Bitter and Twisted, the people behind Bodega, Island Bar, The Jekyll and Hyde, The Victoria, The New Inn and The Rose Villa Tavern, have a new addition to their vast amount of venues in The Midlands, Marmalade. I visited the venue on a Saturday, enticed in by their 50% off offer and opportunity to discover new and unconquered ground.
The decor would be any quirky persons/hipsters dream, with the low lighting with the wires showing in a pattern yet still in a basic fashion, there is a orange theme throughout, there is also a vintage cabinet and there is a huge red lamp that I fell in love with and wanted to take home.
The aforementioned vintage cabinet and huge red lamp I wanted to take home.
So the decor is nice and quite fitting to the Birmingham Rep venue; now onto the food.
Marmalade had a Vegan/Veggie menu that made life very easy for me and they were also quite happy to alter certain things.
I visited the venue with my mother and we both had a starter, a main and dessert each; yes we like to eat.
My mother chose "Sesame Coated Halloumi, Seared Honeydew
Melon and Black Olive Tapenade",which looks appetising and she said she enjoyed.
I chose "Crab and Cod Korokke, Mango Salsa, Celeriac Remoulade and Coriander". The korokke was amazing! The crab and cod was a perfect combo and then in the crispy ball with the salsa and remoulade was so fantastic, I would have happily had this as my main. Just perfection!
We decided to share our mains. We chose the "Mediterranean Vegetarian Crumble, Tofu, Roast Tomato Sauce, Spinach and Figs" and the "Pan Seared Sea Bass, Sweet Potato Hash with Beetroot and Green Beans, Chicory and Sun Dried Tomato Butter". I liked the concept of the crumble but the execution wasn't what I thought it would be. It was presented well and looked very appetising but the roast tomato sauce was missing and this made it like sand paper to eat. However the veg inside was chunky and a good portion. The spinach and figs was presented separately and there was 3 fig pieces in total, not enough when you are sharing. I found this to be a let down and wished they would have included the tomato sauce.
Again the seabass was presented well and looked appetising but the portion was quite small, the chicory was quite hard to cut and I think it was a tad overdone. I liked the beetroot and green bean salsa it came with. However, all the flavours worked well together and you could tell that they had thought that aspect through.
Onto dessert, my mum chose the "Gingerbeard Cheesecake, Maple Sauce, Pecans and Mint". She really enjoyed this but didn't get to try the sauce properly, as it was stuck to the pecans and to the plate. I obviously couldn't try this, as it was dairy overload.
So instead, I had the "Plum, Orange and Caramalised Apricot Crumble, Cinnamon and Raisin Homemade Ice Cream", the ice cream was substituted for homemade lemon sorbet and the crumble topping substituted for oats. Again, I found this quite dry and boring. The sorbet was amazing and you could taste and see the lemon pieces inside.
Food - 3/5
Very innovative and well priced menu, however the execution isn't as good as the ideas yet. I would love to go back in a couple of months to see how the menu develops.
Dairy-free options? - 4/5
They have a separate menu for vegans and vegetarians, they are also willing to alter anything to suit your needs. However, the changed dishes aren't as good as the original and I think a little more time needs to be taken to ensure they are.
Service - 5/5
The second day of service and they were on top of it all. Service was great and helpful.
Cleanliness - 5/5
The place is brand new and has been maintained well so far.
Location - 5/5
On Broad St, between the ICC/Symphony Hall and the stunning Library. Easy to get to and prime location.
Value for Money - 5/5
We paid 50% less then what you would pay now, however I would say load up on starters, they were the best and great portions for the price.
Have you tried this place? Vote now.
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