127 Castle Road, Bedford MK40 3RF tel: 01234 910606
By Stephen Bywater @authorbywater
The Blue Dot on the Castle Road has already gained a reputation for being one of the best restaurants in Bedford. So it was with high expectations that Lucy and I visited the establishment one cold Thursday night in February.
It’s a small, intimate restaurant with a skinny kitchen where Michael, the young chef and proprietor, creates dishes which fill a gap on the gastronomic map. The décor is simple and unobtrusive: low lights, tiled floor, a Welsh dresser and a Cat Stevens album cover on the wall. Service from the ever-smiling Sophie is attentive and efficient. We order a glass of Merlot and a bottle of Brewdog’s Dead Pony Club, a hipster craft beer with a light, floral taste. On the menu there are four starters, four mains and four puddings, a stirring list that’s both broad and focused. We opt for Smoked mackerel pâté and a celeriac soup. Both arrive within a decent amount of time and both are, needless to say, delicious. The pâté is cold, creamy with a delicate cucumber granita on top, a subtly sweet liquorice sauce drizzled round the plate. The soup, with a confit egg yolk and a malt and thyme crumb, is rich and has a velvety texture. For mains there’s sea bream and pig’s cheek, but we opt for the beef short rib with mashed potato and roasted beetroot and the red onion and cauliflower tart. The beef is braised for five hours and is tender and moist and comes with a beetroot meringue, the like of which I have never seen before. The tart is a work of art, a flower on a plate; orchid-like and almost too beautiful to touch. Eating it feels like an act of vandalism, but to destroy is to create and the pleasure of eating gives recompense for the beauty lost.
We end with the custard ’apple’, which comes with a wedge of white chocolate and almond fudge and a blackberry puree. The whole thing is as pretty as a picture and the custard apple is, like the beetroot meringue, an amazing creation. Michael is a chef who likes to experiment, likes to keep it fresh, but clearly knows the difference between inspirational and outlandish. His dishes work beautifully and, with Sophie and Craig, The Blue Dot functions ever so smoothly.
For more info check out their Facebook page.
