Restaurant review: Brabenec's, Northampton

Three courses for £19.50 at Brabenec's, Northampton

Tucked away on Northampton's Wellingborough Road is the unassuming Brabenec's - an unpretentious, cosy restaurant which you would be forgiven for missing on the busy street. But it's well worth hunting out as I discovered last night...

We were tempted in by the set menu available on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Two courses for £16.95 or three courses for £19.50 - got to be worth a try!

I plumped for a starter of in-season asparagus with a warm citrus dressing of grapefruit, lemon and orange. Deliciously light and fresh it was the perfect starter to get the tastebuds going without filling up before the main.

Mr Kate had pea and ham soup with crusty bread - the waiter proudly told us he had made the bread himself that day and you could certainly tell it was home-made.

We swapped starters half way through so we could try both dishes. I have a bit of a thing about soups as a starter as I find they always fill me up too quickly, leaving no room for the main. But this pea and ham soup was a revelation. Light, frothy, delicate and full of flavour. Best soup I've had in a long, long time.

For mains I went with the pan-fried salmon with brown shrimp and spring onion butter. The fish was cooked just how I like it - all the way through but still moist and juicy. Mr Kate had roast belly pork with apple sauce and was delighted with the quality of the crackling. Both were served with a mix of sauteed potatoes, new potatoes, broccoli, cabbage, green beans and carrots. Not much of a fan of potatoes, Mr Kate proclaimed these were the best potatoes he'd had for ages. High praise indeed.

We barely had room for a dessert but thought we should make the most of the three courses for £19.50 deal. I am CutPriceKate after all! Baked chocolate mousse cake and home-made ice cream it was then! And cor, it was good - moist, rich and verrrrrrry chocolatey. My kind of dessert.

Mr Kate went for the lemon treacle tart and commented that Mary Berry would have been most impressed with the light, thin, crisp pastry. Not a soggy bottom in sight...

All in all, I was most impressed with Brabenec's. Good, honest food, served with pride by a helpful and professional waiter who was eager to help without being over the top (nothing worse than gushing waiting staff). The quality of the food was spot on and at £19.50 for three courses it was excellent value.

I'm reliably informed Brabenec's has one of the best Sunday carveries in town - I may well have to make a trip to find out!

Well worth a visit.

Brabenec's, 187 Wellingborough Road, Northampton.
01604 634428
www.brabenecs.co.uk
Twitter @brabenecsfood
Facebook www.facebook.com/brabenecs