ODDFELLOWS
The restaurant reviewed
by Chris Hulme...
he venue demanded something out
T
of the ordinary and, quite possibly,
expensive. Th ey call it Oddfellows
and the interior is just too special to
consider anything other than a £15 Margarita
Deluxe as your opening gambit.
Oddfellows opened in Chester earlier this year,
set in a 17th Century georgian building on one
of main shopping streets leading down to the
River Dee. It features a bar, tea room, brasserie,
members’ lounge, a beautiful walled garden
(including Bedouin tents) and four hotel rooms.
How drab these facts sound compared to
reality of the interior. Oddfellows has a magical
and changing sense of mood and place wherever
you go within the building; it comes on like a
quirky up market house party where you are never
quite sure what is going to happen next.
Th e décor is a hip blend of contemporary
furniture and art, with the walls painted with a
colour palate you’re not quite sure if you have seen
anywhere else. Th e brasserie is housed in a glass
extension, which on a rainy weekday evening was
all mood lighting and chilled out people.
Could the menu do something worthy of
interior designer Ken Roscoe’s masterpiece?
Th e early signs were encouraging. A salad of
Mediterranean roasted vegetables and feta
(£6.50) was well presented and just fussy enough.
Who knew that a slice of courgette could be so
fl avoursome? Th is was helped on its way with
a Sauvignon Blanc for £15.50, which I did not
have strong feelings about either way, though it
could have perhaps been more chilled a few more
degrees. For my main course, I elected for ricotta, request for help dealing with a rocky table was
pine nut and spinach crepes (£10.95) and a rocket acknowledged but never acted upon. On the basis
salad (£2.75). Again, tops marks for presentation of this experience, the humour and charm of the
and fl avour. venue has not quite been matched front of house.
Th e cocktail menu was just too tempting to Th at said, it would be a blatant and outrageous
delay proceeding with a dessert and a Long Island mistruth to say anything other than I love the
Ice Tea (£6.95) was inconsequential but fun. place and shall be returning very soon.
My helpless appreciation of the design and 20 Lower Bridge Street, Chester. Telephone 01244
decor overcame some fairly ordinary service - a 400001 or visit the website:
www.oddfellows.biz.
14
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