Browns dinner review

Browns at the Quay dinner review

excellent food and good portions

South Quay, Worcester, WR1 2JN

the restaurant

Browns at the Quay is a familiar sight when crossing Worcester’s main and only city centre road bridge. It has been a restaurant for many years and had to be included on my website sooner or later. And so it was that Christina and I arrived for our dinner, were shown to a table, and settled down for what would be a lovely meal.

A couple of myths were dispelled during our Browns dinner review. I am told Browns used to be expensive. It isn’t expensive now. I don’t discuss prices in my reviews as they are subjective. However, we found the prices to be reasonable. Smart restaurants often serve small portions. There was nothing small about our portions tonight.

It was easy to book a table online. They took a £20 (£10 per head) deposit – to be kept if we didn’t show up for our meal. That’s fair. Not a large amount – but enough to discourage those who fail to keep up their end of the deal. One thing with which I fundamentally disagree is that a 10% optional service charge is automatically added to the bill. The service was excellent and we were quite happy to pay a 10% tip. However, the way to ensure a tip should be great service, not the automatic adding of a tip to the bill.

One thing the restaurant could look at is the menus. A combination of the font style and size, and the lighting made it difficult for me to read the menu. I had to make my choice looking at the menu on my phone. Perhaps I need to update my reading glasses. One thing to note is that we ate inside, and some of the dishes we chose are not available to those dining outside on the terrace.

dinner

starters

One thing that attracted us to Browns’ menu was the sharing boards. So much so that we didn’t even look at the other starters. We chose the fish board with oak smoked salmon, prawn & crayfish cocktail, battered cod goujons, grilled lemon, tartare sauce, Marie Rose, baby gem lettuce and bread. This is, apparently, a sharing board for two. We struggled. For three people, there was enough food for good portions. In fact, for many people there was enough food for four.

The cod goujons were spot on. Beautiful white fish meat and golden crispy batter. The salmon was tasty and plentiful. I found the prawn & crayfish cocktail a little bland, but Christina though it was tasty. The tartare sauce was lovely. A sauce with a strong taste (as I like it) which I assume was homemade. In addition to what was stated on the menu, the board came with a pot of green olives and side salad. This was a lovely starter, but too much food for us.

main course

Pan fried beef fillet medallions with parmentier potatoes, tender stem broccoli, mushrooms, blue cheese, and a red wine reduction for me. Tasty beef cooked perfectly. A good portion with lots of mushrooms (all meals should have lots of mushrooms!).

Christina often opts for a fish course and tonight it was herb crusted hake fillet with new potatoes, tomato concasse, capers, dill, and champagne cream sauce. This was also a lovely dish with a good mix of flavours. One issue for Christina was that the fish was a bit too salty, something I can confirm having tried a forkful myself.

We often order side dishes when in a smart restaurant as the portions are often on the small side. So tonight we ordered sides of triple cooked chips and buttered spring greens. However, we barely touched the sides as, in additon to the starter being huge, the main courses were also substantial.

dessert

It has to be said, the desserts were special. The presentation of both dishes was excellent and, good though the other courses were, the desserts were our favourite part of the meal.

Christina chose poached pear with vegan vanilla ice cream and honeycomb. After the first bite, she exclaimed, “wow”. Christina loved this dish and she said the vegan ice cream was better than dairy ice cream. I had a taste and thought the sauce overwhelmed the taste of the pear – but what does my opinion matter?

I wasn’t sure about ordering the vanilla and nutmeg custard tart with raspberry gel and fresh berries. However, after such a large meal, I couldn’t face sticky toffee pudding and wanted something cold and refreshing. This custard tart was delicious. Utterly delicious. The tartness of the raspberry gel provided a counter to the sweetness of the custard. But the gel was too tart for my liking and the custard tart was perfection on its own.

around and about Browns at the Quay

Close by is Worcester racecourse and Browns at the Quay would be a great way to finish off a day at the races. Being on the riverside, this restaurant is a good place to end a walk.

Alternatively, it is barely a five-minute walk into the shopping area of Worcester.

For our evening meal, we started with a drink near the cathedral and then had a short walk to Browns.

facilities

parking

The restaurant does not have its own car park. However, Copenhagen Street car park is just 50 yards or so away.

disabled access

This restaurant is suitable for wheelchairs and there is disabled access to the toilets.

children

High chairs are available.

take-aways

Take-away food is not available.