The Potted Hen - St Anne's Square - Belfast

Last Thursday, my partner and I decided to eat out on an impulse, which let me rather unprepared regarding a choice of restaurants to go to. After the great experience of Coppi, I decided to take another chance on St Anne’s Square and its large panel of restaurants. Once there, we both agreed on trying The Potted Hen whose modern and rather refined menu was offering satisfactory options for both of us.

First, I have to say the service was amazing, smart, fast and efficient. We were given great recommendations and the starters came out real fast which was such a relief since we were both starving!

My salt and chilli prawns were deliciously crispy and spicy but the dips were truly disappointing. The garlic aioli had nothing to do with an actual aioli and tasted like a very bland and heavy mayonnaise. As for the sweet chilli sauce, it had the consistency of a tomato soup and smelled too much of Tabasco. The fried egg that my partner picked was on the contrary, executed with genius. Perfectly cooked, and the contrast between the liquid warm yolk and the light crunchy batter was delightful.

Our main courses were both the highlight of our dinner. I couldn’t resist trying their wild mushroom risotto, an absolute favourite of mine. The texture was superb, fondant as it should be without bordering on sticky. The flavours of the tarragon brought a brand new style to that creative version of a classic dish. On top of that, the light and creamy sauce was refreshed and got a real kick from the addition of roquette: brilliant!

My partner devoured his ribeye steak. I must admit that I am not usually too keen on red meat but this one looked so good that I had to try. The pepper sauce gave it an engaging glossy glaze and perfectly coated the tender and juicy meat. The steak came with golden and crispy chunky chips and a roquette salad devilishly tasty thanks to beautiful aged Parmesan, which took the whole dish to a superior level.

A great experience to be repeated. Next time, I would though skip the starters and go for main and dessert. They have on the menu a very appealing version of a French classic, “la crème brulee’ and I do love to end a meal on a sweet note.