Browsing through the Gourmet Society website, looking for a suitably swish place to take my girlfriend for her birthday meal, I happened upon Tonic winner of the Best Newcomer award in the Nottingham Restaurant Awards 2007. The picture looked swanky enough and the description sounded very interesting, especially with me being a growing fan of local produce.
It being a Tuesday we were a little concerned after we'd made our way up the two flights of stairs (I presume they have a lift if the stairs are a problem) to find what appeared to be a completely empty restaurant. It wasn't but there was certainly plenty of choice if you didn't like your table!
We were seated straight away by a friendly waitress who actually changed our assigned table so that we were in one of the three or four rather snug booths they have. I have to say it was really nice change to have somewhere intimate to eat instead of being plonked in the middle of an open plan space. I don't know if you can book one of the snugs beforehand but if you're having a romantic meal I would certainly recommend trying!
The decor was certainly very modern and was lit with a warm lighting that made for an ambience that was just right.
After much debate, I opted to start with the Indian Spiced Pork Belly with Seared Scallops and Madrass Sauce whilst my girlfriend had the Carpaccio of Beef with Crispy Onions, Shaved Parmesan and Horseradish Cream. The starters arrived very promptly and were very well presented. My girlfriends beef was a subtle dish which made us glad we had chosen a light rose to accompany our meal. The beef was excellently done and all in all it was a very tasty starter. The Indian pork was also excellent with the spices complementing the juicy pork. I can honestly say that the seared scallops were possibly the best I have ever eaten with no hint of the rubberiness that is always a danger when cooking this type of seafood.
For main, I went for the lamb rump with pea puree, warm pie of sweetbreads and black pudding. This was a gamble for me as I've never eaten sweetbreads before. My companion ordered the roast chicken breast with baby leeks and smoked bacon risotto. The lamb rump was cooked to a nice dark pink and went well with the pea puree although both of us thought that the addition of a little mint somewhere in this dish would have just finished it off nicely. The sweetbreads came in what suspiciously appeared to be a vol-au-vent case with a lid, however lifting the lid and diving into the contents turned out to be a bit of a taste sensation for me. The textures were a revelation, being something of a cross between the scallops and the panacotta we had for dessert (more on that later). The chicken breast was juicy and the risotto was slightly more al dente than when I've cooked it at home (in fact we overhead a business man in the snug next to ours complain that it was undercooked) but it was still very tasty and my girlfriend said she actually preferred it to mine! There's no accounting for taste. The portion sizes were good and we both felt that on another night we would have been happy with just the two courses, however there was definitely some room left for dessert and so on the recommendation of our attentive waitress we plumped for the Assiette of Tonic Desserts in Miniature.
And what an excellent recommendation it turned out to be. Five excellent desserts, one plate, two spoons, some kind of heaven surely. Our plate consisted of a summer fruit pudding with a light oat flake crumble, a scoop of ice cream set on a light biscuit, a portion of creamy panacotta, a slice of smooth and not at all stodgy chocolate brownie, and a slice of light refreshing lemon tart with a brandy snap style wafer! I don't how large the portions are normally but I would say only the pudding and the ice cream were ?miniature'. All the desserts were superb with the tart being my favourite and as an overall dish it was certainly a great way to finish what had been a quality meal and great value to boot.
The bill was a little higher than expected even with the Gourmet Society discount but the food had been so tasty, the venue suitably swish and the service so friendly that I was happy to leave an extra cash tip on top of the 10% charge included on the bill.
Would I go back? Absolutely. The Indian pork was my personal highlight with the Assiette a very close second. You come away from Tonic knowing you've had a good meal. You know you've paid for it too but it's worth it!
