Dinner at Oddfellows

Last week we had our first restaurant social at an old Slow Food favourite, Oddfellows.

They pride themselves on crafting delicious meals from fresh, local ingredients and have recently started brewing their own beer too! Whilst none of us got round to trying any that night, we did conduct a rather thorough investigation of their menu; here's how we got on...

By 7:30pm, we were all sat down and ready to go! Our table was right next to the kitchen (this photo in fact was practically taken from inside the kitchen) so we could see everything that was going on. 

Sometimes open kitchens can detract from a night out; the clashing of pans and personalities can be a bit too noisy and make the evening feel stressful rather than fun. There is none of this at Oddfellows and so the open kitchen experience is quite an enjoyable one.

Most of us plumped for wine; there's a nice wide selection for those of you who know a thing or two about wine (not me...). There's even a Brut from Devon for those really looking to keep things local!

But now onto the food...

The Starters:

Top to bottom: 

Rabbit and smoked bacon bon bons, English mustard mayo and mustard cress (£6)

Pigeon breast, roasted beetroot, artichoke and red chard salad, honey & cider dressing (£5.50)

Celeriac soup, roasted garlic oil and crusty bread (£4.75)

As soon as the starters arrived, cutlery was seized in anticipation and those of us who hadn't ordered looked on in jealousy as the lucky ones tucked in.

Luckily though, it was soon our turn. The starters were polished off at an impressive speed (with many exclaims of delight in between) and soon we were getting ready for the next course...

The Mains:

From top to bottom:

Roasted cod with pommel puree, roasted tomatoes and mustard butter sauce (£15.50)

Fig, shallot and goat's cheese, rosemary polenta and Madeira dressing (£13)

Pan roasted duck breast, confit leg croquette, peach taste satin, sautéed kale and peach jus (£16)

Oven roasted venison loin, celeriac fondant, mini wild mushroom pie, heritage carrots and damson jus (£16.50)

The mains were even more delicious than the starters. There was a lot of excitement surrounding the mini wild mushroom pie that came with the venison but apart from that, the table pretty much fell silent apart from the sound of blissed-out munching.

I had the cod; the first mouthful was heavenly. It tasted like real comfort food with the roasted fish, the wonderful potato puree and the sauce adding that extra kick. However I do feel that the dish would have benefited from a little less potato and some extra vegetables in its place. There was a lot of potato to get through (don't worry, I did the job) and the flavours became a bit monotonic after a while, especially as there wasn't much sauce to go with the potato. I'd like to see a little more variety on my plate next time but I think this was just down to the dish in question as the meat dishes were much more creative.

My little niggles aside, it should probably be emphasised that as soon as the mains were over, absolutely everyone at the table who hadn't ordered a dessert then proceeded to do so.

The hero of the day was the white chocolate and vanilla panna cotta with elderflower poached raspberries and shortbread (£5.50):

Pretty much everybody had this (until the kitchen ran out! So sad!) and scraped their jars clean.

The flavours were brilliant and half of the texture was absolutely dreamy. I say half because the one I had hadn't settled too well - the top half was very luxurious and creamy whereas the bottom half was a bit gelatinous and almost grainy. Just a small thing though as I was more than satisfied by the smooth bit up top.

The other pudding chosen by our diners was the sticky toffee and ginger pudding with fudge sauce and vanilla ice-cream.

Again, Oddfellows really knows how to do comfort food - it was absolutely delicious!

In all, I think it's safe to say that Slow Food will be returning to Oddfellows. We had a brilliant night and made lots of new friends. The service was great and although we were a large table with plenty of demands throughout the night, everything was prompt and friendly.

Hope to see you next time!

Al-Farid Review

Hello everyone! We thought it was about time we show you some of the amazing places to eat in Exeter. We are so lucky to have lots of little tea shops, independent restaurants, and food markets at our fingertips that it was a challenge to choose the first one to review.

However, I can tell you from experience that nothing solves the misery of deadlines like a meal out with my girlies (or guys if you like)! We chose to go to Al Farid, a gorgeous little Moroccan restaurant on Cathedral Yard, and I cannot rave about it enough. It serves the most amazing traditional Moroccan dishes in rooms which will make you feel like you're eating in a tent in Marrakesh! Apologies for not taking a photo of the décor but it really is something which needs to be seen in person. You have the option of sitting upstairs with tables and chairs, or downstairs with sofas and floor cushions, or even outside on the shisha balcony!

I should definitely point out that the main reason we went was the deal that they were offering; the offer a different deal every weekday making this place totally student friendly! We went on a Thursday so we had 3 mezze (a Moroccan style of tapas) and a glass of house wine for £15. I personally wasn't sure that 3 dishes each would be enough, but by gosh was I wrong. I eat a lot, and I mean A LOT, but I was stuffed afterwards! Also the choice of dishes was huge, ranging from hummus, to lamb kebabs, to stuffed vine leaves.

Between the three of us we had (deep breath!) hummus, falafel, calamari, stuffed vine leaves, spicy meatballs, lamb shish, fig and goats cheese parcels, stuffed peppers and baba ganoush.

Here's a photo of most of the dishes - they wouldn't all fit into one photo, let alone on the table.
(Apologies for the poor quality; my phone failed me in the low lighting!)

I can tell you, you would not be disappointed if you ordered any of these dishes, though my personal favourite was the fig and goats cheese parcels...and the hummus... and the lamb shish...and the..., well you see where this is going.

My special attention went to the calamari; I am a massive calamari fan. Sharing it was one of those 'yes of course you can have some of MY food' moments, and as you can see, it looks pretty goddamn amazing:

All the food was terrific though. You definitely need to have a conversation (or binding contract_ about sharing food before you go, just to get any potential food envy out the way!

Needless to say, all the food went down well:

Conclusion: This is the absolute perfect place to go if you're looking for somewhere a bit different in the evening. There are no burgers or sweet potato fires in sight! I really cannot urge you to go any more. I'm taking my Mother there when she comes to visit so that I can get my hands on some tagine, but this is equally the perfect place to go for a lively evening with friends!

Top tip: The olives are freaking amazing. Just get them!