Roger Hickman's Restaurant, Norwich



Norwich, and Norfolk as a whole, has an excellent reputation for excellent local produce, and wonderful restaurants using the best seasonal ingredients to their highest potential. Being born in Norfolk I have been lucky enough to sample a number of these wonderful eating establishments (with still a list as long as my arm of places I am yet to tick off!) however, despite having lived in Norwich for over 2 and a half years I was yet to try Roger Hickman's self titled and highly acclaimed restaurant in the heart of Norwich city centre.

Assorted Olives

I had received a gift voucher last Christmas, and with my Mum's 50th Birthday approaching and a girly weekend in Norwich on the cards I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to sample their lunch menu (which, as I will go onto explain, is an absolute bargain for the sheer quality of the food you receive). Immediately as we were taken to our table a little bowl of assorted olives were provided - tiny little things, more stone than olive, but still delicious and really wet our appetite!

Bread selection

Next came the bread after we had ordered a white and a brown slice (which I seem to remember had ale in it) each - both tasted incredibly fresh and were served with a good soft butter (I am becoming increasingly aware of how much I dislike hard butter, especially when having to spread it onto something) so this was lovely! We both opted for their lunchtime tasting menu - consisting of a chefs appetiser, four additional courses and coffee, with matched wines (it was a special occasion after all) for £55 per person (see...I did tell you it was pretty incredible value!)

Amuse bouche - Comte Panna cotta, balsamic ketchup

The Chef's appetiser arrived quickly, whilst we were still polishing off our bread actually, and although upon first glance you may have thought it was a slightly unadventurous flavour of soup, it was in fact a Comte cheese panna cotta, served with balsamic ketchup, black olive dust and pine nuts. It did exactly what it was supposed to; excited our taste buds with the sharp sweet flavour of the ketchup perfectly complimenting the creamy cheese and the pine nuts adding that necessary element of crunch to the dish.

Heritage carrot salad

To follow was the starter on the tasting menu which was titled 'Heritage Carrot Salad' and was served with yoghurt curd, caraway and walnuts. As well as being absolutely beautiful to look at, each individual component tasted divine, from the warm roasted carrot alongside the cooled carrot fondant (type of thing!) to the bright orange puree and the pickled slithers.  It was a wonderfully balanced dish, and a real celebration of the carrot - as it should be eaten, with a bit of love and attention but not too much fuss.

Crab and Avocado salad

Next came the fish course; a salad of crab and avocado, with pickled cucumber, puffed rice and a poached quail egg. Again looking as pretty as a picture, all of the components of this fantastic dish came together effortlessly. The bottom layer of the crab mayo was so creamy it needed the crunch and earthiness of the rice, and the tart cleanness of the cucumber to balance it out. It was clear at this stage I feel, that the kitchen were certainly turning out some incredibly inventive, but also accomplished plates of food, well worthy of their 3 AA Rosettes (and potentially even more).

Rib of beef, onion puree, courgette and radish

We were slightly difficult customers when it came to our main course, which was originally supposed to be skate wing, but instead, as we wanted our meat fix (instead of two fish dishes) we asked if it was able to be substituted for the rib of beef on the lunch menu. The waiter could not have been more happy to satisfy our request, and even asked if we would like the wine (which had been selected as a rose for the skate) to be changed to a red wine so that it matched the meatier course.

When the plate arrived I could not have been happier, a really quite large, perfectly pink portion of steak with delightfully crisp potatoes, a smooth sweet onion puree and vegetable accompaniments which had clearly been treated with as much care as the carrots on the first course. It was just what we fancied and spent the entire time grinning like Cheshire cats each time we tried a different element - safe to say, the plate was polished off on both sides of the table!

Compressed Strawberry and sorbet, basil granita

An additional, and unexpected course arrived to the table next which was a pre-dessert of strawberry sorbet, a compressed strawberry, basil granita and macadamia nuts. This was like a small dessert in itself and worked perfectly as a refresher before the sweetness of the proper dessert which followed. I am a sucker for anything with basil in it, sweet or savoury, so in my opinion the granita was the star of the show, but each part was executed very well, and again, the nuts provided a great texture to the dish which to me shows a serious amount of thought had gone into each of the dishes.

Lemon parfait, lime sorbet and hazelnut muesli

Finally the dessert course arrived which was a citrus-y burst of lemon parfait, lime sorbet, hazelnut muesli, apple and lovage. The sweet muesli was essential to counteract the tartness of the sorbet and the creaminess of the lemon parfait - there were so many components I didn't even know what it was that I was trying at times, but it was all very tasty!

Cheese Plate, Quince jelly

 

On the tasting menu there was the option of choosing the dessert above or a cheese course, and being incredibly indecisive we decided to ask if it was possible to have both (with the cheese to share as an additional course). Again, the waiter was more than happy to agree, and the selection (complete with quince jelly and crackers) showed a really excellent array of cheese, from a creamier goats cheese and brie type variety to a hard comte and blue cheese with a delicate flavour.

Lemongrass and Chocolate fudge

Coffee arrived last, as did 4 petit fours which were lemongrass fudge. I have to say these were the things I was most concerned about as I know how over powering lemongrass can be, and I am not the biggest fan of sweet, sticky fudge - especially after a pretty mammoth lunch, but I was pleasantly surprised. The balance (not for the first time in this meal) was pitched perfectly, and the fudge (even by my standards) wasn't overly sickly so we were very contented diners!

Peach Rice Pudding, ginger biscuit

The last dish pictured here, was (again) a sign of our slight pickiness as diners and the waiting staff's ability to accommodate all of our requests; my Mum was weary of the hazelnut muesli on the tasting dessert so asked if it was possible to have the peach rice pudding on the set lunch instead. It must have been good, I didn't get much of a taste at all (!), but I thought the message was lovely, and another personal touch which enhanced our experience within the restaurant a great deal.

Roger Hickman's is certainly the best place I have eaten in the city centre, the food is in a fine dining class of it's own by Norwich standards, and deserves far more awards including (in my opinion) a star, in the not too distant future hopefully. In that case I suggest anyone considering trying this restaurant should book immediately - I will certainly be returning, hopefully with a posse of friends who (as is often the case) believe fine dining is always too pricey, with tiny portions and pretentious staff - that is certainly not the case here!

http://www.rogerhickmansrestaurant.com/