I wrote a few weeks ago about the launch of the new Sardinian menus at Filini at the Radisson Blu Hotel – the first in a series of four special menus that will showcase a range of dishes from various regions of Italy.
The new menus take the form of a range of sharing platters created by Executive Head Chef Nadeem Akhtar, giving diners the opportunity to enjoy a variety of antipasti and secondi for just £14.95 per head.
On May 30th, I was lucky enough to be invited, along with a selection of local bloggers, to spend the evening at a special chef’s table in the Filini kitchen – where we were treated not only to dishes from the Sardinian menu, but to a range of new Filini canapes and some great desserts.
That evening was the first time I’ve ever sat at a chef’s table within a restaurant’s kitchen – and as well as serving our meals, the Filini team were still operating as normal, including serving some large groups in the hotel restaurant. It was interesting to watch the guys at work right beside us while we were sitting there enjoying our special meal.
Our evening began with a selection of Filini’s new canapes – loved the presentation!
My favourite was probably the curry cornet: a miniature cone filled with creme fraiche, sweet onion and a salmon tartare.
We also enjoyed canapes of poached quails’ eggs, a fantastic Parmesan crisp with goats’ cheese mousse, king prawns with avocado salsa, truffle custard with a chive potato crisp, and asparagus with a Hollandaise sauce.
Onto the starters, and a lemon risotto with scallop and langoustine. Beautiful. Just enough lemon not to be overpowering, and the seafood cooked perfectly.
Following the risotto, we gorged ourselves on antipasti, the board presented to us being a combination of items from the meat/cheese and vegetarian antipasti platters from the current Sardinian menu. Huge chunks of artichoke hearts sat alongside a range of cured meats and some great cheeses: slices of Pecorino, a fantastic smoked ricotta, and a crema di Pecorino.
The highlight for me, without a doubt, was the lamb prosciutto (just visible at the back of the board in the picture below). Lovers of lamb will enjoy this – the curing process really does intensify the flavour of the lamb. I really need to find out where I can buy some in Bristol…
The fish course came in the form of monkfish wrapped in Parma ham. Served on a bed of spinach, the fish and Parma ham formed a great classic combination – but I wasn’t so sure about the addition of ceps.
For our main, we were treated to roast rump of lamb – lovely and pink, and served with a mixture of summer beans…
…and the dessert platter was, again, beautifully presented. Chef’s signature dessert – the Filini tiramisu, took centre stage, and for good reason.
The biscotti with cream and fresh raspberries were simple yet delicious, and the discs of chocolate mousse coated in cocoa powder were a great, novel way of serving a fairly standard dessert.
A great introduction to some of Filini’s new regional dishes, as well as their new canapes. Being in the kitchen of a working restaurant while dining was also a novelty and a great opportunity – and something that I’m definitely keen to do again!
Filini’s Sardinian menu runs from May 25th to June 16th, so there’s still time to enjoy it! To see the menu – including a special Sardinian wine list – click here…
The Radisson Blue have just released a video of the evening too – see below! I’m quite glad that I don’t get much airtime… 🙂
Please note: this meal was received free of charge, but in no way impacted on our opinion. We were not obliged to write a positive review, and the venue did not see this review before it was put up on the site.
Find Filini on the Bristol Bites Directory…
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Thank you for attending the evening, we are glad that you enjoyed it and thank you for fantastic review!