Comfort food at its best in Adliya
There are times when only good, old-fashioned comfort food will do so, with that in mind, my lunch companion and I headed to Up and Down, as it’s affectionately known, in search of roast beef and Yorkshire pudding.
Sadly, this is the preserve of Friday brunch goers and, since we’d arrived on a Saturday, ‘twas not to be.
But the everyday menu provides plenty of comfort food choices (alongside a good selection of international fare) to match the traditional English country house décor. And our server, Michael, couldn’t have been more helpful even though we arrived just as the kitchen was getting ready to close.
We dived straight into the main courses, roast leg of lamb for me and chicken with bacon and leeks for my pal – both dishes come with vegetables and potatoes.
Our food arrived piping hot and plentiful – my companion’s plate looked to contain almost a full chicken and the lamb on mine was heaped high.
I was initially disappointed to see veggies from what appeared to be a frozen mixed selection. But a quick taste soon revealed my mistake. Generous chunks of carrot and swede were clearly freshly cooked and crunchy and the chopped mange tout were just as I’d cook them at home – just a dip in the hot water and back out before any of the flavour is lost.
My potatoes were stacked and sliced, lightly baked with a delicate cheese topping – I’m not usually a fan of cheese with meat but, on this occasion, the flavour was just mild enough to complement the other goodies on my plate.
At this point my companion was busily tucking into her mash which she declared ‘just like my mum’s’, which, from the look on her face was clearly a good thing.
My lamb was melt-in-the-mouth tender and sweet, clearly the real thing, not the mutton which is so often described as lamb, and I was presented with separate pots of rich, tasty gravy and mint sauce. Heaven.
The chicken too lived up to expectations. A delicate, lightly spiced sauce perfectly brought out the smoky taste of the bacon and the flesh was cooked to perfection, crumbly yet still moist.
We washed it down with a glass of very reasonably-priced bubbly each and all in all lunch was a triumph on the mains – exactly what we had in mind when we set out.
To be truthful, neither of us really had room for desert but, purely in the interests of research, we attempted to manage a few morsels of the chocolate gateau – I was actually hoping for the strawberry cheesecake but our tardiness meant the gateau was the only thing available.
I’m sure you can guess, managing those few morsels was no hardship, our plates were soon cleared and we left smiling widely.
The bill (for two)Chicken with leek and bacon BD9.000
Roast leg of lamb BD9.500
Chocolate gateau x2 BD9.000
Mineral water x1 BD0.900
Perrier water x1 BD1.400
Bubbly x2 BD3.200
Total (inc service) BD37.950
By Time Out Bahrain staff
Time Out
Bahrain ,
31 July 2012
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