Bennett Oyster Bar & Brasserie

I had a great evening last night at the "friends and family" pre-opening evening at Bennett Oyster Bar & Brasserie (which opens fully on 8th March). Ray, who owns the restaurant was charmingly welcoming and so too were his 1950s-clad waiters. The music was upbeat and jolly, and there was a great atmosphere.

The bread, which they made there, and served in cute little flower pots which reminded me of René Redzepi's flowerpot dish, was delicious - really fluffy and light.

I was very impressed with my starter, the red mullet soup with Gruyère, rouille and croutons. It was a really rich, deep red colour, and the fishy taste matched that intensity - exactly what you want with a fish soup. The rouille, which is made from garlic and olive oil, gave a good kick to the soup, and the saffron flavour was nice and piquant. Together with the crunchy croutons, and one of my favourites cheeses to sprinkle on top and watch melt, I was wary of sharing it!

For mains, I had pollock, which is a great alternative for cod and is much more sustainable, and probably tastier as well, especially how this was done. It had a crusty top, and was cooked perfectly through, so it flaked away easily. The potatoes could have been more crispy, but they tasted fine. I loved the mustard velouté - the velvety and creamy sauce went well with both the fish and the potatoes.

Finally, after two delicious courses came dessert. I was hardly ready for the generous portion of sticky toffee pudding! Unfortunately, it wasn't served quite warm enough and I found it a bit dense, but I liked the toffee sauce, rich and sugary, of course, and the vanilla ice cream was fine.

So, all in all, a very impressive meal, especially for only their second evening running. And I'm sure I'll be going back, if just to try their other fish soups, and maybe even to taste some of their other produce which they sell, like fresh fruit & veg, and home-baked bread and cakes.