Event: Cafe Rouge Secret Steak Supper Club

Cafe Rouge is one of my go-to spots for dining. As naughty as the menu can be, I try to pick a steak with salad if I'm in need of a treat.

I was recently invited down to try out the new Autumn menu at Cafe Rouge at The Mailbox as part of their Secret Steak Supper Club series.

Greeted with fizz and canapés, I held out on these as I knew we were in for an evening of dining.

Sitting down at the long banqueting style table, I sat down next to the lovely Sian Victoria and her mum, and we spent the evening talking all things blogging.

After an introduction to the Supper Club, we were invited to choose a starter from the menu before the team from Matthew Clark came around to go through the wine list.

I ordered the Pate, with gluten free bread, my mum ordered the same but not gluten free, and Sian had the Crevettes.

My pate was perfection; a huge portion that was more than enough to cover the two small slices of gluten free toast it was served with, alongside some fabulous spiced apple and pear chutney.

Sian's prawns were large and meaty and had really beautiful colour too.

Next, we were educated a little in wine, with the team explaining that all the wines were picked to be easy drinking styles. We were able to try three reds; a malbec, merlot and cabernet, and these were all native to south France.

By now, it was time for steak tasting! We gathered round to try cuts of sirloin, fillet and cote de boeuf, alongside dauphinoise potatoes, green beans, and more sauces than you can shake a stick at.

Cote de Boeuf

Fillet

Sauces

Dauphinoise Potatoes

There was a mad rush for the steak and many approving sounds coming from the assembled audience! Thankfully, I was able to try all three steaks as well as some of the fabulous sauces. I love any kind of steak, but I have to say it was a rare treat to try the fillet; a perfectly pink piece of perfection. 

As for the sauces, if you haven't been ordering them you've been missing out. There are six sauces o accompany steaks on the menu including bordelaise gravy with bone marrow, beef dripping Merlot gravy, snails and garlic butter (I didn't try that one!), peppercorn, Bearnaise and Roquefort. Most of these are gluten free too.

After all this, we were still only halfway through and went back to our seats to order our mains. I went for the Confit de Canard, as it's something I wouldn't usually try. Mine was served without the cherry or orange sauce, as I assume this is not gluten free, but it did come with gluten free dauphinoise potatoes (shock!) and green beans. My duck was beautiful, crispy on the outside, but a rare indulgence. The dauphinoise potatoes were divine, however, and I will definitely be ordering these again.

I also tried some further sides for extra vitamins, including the Spinach and Green Beans.

My mum opted for another steak and Sian went for the tart.

I did of course steal a few chips, and I adore the crispy french fries served at Cafe Rouge.

If you thought we were skipping dessert, you'd be wrong, and we did manage to try some of the desserts thanks to a mini sharing platter. This contained the Rum Baba, Tarte au Citron, Creme Brulee and Tart aux Pommes.

Incredibly, the Creme Brulee and Tarte au Citron are both gluten free, and it was a real pleasure to enjoy the lemon tart as it's so rare to find this made gluten free.

The whole supper club experience was really fun and friendly, a great way to meet people and socialise, and a good opportunity to try out new dishes.

I'd really recommend trying out the new autumn menu, especially for any gluten free readers as there was plenty of choice, and the main menu itself is marked G or GO to indicate dishes that are gluten free or can be made gluten free.

*Thank you to the team at Cafe Rouge for inviting us to dine complimentary.

Food Review: Cafe Rouge Mailbox New Summer Menu

Cafe Rouge has quietly had a facelift. Along with all the new and exciting developments happening at The Mailbox, which incidentally should be re-opening soon, the French bistro chain has been refreshed and now has a separate private dining area.

They've also launched a new Summer menu at the same time, and I was able to try what's new at a tasting event at Cafe Rouge Birmingham Mailbox.

I love Cafe Rouge, mainly for their perfectly cooked steaks (minute steak medium thank you). However, they do also offer French classics such as Confit de Canard and Boeuf Bourguignon and switch things up with new dishes every six months.

Taking a seat in the new private dining area, we started off the tasting menu with a Plateau a Partager. This included Rouge Olives with cornichons, caper berries and roquito chillies, charcuterie, pate, goats cheese and rocket salad and would ordinarily come with bread (I had mine without to make it gluten free).

I was then very generously treated to full sized versions of three of the new summer dishes on the menu, in my case the Crevettes, Super Salade with smoked salmon, butternut squash, beetroot, artichoke and chicory and also the Filet De Saumon. The Super Salade was my favourite out of the two salmon dishes as I just loved the combination of sweet butternut squash, vinegary artichoke and smoked salmon. The Filet De Saumon was served with Asparagus, baby plum tomatoes and pea shoots which all made for a very light and healthy meal. I also thoroughly enjoyed the prawns which were huge! Perhaps not as healthy, these were however delicious and served shell-on.

To round off the evening, we were also able to indulge in a trio of mini desserts including the Strawberry and Black Pepper Sorbet, Fondant aux Chocolats and of course, Creme Brulee. Although the Chocolate Fondant was sadly not gluten free, I was able to eat the other two desserts. The Creme Brulee was exactly as you'd expect from Creme Brulee and the sorbet tasted purely of strawberry to me, so perhaps we were served a different sorbet.

I did also indulge in a glass of Prosecco (it would be rude not to) which was delightful and there was a wide range of drinks from speciality French beers to that French favourite Orangina available too.

The new Cafe Rouge menu is a mix of French classics and lighter summer dishes that are perfect for lighter evenings.

Thank you to Cafe Rouge for inviting me!

*I was invited to dine as a guest of Cafe Rouge