The Blue Strawberry is probably my favourite Essex restaurant. Something that really strikes me is that the waiting staff have been working there for as long as I have been going- about 5 years! Besides the excellent food, the service is very slick yet not stuffy. I will occasionally make an evening visit, but usually go for lunch where 2 courses is £13.95.
The choice is pretty good- about 8 choices for each course. There are some staples (including my partner's beloved belly pork) that remain on the menu for months at a time, and daily specials including the fish of the day, the soup and the pie of the day.
On Thursday I took my guest there for lunch. I've had a greedy week- eating out 3 days on the trot! One glance at the menu, and I instantly knew what I'd have for starters- EGGS BENEDICT! My favourite! I was blinded my the site of my culinary love, and couldn't really care what else was on offer! When it arrived, it didn't disappoint. I'm an eggs benedict snob, and can spot a bad eggs benedict at 10 paces. This didn't disappoint. The egg was perfectly cooked- runny but thick. The muffin was toasted enough to me crisp and the ham was thick and tasty. The hollandaise was zingy and delicious. There was no attempt to fuss around with fancy presentation- another peeve of mine in when restaurants put garnishes on dishes that do not relate to the dish. It was the best eggs benedict I have eaten. My only gripe is that it is not offered as a main course!
My guest opted not to have a starter, the plan being that she must leave room for a dessert. She had the rump steak with tomato and onion relish and rocket salad. Luckily, she gave me a quarter of her steak, just to be doubly sure to leave room for pud! It was cooked medium, yet was still slightly bloody. It was delicious and tender; rump steak can withstand lenghthy cooking. I didn't much like the relish, but this was probably due to my slight aversion to sunblush tomatoes. The accompanying vegetables were jersey royal potatoes, mashed carrots, cabbage and broccoli, all perfectly cooked.
I had plaice fillets with caper and tomato vinaigrette. I was slightly concerned that the plaice would be overpowered by the capers, but this was not the case. The saltiness of the capers was a good contrast to the tender, mild fish. Delicious.
As a side note, I was once fairly conservative in my choice of fish, being suspicious of fish that was not prawns, cod, plaice or haddock. Since going to this restaurant I have beome a fish fan, eating shellfish, salmon, halibut, scallops, crab and sea bass. I still have a way to go on oily fish, but I trust this restaurant to do fish properly. If I don't like something, it'll be because I genuinely don't like it, not that this has happened, rather than it being badly cooked. I was very ill off bad seafood at a London restaurant many years ago, so I won't eat it at a restaurant I don't trust.
After my two courses, I was stuffed, so had no room for a pudding. My guest couldn't go for their usual gluttonous option of the assiette (4 mini desserts, £2.50 supplement) so went for the orange and almond tart with amaretti ice-cream. I'm not a fan of amaretti, but could tell that the amaretto-laced ice-cream with crushed amaretti biscuits would be loved by those that did. The slice of tart was huge, had thin crisp pastry, and was remeniscent of a Bakewell tart, with the layer of almond sponge. It was topped with sliced oranges in syrup. It was moist, not too sweet or heavy. Again, it was delicious.
If you like straightfoward, delicious food, go to the Blue Strawberry. Simple.
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