Earle by Simon Rimmer Review

Most people will be familiar with Simon Rimmer because of his presenting and cooking work on the channel 4 morning television show, Sunday Brunch. What many people won’t realise is that Simon has been cooking professionally for close to 30 years and opened his first restaurant, Greens in Didsbury in 1990. Earle is Simon’s second restaurant located in Hale, Cheshire, unlike Greens which is strictly vegetarian, the menu at Earle ranges from vegetable dishes to fish, poultry, meat and game.

Situated right in the centre of Hale village, Earle is smaller than I imagined it to be, perhaps based on my experience of other celebrity restaurants such as Gino’s or Jamie’s Italian but that certainly doesn’t take away from the dining experience, in fact I think the smaller brasserie style format made it much more relaxing and intimate.

We had booked a table for 6PM on Saturday night but arrived a little early, aside from a few people having a drink outside, we were the only people there. We were greeted by whom I believe was the restaurant manager and we were seated at the bar and given the drinks and a food menu. We were informed that we could either order a la carte or we could choose from the set dinner menu which is available until 7PM on a Saturday. This is exceptional value at £20 for 3 courses which included many of the dishes from the a la carte menu.

The fully stocked bar at Earle

After studying the menu for 10 minutes or so, I had set my mind on the mussels and chorizo starter which unfortunately weren’t on the set menu so it looked like I was ordering a la carte, I just needed to choose a main course, it was either to be the roasted lamb rump or the pan fried venison, both of which sounded delicious. I had just decided on the venison when the manager recommended the duck breast from the set dinner menu or the evenings special of rump steak. It’s a good job we arrived early because this was going to take some time. My girlfriend had similar troubles as she fancied a starter from the a la carte menu and a main from the set menu. Thoroughly confused, we decided to choose once we were seated at our table but matters were made much more confusing when the waiter seated us and handed us a completely different menu than the one we had been looking at, at the bar. We pointed this out to our waiter but he was adamant that the menu he gave to us was the right one and the one we had been looking at earlier was from the previous evening. Not entirely convinced, we asked the manager who had first welcomed us but he was adamant that the menu we had studied at the bar was the correct one. After an impromptu staff meeting it turned out the waiter was right and the manager had been off the previous night so wasn’t familiar with the new menu. Menu situation sorted we were again faced with the dilemma of ordering from the set menu or the a la carte menu but this time with a new choice of dishes.

Earle by Simon Rimmer Interior

As tempting as £20 for three courses sounded, we both ordered from the main menu. For starters I stuck with the Mussels, chorizo, tomato and saffron sauce, straw fries and baked bread. The mussels were quite large and were so fresh you could still taste the sea on some of them. Smothered in a tasty tomato and saffron sauce there was plenty of chunky chorizo mixed in. Served with straw fries and the most delicious bread I have tasted in a long time this dish could have easily been a main as there was that much. I enquired about the bread and it isn’t made at Earle unfortunately but by a local baker. I would like to find out which one.

Mussels, chorizo, tomato and saffron sauce, straw fries and baked bread

My girlfriend chose the Beetroot cured salmon served with citrus orange gel, chive creme fraiche, potato scone, crispy brown shrimp, baby fennel and an apple and radish salad. Compared to my choice of mussels, this starter was quite small in and very nouvelle cuisine.

Beetroot Cured Salmon

On to the main courses and I went for the rump steak special, served with chunky chips and a truffle sauce. I am never usually a fan of rump steak, I prefer a  sirloin or rib eye but as it was the only steak on offer and I hadn’t cooked my usual Friday night steak the night before I had a craving to satisfy. Asked how I wanted it cooked, I left it to the chefs recommendation. I often do this because I don’t really have a preference and think the chef can make a more informed suggestion for the cut.

Rump Steak with Chunky Chips and Truffle Sauce

It was served medium rare and was sliced into ribbons. It was perfectly cooked and tasty but could have done with perhaps a little more seasoning for my taste. The truffle sauce was interesting and made for a nice change from the usual peppercorn and diane sauces often served in brasseries. The chips were very thick and cooked just right, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside.

Rump Steak

My girlfriend chose feta cheese, spinach and beetroot filo layered pie, red onion, roasted tomato and rocket salad, red pepper jam. This was a huge portion and far too much for her to finish, one piece of pie would have been plenty but there were two large slices on the plate.

Roast Beetroot and Feta Filo Layered Pie

The main courses from the set menu do not come with any accompaniments so she ordered a side of vegetables.

The pie was delicious but was served just lukewarm, whether this was intentional or not is unknown. For me, I wouldn’t have a problem as I don’t like my food too hot but my girlfriend likes her food very hot. This minor detail didn’t stop her from really enjoying her dinner.

Roast Beetroot and Feta Filo Layered Pie

Desserts were offered but we were far too full to entertain any, I was closes to full after the mussels starter. We were glad we didn’t choose from the set menu otherwise a dessert would have been mandatory.

All in all we really enjoyed the evening at Earle and would most certainly return after but not before we give Greens a try. The service was excellent, the food was delicious and the portions were very generous. The interior was clean and cosy and the atmosphere was just right. If there was anything at all to complain about it would be that the air conditioning was a little cold near the kitchen which is where we were sitting and that the filo pie could have been just a little warmer.

The bill for a 2 course dinner for two people with a glass of wine each came to approximately £65. Not the cheapest dinner around but then this is a celebrity restaurant and it is in one of the most affluent areas of Cheshire.  Overall I would say it was very good value.