College courses were an education
DAYNA FARRINGTON dines at a top rated restaurant that’s staffed by students
THERE are not many places where you can get a five-course dinner for just £35 per person.
And when I found out The Littleton was also the top-rated place to eat in the whole of Walsall, I was even more intrigued.
Turns out The Littleton is not your standard restaurant. It’s based at Walsall College and helps prepare the students for life in the hospitality and catering industry.
Eager to learn more, I clicked on its website...
“Located on the ground floor of The Hub, The Littleton is a luxuriously-furnished venue that’s ideal for lunch, coffee meetings, romantic meals, family celebrations, or to recharge after a long day or a tough session in the gym.
“A luxurious menu... makes The Littleton the ultimate fine dining restaurant. The venue’s AA Rosettewinning chef uses fresh, locallysourced ingredients that are grown on the college campus.”
So there’s a top chef, but that chef is assisted by catering students who work in the kitchen cooking and preparing food, or front of house as greeters and waiting staff, as cleanup crew and more.
There is a variety of menus including breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, takeaway, children’s, vegetarian and vegan.
THE SETTING
It’s small, intimate and charming. It’s simply lovely inside. It’s lit beautifully with fairy lights and I could tell that the students had gone to great lengths to make it feel welcoming and relaxing. I completely forgot I was actually in the middle of a college, with lessons, teachers and teenagers just walls away.
THE SERVICE
It was rather busy in the restaurant when we first arrived, but I could not fault the service. There was a mix of students and trained staff but I couldn’t tell them apart.
They were professional, friendly and knowledgeable. I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to fine dining and they explained what an amuse bouche and petit fours were.
I never felt like we were waiting too long for the next course. We were in and out the restaurant in just over an hour and a half.
By the end of our meal we were the only ones still there but we didn’t feel rushed out the door.
THE FOOD
The five-course dinner menu is loaded with all sorts of different options but the amuse bouche and petit fours are the same for everyone. My mum and I took a good look through the menu to choose – after having them explained to us by our waitress.
Once my mum and I had chosen our starter, main and dessert, we were waiting no longer than five minutes for the amuse bouche to arrive – mushroom and cauliflower veloute with crispy Brie.
Top marks for presentation – they arrived in tiny tea cups – and they were absolutely delicious. The veloute was creamy and you could really taste the mushroom coming through. While the brie was crispy on the outside, the cheese on the inside was melt-in-the-mouth.
For my starter, I went for the chef’s choice of soup, which that day was tomato. It was beautifully rich and really creamy. It came with some bread with garlic butter which I dipped into the soup and it was just heavenly.
My mum chose the chargrilled sourdough. Described on the menu as ‘‘dressed tomatoes, olives, feta cheese, parmesan and basil’’, she asked for the olives to be removed which was no trouble. It was lovely and flavoursome. The sourdough was crispy and not softened.
For my main I chose the special of beer-battered cod and chips. I was not disappointed. It was a lovely square chunk of flaky fish with perfectly crisped batter. The delicious chips were the chunkiest I have ever seen with a subtle crunch.
It was served with tartare sauce, garden peas and curry sauce, which I must admit was a little too strong for my liking.
My mum chose the roast breast of chicken. It was described as being served with ‘‘mushroom and orzo carbonara, smoked pancetta, leeks, vintage cheddar, crispy artichoke and grated chestnuts’’.
She said it was very well presented and the mushroom and leek base was very rich in flavour. The chicken had been cooked to perfection.
Three courses down, we were already rather full. But we soldiered on to arguably the best course – dessert.
I picked the apple crumble tart served with blackberry sorbet and warm amaretto vanilla sauce – and just ‘wow’. The little chunks of apple were sweet yet tangy, the crumble casing was divine. The warming sauce teamed with the sorbet was also a taste sensation.
My mum opted for the limeinfused panna cotta, served with plum sorbet, candied pistachios and cinnamon wafers. She said it was delicious and the lime flavouring was complimented with the sugar-coated pistachios.
After our desserts, we were so full we had to ask for the petit fours to be wrapped up so we could take them home – much to my partner and my dad’s delight after they had missed out on the evening trip.
The petit fours consisted of two small Millionaire’s shortbreads – both demolished in a second – and then what I believe was two Pate De Fruit – a sort of French fruit jelly. Both men remarked at how delicious they were.
THE COST
It was five courses for just £35 each, which I thought was remarkable. With a Diet Coke at £2 and a lemonade and lime at £2.50, our meal came to £74.50.
VERDICT
I loved every moment of our visit to The Littleton. I can see why it is the top rated in Walsall. I reckon it’s one of the best in the West Midlands.