6 minute read
DINING OUT Enjoying quality dining at The Bronze Pig in Lincoln.
Dining Out in Lincoln at THE BRONZE PIG
This little piggy went to Lincoln, and was seriously impressed by the talented brigade in the kitchen of The Bronze Pig on the city’s Burton Road. This month we’re finding out how owner Pompeo Siracusa, head chef Phil Cook and the rest of the team are making a silk purse out of local dining...
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Words & Images: Rob Davis
THIS LITTLE PIGGY went to Lincoln... and he was seriously impressed. The city hardly leaves residents or visitors struggling to find somewhere to dine, but away from the pubs and cafés which line Bailgate and Castle Square, or the national restaurant chains on the Brayford, two of the city’s best restaurants are to be found on the almost entirely residential Burton Road. One of them is The Bronze Pig, and it’s a very recent addition to the city’s portfolio of quality restaurants, opening in 2015. What’s more unusual is that despite creating a restaurant offering really very good contemporary British cuisine, owner Pompeo Siracusa is in fact Sicilian in heritage, and he doesn’t come from a hospitality background. He was actually a geophysicist by profession... hardly a vocation yielding the sort of transferable skills that benefit a busy kitchen. But it’s perhaps because of this rather than in spite of it that Pompeo and his team have created easily one of the area’s best places to dine. He approached the opening of The Bronze Pig from the perspective of a customer, not a restauranteur. It’s perhaps the old adage about the customer always being right; if the food, service and setting was what self-confessed food lover Pompeo would be happy with as a diner, it would be good enough for him to offer his own customers, as a restauranteur. It’s certainly a philosophy that works. Most in the hospitality industry absolutely detest the review site Trip Advisor, usually a wildwest of vague opinions and influencers in it for the free food in return for a good review. In fact, The Bronze Pig comes out of the whole Trip Advisor phenomenon not just unscathed but actually showered in praise. Of the 1,350 reviews, 1,069 have deemed The restaurant ‘excellent.’
So, to find out if Pompeo really has made a silk purse out of a Bronze Pig, we joined the kitchen team, during a busy service.
With 40 covers and four chefs in the kitchen (Phil Cook; Andy Wilson; Dan Burland and David Devereux), there’s quite a high chefto-diner ratio, ensuring plenty of talent and attention is invested in your dish.
There’s a main à la carte menu with four starters, five main courses and three desserts plus a cheese option. I very much like and respect menus with fewer dishes on them, which I feel always reflects that each dish is cooked freshly to order and underwrites a
Sea bass with Jersey Royals, spinach, capers and anchovy fritter.
MEET THE CHEF
PHIL COOK, HEAD CHEF
History: “I’ve worked in Chester and Bath, then arrived in Lincoln seven years ago.” Food Heaven: “I really like duck and I think our current dish really does a great ingredient justice!” Food Hell: “Oysters!”
on the MENU
Starters Korean pork tenderloin with kimchi rice and peanut £9.95. Barbecue duck with braised duck leg, pickled cucumber and coriander sour cream £9.95. Artichoke risotto with wild garlic £9.95. Curried crab taco with pickled carrot and garlic chapati £9.95. Main Courses Harissa lamb rump with wild garlic, sun-dried tomato and vinegar gel £26.95. Duck breast with caramelised shallot, truffle pomme purée and dates £24.95. Miso tofu with egg noodles, chilli and honey roasted carrots £19.95. Sea bass with Jersey Royals, spinach, capers and anchovy fritter £22.95. Cod loin with grape sauce, aubergine gratin and walnut £22.95. Desserts Chocolate delice with caramel and popcorn £9.75. Pistachio sponge with melon and crystallised violet £9.75. Gingerbread choux bun with almond custard and ginger ice cream £9.75.
NB: Menu items subject to change.
Chocolate delice with caramel and popcorn.
chef’s confidence in their ability to offer something to appeal to everyone in just a few dishes, and the fewer dishes there are on a menu, the more well-versed the brigade will be in producing them. The only other option is a tasting menu, with six slightly-smaller courses plus palate cleaners and petit fours. This menu, at around £70/head (prices fluctuate according to what’s on the menu), or £94 with its optional flight of wine, is the one we’d go for, because the team are so talented and the food such a joy that we were keen to see as many different dishes emerging from the kitchen and as much variety as possible. As you’d expect from a restaurant operating at The Bronze Pig’s level, everything is made in house from artisan bread to ice creams and sorbets and the petit fours served with coffee. Local suppliers such as Lincoln-based butcher Pepperdines and wholesalers of Grimsby-landed fish are favoured, but the team will acquiesce to suppliers from a little further afield if quality dictates. Considering the modish presentation of the dishes, you’d be forgiven for thinking that they offer style over substance. But in fact, each dish wisely brings the merit of a single
key ingredient to the fore, so anything else on the plate is well-considered and always complements that essence. Happily each dish is as technically flawless as it is well-presented, and the dining room too is divided up into three main rooms – so there’s a nice relaxed feeling, as though you’re dining in someone’s home, not in a restaurant servicing tonnes of covers. Quirky upholstered chairs and a mural of the restaurant’s namesake created by a local artist add to the nature of the restaurant as being somewhere individual, somewhere you’ll really relax with friends and family. Head Chef Phil’s kitchen is perhaps the calmest I’ve ever seen. The team are all invested in contributing ideas to the menus and making the kitchen a success, whilst Pompeo and maitre’d Hatem Toumi clearly make a huge effort at front of house. Bronze Pig? It’s a complete misnomer. In our opinion, this super Lincoln restaurant is clearly solid gold and it’s a huge recommendation for enjoyable summer dining. n
Pistachio sponge with melon and crystallised violet.
DINING OUT at The Bronze Pig
Location: Burton Road, just behind the Castle in Uphill Lincoln. Parking opposite on Westgate or at The Lawn. Style: Classic English fare with Mediterranean influences.
Opening Times:
Lunch: Friday to Sunday from 12 noon to 2pm (3pm Sunday) Evening: Wednesday to Saturday 6pm to 9pm (Closed Sun eve).
