Inspired dinners on offer at Muse
IT was nearly three years ago that Mrs Eats and I found ourselves in Yarm at the front door of Muse Continental Cafe.
The year before, in 2014, it reportedly became the first place in this attractive Teesside town to get a mention in the Michelin Guide – the one connected to spare tyres for your stomach and not the ones for your car. (Mrs Eats didn’t laugh either but I thought I’d give it another go).
Mrs Eats and I were very pleased with the grub back then and so on a whim decided to return to see if the good work has continued.
As in early 2015, the weather wasn’t seen as conducive enough to put tables outside so
MUSE CONTINENTAL CAFE
Address: 104b High Street, Yarm, TS15 9AU.
Tel: 01642 788558
Food served: Noon to 4pm Rating: 17/20 Character........................... Quality................................ Service................................ Value................................... we, once again, had to forgo the experience of continental cafe culture, Teesside style. Instead we sat inside where, it has to be said, the temperature was very Mediterranean and toasty. While the cost of the fixedprice menu had remained virtually the same since the last time we came which was good, so had the fact it didn’t serve draft beer on tap which to my mind was not great. Last time, Mrs Eats and I had a Car park..................... Kids allowed...................... Real ale..................................... Wine by the bottle........................ Credit cards..................................... Vegetarian food............................. Disabled toilets............................. glass of Shiraz. but this time she was in the mood for Sauvignon Blanc, opting for the 175m size at a whistle-inducing £5.35. This time I went for a bottled beer. Called Seraphim, it is a blonde beer brewed by the Sonnet 43 Brew House in Coxhoe at £4.85. From a list of four starters which included spiced squash soup, pumpkin and goat’s cheese risotto and garlic prawns with chickpea salsa, we both went for the pan-fried pigeon breast, pickled beetroot with wild mushrooms and celeriac puree. This was lovely, done to a turn, with a sweet, gamey taste, reminding me a bit of liver for some reason. The celeriac puree was light and creamy, and the wild mushrooms flavoursome although I could have done with a few more. But it was an excellent combination and a pleasant size to set us up for the main course. Again there were four choices, nothing for vegetarians on the mains menu we were given, and there was a fish dish and chicken.
Mrs Eats went for the roast sirloin of beef, Yorkshire pudding and gravy while I opted for the roast loin of pork, sage and onion mash, apple sauce, crackling and gravy.
Accompanying them in a single bowl was four roasties – two each, a bit skimpy – mange tout, red cabbage and swede.
The beef was beautifully cooked, tender and came with a sizeable Yorkshire pudding.
It was softer on the inside than it looked – I’ve grumbled in the past perhaps a bit too much about giant Yorkshire puds which are too crisp – and was very pleasant.
My pork was also tender, moist and beautifully cooked, which, for pork, is not an easy thing to achieve.
The crackling, although small in size, was nice and crunchy and it didn’t take long to clear the plate.
Being full enough already, we gave the dessert menu a miss.
It was one of those satisfying meals, good quality food with excellent service that went without a hitch in a very pleasant atmosphere. High standards have been maintained.
The Sunday set menu at £15 for one course, £19 for two and £23 for three courses put it at the higher end, but represented pretty good value to me.