Brabenecs

Came here on a business dinner with a bunch of guys. Nice little place, not much to say. The Pea and Ham soup to start was too runny and there was just too much of it, came in a huge bowl and ended up sending half of it back unfinished even though it tasted OK. I had the slow Roasted Belly Pork — which was really good served with Mash. The Pork was cooked perfectly but was the size of a house brick, it tasted awesome but again a little too much on the plate which is off putting for me. But that’s just me!
Other guys had steak and soup, a few had fish and everybody enjoyed it although as other reviewers have said, its lacking in a bit of atmosphere (although we did go in the week). OK for a town center little bistro that just needs a little care and attention.
Not a bad place, food was very tasty but not awesome either!

The restaurant is kind of old fashioned in a nice way with
a fairly dark intimate feel and small lamps on the tables. The young serving staff seemed well trained
and reasonably efficient. We had spiced tiger prawns with garlic mayonnaise for one
starter and potted pork for the other. Both
were good but slightly disappointing, although the garlic mayonnaise was very
good as was the complementary warm bread and butter. There are several ‘main’ menus: described as the main, grill and set
menus, but all could be described as European. We went for items off the main menu: the
signature dish of slow roasted belly of pork with apple sauce which was a huge
portion, very flavoursome and tender with great crackling. I had the Beef Wellington which was described
as fillet of beef with a wild mushroom duxelle wrapped in a tarragon pancake
and puff pastry: the beef wasn’t the most tender piece of meat, but it had a
pleasing earthy flavour (presumably from the mushrooms) and was quite nice. We chose sautéed potatoes and seasonal vegetables to accompany
them: the beans, cabbage and broccoli were well cooked and had a nice amount of
’crunch’, but the carrots were over cooked and over-​buttered. The sautéed potatoes looked nice, but tasted
odd. We think the potatoes had been
standing around for a day or two, certainly they weren’t fresh: they had an odd
taste similar to baked potatoes when they are warmed up on the second day. The pricing is good value for the standard of food
presented. Starters cost around £3−8 each,
mains £10−20, deserts £4−6 and the set menu (Tuesday to Thursday evenings) is
£17 for two courses and £20 for three. Overall it was a good experience, but it could have been an
outstanding experience which is a little disappointing. We’ll probably be back to try it again, but
not soon.

Brabenecs was a great restaurant four years ago. Then they changed management, changed menu, changed staff, changed atmosphere and now they’re just a restaurant. A restaurant with some food. My descriptive powers fail me, as there was nothing memorable about the last meal I ate there other than the fact that my husband and I reminisced at length about when the food was memorable.
Oh. They use a lot of butter. There’s your detail.

very fine, quality, exquisite, intimate dining
love this small restaurant, me & the mrs will go here if it’s just the 2 of us, & we’re wanting ‘something special’
fantastic service
menu is unlike anywhere else — frogs legs, ostrich etc
the creamed spinach is a MUST HAVE
we did go here a couple of years ago with a group of 6 friends, & the experience was nowhere near as good. the dining area is quite small & it’s the tranquility of the place that really makes it special