Bijou - a gorgeous little restaurant, tucked into a compact shopping court in Carlisle. Not noticable from any of the main streets, but once been, never forgotten.
Situated in Carlyles Court which is accessible from two gateways, one on Fisher Street beside the Sony Shop, and the other around the corner, also on Fisher Street but opposite the Cumberland Building Society.
The restaurant is open for lunch Mon-Sat and evenings Thurs-Sat.
Parking is a bit of an issue during the day, you would have to use one of the Citys main car parks - The Lanes, or Devonshire Walk, and walk to it, but on an evening you can usually get parked on the Market Loading Bay, or somewhere on Castle Street.
Beautifully set out inside with modern, clean, fresh deco and furniture, it also has some tables outside if you fancy sitting in the fresh air with a pre/post dinner drink.
There is one evening dinner sitting, so you are not rushed in the slightest, it is a very relaxed, friendly experience.
So, onto the food. In a nutshell - utterly delicious!!
There was four of us dining, a fussy Vegetarian, a very fussy "plain eater" and two "will try anything once" types. We decided on the fabulous Thursday evening offer of three courses and half a bottle of house wine for just £20 a head.
The only Veggie option for a starter was soup, but it was explained that it would be no problem to cook any of the starters without meat, which made it a great choice.
I opted for asparagus with free range poached egg, hollandaise sauce, cress salad and a paprika oil it was superb. The egg was cooked perfectly, and the asparagus was very tender with not one woody bite.
The fussy eater didn't fancy anything, so they happily made him some garlic bread.
To follow I had char grilled courgettes with asparagus risotto grilled goats cheese and red pesto. Each mouthful was delicious, gorgeously creamy risotto and a wonderful local Goats Cheese, grilled to the correct amount of oozyness.
They were happy to cook Mr Fussy a plain chicken breast with buttered new potatoes and fine beans - he was more than happy with that :)
To be honest at this point we had all probably had enough to eat, but it would have been most rude to have refused a pudding so I had ginger pudding with lemon cream. Heaven on a plate !
And I just have to show you a photo of the magnificent cheese board my Father had, what a fantastic choice and so nicely presented.
The total bill was £83.00 not including a tip - this was for 4 dinner deals at £20 and two extra soft drinks.
Will DEFINATELY be back, maybe not with Mr Fussy, but with someone who appreciates really good, well cooked, nicely presented food.
Check out the menu before you go, it does change according to availablity of products and seasons.
Check out the menu before you go, it does change according to availablity of products and seasons.
It is highly recommended that you book too.
Really nice website, lots of information, and they have a facebook page too (just search for Bijou Carlisle).
Here is the link.
Feel free to comment if you have been.
I went last night and the food was amazing. Definately first class nosh ;)
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