I’ve got a car! Well, if you can still call it that. Around 20 years old, eats petrol like I eat food and flashes up warning lights more often than I have a glass of wine in my hand – basically they never go off. With a pair of wheels it finally means that apart from London, Netherlands and Belgium – the rest of the UK can get a good seeing to now. With our first trip planned, to Bury St Edmunds we made a booking at a restaurant called Peas Porridge, who were recently awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand. Sadly word must have spread outside of Bury because we couldn’t get a table, and instead settled on a place known as
Maison Bleue.
Maison Bleue is nestled away in a very old, idyllic part of Bury St Edmunds town centre. With its cobbled streets and Tudor style buildings, it feels as though the clocks have turned back in time. The smart restaurant looks very at home too, and rightly so considering its been here for thirteen years. Stepping inside reveals a cosy dining room and not a single free table in sight. The set lunch menu, which almost encompasses the whole of the a la carte menu will set you back a mere £24.50 for three courses. Part of that menu includes this starter of pressed beef and ham hock terrine, leek, piccalilli sauce, monks head and cauliflower. I hope my photo does all the talking, because its compact, neatly pressed block of meat was beautiful and so was everything else that went with it.
Scallops on a lunch set menu in London always have a supplement price added on to it. In fact nearly everything we ate here would probably ending being charged as a supplement elsewhere, the quality was exceptional. Not to mention that if these guys were in London they would be mobbed with a queue forming outside – me at the front. Manx queenie scallops were served with garlic putter, a gorgeously rich and flavoursome parsnip espuma and a couple of old fashioned bread soldiers for dipping. Apart form the espuma they were essentially a scallop version of the classic French snails recipe, and a very good one at that too. I thought five of them was rather generous for a starter too.
What I haven’t told you yet, because frankly I’m quite embarrassed about the whole thing – is that Maison Bleue are experts in cooking fish – and we didn’t order a single fish dish (scallops was the closest we got). The meat courses sounded so good, that not ordering them would have left us thinking we missed out. And our suspicions were right, we would have indeed missed out because they were all terribly good. Dipping into main courses, a gorgeous looking plate of food arrived filled with Blythburgh tenderloin and caramelised belly of free range pork. Served with a red cabbage puree (although don’t quote me on that), skins of brussel sprouts and an onion puree. The meat was stunning, full of flavour and was so tender that biting through it was effortless – the belly part was the favourite, seeping out its sweet juices everywhere. A gorgeous plate of food.
The one thing you immediately notice about
Maison Bleue is the attention to detail. Both presentation and execution of every element of the dish. Even the service. I can’t remember the last time in the UK I had service this good. Ballotine of venison was picture perfect. Bronzed on the outside, and a lovely rich ruby red on the inside. Cutting through it was with ease and once in the mouth it all started to fall apart effortlessly. A roulade of savoy cabbage, lardons, pleurote mushroom and a gorgeous red wine reduction. Bury St Edmunds are a lucky bunch to have Maison Bleue on their doorstop.
More meat I know, but it was so good. In fact it all seemed to get better with every new plate of food that arrived. A juicy and pink roasted chump of Norfolk lamb, celeriac puree, grain mustard sauce and slices of smokey Suffolk chorizo. One of the loveliest things about Maison Bleue is that they really go to town when it comes to using locally sourced ingredients. Suffolk produces some of the UK’s best meat products. Eating good meat in Suffolk is just as important as drinking good beer here is. This dish could have perhaps fared a little better with a more well balanced mustard sauce (it was quite salty) but those slightly charred soft onions made up for that, adding a touch of sweetness. The chorizo was lovely too.
When it comes to desserts, these guys don’t mess around. I wanted to eat every option on the menu, but sadly I only had room for one. When I saw the words Christmas pudding ice cream flash before my eyes, there was no holding me back. A soft poached pear arrived, rich in red colour and saturated in an orange and red wine syrup. The Christmas pudding ice cream was stunning, and without going all mushy on you this was one of the best desserts I’ve eaten this year. All I want now is a hot mince pie and that delicious ice cream – there’d be no reason to ever leave the house again.
I’m a big fan of petit fours, but more often than not they’re a little underwhelming. Especially the sugar jellies, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve eaten bland, hard gelatin squares which leave a rancid after taste in the mouth. Macaroons are always a tricky one too, getting that balance just right with its light texture and soft chewy bite – yet Maison Bleue seemed to have perfected those recipes. Not to mention those little nutty chocolate squares – they were like liquid gold.
I can’t say I ever saw myself coming to Bury St Edmunds for a lunch, or at least coming across one as good as this. Good old TripAdvisor actually followed through for once, as normally the public based review site can leave you eating in some shocking places. Peas Porridge round the corner may have just got a Michelin Bib Gourmand this year, but what I want to know is why Maison Bleue, after 13 years still haven’t received one. It offers incredible value for money. The restaurant seems to be doing so well I can’t imagine change is needed, but with such talent in the kitchen – the idea of a Michelin star here wouldn’t be out of the question if they ever decided to go down that route. Maison Bleue isn’t only for those in Bury St Edmunds, It’s also one worth the detour no matter where in the UK you are.
8/10
