The Avenue in West Bridgford is a strip of delights: posh charity shops, banging paninis, and a park where you can roll about in all that money you’ve definitely not been spending on bread and lard. And Cured, who you should definitely pay a visit to if you’re into pure quality with a sprinkle of brassy quirk and dim lights.
On our Friday night visit the bar was buzzing, but we found hungover solace in the seating area at the back, thanks to the notably on-it and friendly staff. No messing about, a top-drawer espresso Martini (£7.50) was out, as well as a can of Beavertown brewery’s session IPA Neck Oil (£4.65), to kick things off.
The new menu at Cured has been put together in collaboration with award-winning Sherwood butcher Johnny Puzstai, and doesn’t make a fuss while kicking out thoughtful dishes made with fine, local ingredients. The Sherwood Meat Platter, available in different sizes and prices depending on your table’s head count, is certainly one to be reckoned with. Puzstai’s own artisan cured meats – including lomo, coppa, bresola, colbassa and chorizo – are mouth-wateringly smoked using fruit wood, and come served with delicious capers, herby focaccia, and some show-stopping chutneys. The classic pickle chutney, the sweet, fruity jam, and the beetroot chutney are a delight to experiment with all the meats. Also, that bresola (air dried, smoked and cured beef) is something special.
My summer sausage bap (£7.50) was served as a weighty pretzel ‘bun’, with Guinness-braised onions and perfect fries. The jalapeno-stuffed pork sausage of the day gained itself some massive respect, and with everything else pulling it together beautifully, it was a high scorer. Some points deducted for lack of the word ‘cob’, though, gotta say.
The Cured burger (£12) patty was thoroughly juicy and scoffed rapidly along with proper coleslaw, braised onions, cheddar, and that lovely pretzel cob. The bread was dense and thinly glazed – the perfect stodge-wedges to hold everything together.
We were perhaps more piggy than the meat on our plates, going for some bacon fries (£4) and onion rings (£3.50) on the side. The latter were fresh and crispy, with the bacon fries providing the ultimate sensation: skinny chips, lathered in mayonnaise and sprinkled with tiny fried bacon bits. Absolutely perfect.
We were fit to burst, but needed something to take the edge off, naturally. A scoop of sorbet each did the trick – a mango scoop and a blackberry scoop – before we walked away, chiming with plans to return very soon. Bridie Squires
33 Central Avenue, West Bridgford, NG2 5GQ. 0115 981 7070
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