it may pass my lips. On this occasion, we ordered the outdoor-reared applewood smoked pork ribeye with dauphinoise potato, apple sauce, apple and pear chutney and pork jus. We shared this dish and despite looking small and neat on the plate, it was big in flavour and even included a crispy piece of crackling. The meat here is good and I would certainly order it again. We also shared the herb gnocchi with truffled Jerusalem artichoke velouté, wild mushrooms and artichoke crisps. I absolutely love Jerusalem artichokes, I got that from my mum, and this dish tasted like autumn on a plate! There certainly wasn’t any skimping on the mushrooms or sauce. I still have my eye on the harissa aubergine so I can’t wait to return to try that!
Dessert
For desserts, we tried two new things on the menu. First up, sticky toffee pudding with a cocoa and citrus crisp and a Normandy crème fraîche. This has to be one of my all-time favourite desserts and this one in particular was great. Super comforting! We also shared the apple and gooseberry crumble with vanilla ice cream – another autumnal classic.
Brasserie Blanc offers
As you can probably tell, we had a great time at Brasserie Blanc in Portsmouth sampling their new autumn menu. We really can’t fault it when it comes to dining out and they have some incredible offers, like the early evening ‘le club dejeuner’ menu (two courses for £19.50) and Wednesday’s steak night where you get a free bottle of wine and an array of sides when you order any two steaks.
Christmas menu
We’ve been browsing their Christmas menu (it’s that time of year again!) and it sounds fantastic. You can get the Jerusalem artichoke gnocchi we enjoyed as a starter, proper Christmas turkey for the main and a varied selection of desserts plus mince pies and coffee. There’s a good choice of dishes to choose from which is handy if visiting as a group. They also serve lunch on Christmas day and for £99 you’ll enjoy courses. Definitely one to check out. See Brasserie Blanc Portsmouth’s website for menus and offers.
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Our long-waited visit Brasserie Blanc
How have we never been to Brasserie Blanc? This week, I realised that that was a mistake, after visiting their restaurant in Gunwharf Quays and thoroughly enjoying it. Recently, we’ve been spending a lot of time in craft beer bars eating what I call ‘beige food’. Don’t get me wrong, I love all that, but sometimes it’s nice to put on a dress and a touch of makeup and have a special date night. Three courses with wine – oh how I love that.
The menu
We were invited to Brasserie Blanc to try their new autumn menu. The place felt spacious but cosy, just how you’d expect a nice restaurant to feel, the type you’d wear a dress to. However, it certainly wasn’t pretentious and you wouldn’t feel out of place if you stopped by after a day of shopping. We were shown to our table by Paul who was lovely. All the staff were lovely and had just the right level of attentiveness.
The wine list
We started with a chilled glass of fizz and ordered a bottle of Chilean red wine as we are going to Chile soon, so figured it would be good to try a Chilean wine! I was impressed at how big the wine list was. On it were the tasting notes, which helped me choose as I know exactly what I like. It was the mocha in this red wine that sold it to me. I loved it.
Our starters
It wasn’t as easy to choose the food as everything sounded delicious. There’s one thing that goes perfectly with red wine and that’s cheese. So, we settled on the cheese souffle and the baked Saint-Marcellin cheese to share. Both were incredibly good and the cheese souffle was cooked to perfection. I think this may have been my favorite.
The main event
From the mains, the Morrocan vegetable tagine, Malabar fish curry and grilled cauliflower steak all caught my eye. Even some of the meat options sounded lovely and I rarely eat meat. I went for the Chalkstream trout with brown shrimps, cauliflower puree, beurre noisette, spring onion crushed potatoes, capers and parsley which was fantastic, despite not really liking shrimps or potatoes (I’m not that fussy, promise!). Everything was well presented and had plenty of flavour.
Carlos had the Gressingham duck leg confit with blackberry sauce, french beans, carrots, dauphinoise potatoes and poached blackberries. I had a bite and it was divine. As you can tell, we both really enjoyed our mains!
To end
Next up was dessert which, for me, is always the best bit. We went for what appears to be Brasserie Blanc’s signature dessert. The pistachio souffle was served with rich chocolate ice cream which, like the cheese souffle, was beautifully cooked. You can never have enough souffle in my eyes as it’s not something I can’t replicate at home.
We also shared the chocolate delice with a crisp feuilletine base, dark chocolate ganache, cacao tuile, glazed hazelnuts & pistachios, dark chocolate sauce, honeycomb ice cream. It tasted as good as it looks. I also ordered a French dessert wine because our meal was feeling rather special and it felt like a good way to end a great evening. As you can tell from this sterling review, we’ll be back!
H x
Ambience 9
Quality 9.5
Value 9
Service 9
Overall 9.5
Return? Yes!