Bohemia

Last night was my first visit to Bohemia restaurant, in fact I’d never heard of it until my best friend recommended it after eating there at a live music night in December . She invited us to join her and her husband for a Saturday night out.

We arrived about 8pm to a bustling restaurant, nice and warm in comparison to the foggy streets of Selly Oak! We were greeted and sat down straight away by a friendly waiter who remembered my friends instantly, soon after we were presented with the January menu and the bottle of Malbec which the men had ordered before we could blink!

All the options on the menu were interesting but I opted for the rolled courgettes stuffed with sundried tomato and black olive tapenade to start, whilst our friends ordered the corn fed chicken and ham hock terrine with spiced pear chutney and my other half ordered the peppered mackerel on toasted ciabatta with horseradish dressing. After hearing the complimentary comments from the tables around us about the braised blade of beef, 3 of us ordered this for our main course whilst my friend opted for the winter vegetable suet pudding.

The atmosphere was extremely relaxed and you felt at home instantly, we waited a short while for our starters whilst we polished off the bottle of wine and ordered the next. All the starters were presented well and generously dressed – my rolled courgettes were tasty and neatly constructed, delicately held together with cocktail sticks. The chicken and ham hock terrine was made from large chunks of meat and rustic in appearance, the spiced pear chutney was particularly worth noting, however when we asked if the chef could let us have the recipe they said it was a secret!

The main courses again did not disappoint, the braised blade of beef certainly lived up to its expectation, it simply melted in the mouth, and the mashed potato with spring onion also hit the spot. All the main courses came with a selection of vegetables which I did not expect but was gratefully received.

I wasn’t going to have a dessert after indulging too much over the Christmas period, however when my friend produced a ‘3 courses for the price of 2’ voucher from her handbag, I didn’t take much convincing! I had the mango and coconut cheesecake with chilli ice cream, whilst my other half had the chocolate and pecan crème brulee and our friends both had the pancakes filled with berry compote. My cheesecake was interesting, served in a cocktail glass so the different layers could be seen – it was lighter version than a typical baked cheesecake but flavours were divine. I didn’t try any of the other desserts but judging by the clean plates I don’t think there were any complaints.

We all had three courses and finished off the two bottles of wine between us and the total bill was about £110 after we had used the voucher.

I will certainly be returning to Bohemia, it has certain charm to it, and I was particularly impressed to see that they change their menu’s every month, the food and service were great and it’s nice to see a friendly neighbourhood restaurant making a go of it.
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MsPiggy
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, January 18, 2009

Not just oriental cuisine, a well balanced interesting menu which changes monthly. Lovely food, a really pleasant atmosphere and excellent service. Highly recommended.
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val - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 9
Thursday, January 15, 2009