Sunday Lunch At Ice & Slice At The Kiln, Swadlincote
Published On Sunday 6 Nov 2022 by Sticky Beak
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October has turned out to be very busy for us, which is exactly how we love it, and we clapped our hands in delight when we spied the invite to Ice and Slice at Swadlincote drop into our inbox. For some bizarre reason I always think the bottom of the ‘Shire is miles further away than it actually is; Swadlincote is just under 30 miles from Beak HQ if you go down the A38 and, when you reach the town, you can’t fail to see the building that houses Ice and Slice!
An impressive structure, this listed building was once a bottle kiln and has been renovated using as much reclaimed, upcycled materials as possible – loving the eco credentials, guys. I’m a big fan of exposed brickwork and natural materials, so I was in my element here. There were heavy, Victorian wood beams above my head and beautiful herringbone-laid wood flooring, whose honeyed tones came to life in the gorgeous, late afternoon light.
Massive, original windows allow the light to flood in and there are automated, Navy blue roller blinds at each one to control the levels - no ‘gram glare here, thank you! I specifically mention them because His Nibs thought he could just pull ours (like he does at the nest) and it came crashing down!! To be fair, he didn’t pull it hard, so I figured it must’ve already been attempted by previous customers and the roller was left loose in its cradle. Not that I told him this – oh no, I was having far too much fun ribbing him!!! So consider this a Public Service Announcement: there aren’t any stickers saying not to touch the blinds, but don’t be a #ManBird and DIY; ask the team to do it for you.
I have a fascination with lights and light fittings (as regular readers will know!) so you can imagine my joy when I spied the trio of structural, LED-lit spheres that dominate the upstairs dining space. They were like hollow mirror balls and I was mesmerised by their glamour. Softening the rooms’ look, and bringing some of the outside inside, were trailing Olive branches with fairy lights glinting cheekily from their fold.
A mid-brown banquette fills one side of the room and is paired with rectangular, teal coloured tables; the rest of the room is filled with free-standing round tables with multi-style seats in a mix of brown, blue and yellow. Having taken a seat, we turned our attention to the drinks selection. As you might expect from a venue with the name ‘Ice and Slice’ there was a great choice of wines and beers, but it is the Cocktail list that really steals the show! However, with us being there for the Wood-Fired Sunday Lunch I stuck to a glass of ‘fermented Grape juice’ and The Man had a pint of Camden Brewery lager.
Ice and Slice keep their pricing structure simple for the Sunday lunch offering: 2 courses cost £27.50 pp, 3 courses is £32.50pp - I like simple; simple is good. Even better is the fact that if there are two full paying adults in your group, you can get a bottle of wine for £15. Everyone is catered for, despite it being a smaller menu: one starter is vegan (another can be made suitable for vegans), two are vegetarian, carnivores have the choice of all four options, which can be made gluten free if needs be. I opted for the Wild Mushrooms in a creamy Garlic sauce on toasted Tiger Bread, and The Man fancied the sound of the Spicy Pulled Pork Tacos with Pineapple and Chilli Salsa, Shredded Gem Lettuce, Mint Yoghurt and fresh Coriander.
I like Mushrooms anyway, but these were absolutely delicious! The Funghi themselves were wonderfully meaty in texture, so they quelled my hunger immediately, and the creamy Garlic sauce was exactly that: Creamy and Garlicky. There was just enough of the sauce to make the dish slick and comforting in the mouth without it turning the Tiger bread soggy – nothing worse than soggy bread! I also loved the fact that the bread was quite a thin slice (though a nice size, proportion-wise), meaning that it wouldn’t become the defining element of this starter. Chef had drizzled the Tiger bread with oil and griddled it until it was nicely crisped and beautifully charred with ‘tiger stripes’.
The Man Bird was just as chuffed with his choice of starter, not least because there were two tacos to get stuck into! He’s a greedy boy, what can I say? Both soft shells were fully loaded with juicy Pork shreds, whose fiery spice tang soon got his taste buds dancing merrily. The small-chunk Pineapple and Chilli salsa added some more heat but also a superb, bright fruity kick that popped really nicely against the richer Pork taste. His Nibs had also squeezed the wedges of fresh Lime over the tacos for even more sharpness in his mouth. Cooling things down a notch were the crunchy Gem lettuce and Minted Yoghurt, and Coriander’s gently citrus, clean notes gave another lovely layer of flavour here.
The five main course dishes cover all aspects of land and sea choices; there was poultry, meat, fish, cheese, and vegetable dishes on there! One of the three vegetarian dishes could be amended for vegans and all three vegetable accompaniments could be made suitable for them, too. I had the Roast Beef with Orange-braised Red Cabbage and Red Wine Gravy, The Man chose Pan-Fried Chicken Breast with Apricot Stuffing, Bread sauce and White Wine Gravy. Both dishes came with Beef Dripping Roasties, Yorkshire Pudding and Cauliflower Cheese, Garlic buttered Greens, and Honey-glazed Carrots and Parsnips.
I had a pair of large slices of Beef on my plate, both of which had a good layer of fat at their periphery. If you don’t do fat on meat (I personally don’t) then simply cut it off; easy-peasy. I do think that meat benefits from having its fat left on when being cooked though; it helps retain the meats’ moisture levels and imparts a lovely flavour to the end result. My knife cut easily through the Beef and the flavour flooded through my mouth, before the tender flesh melted on my tongue. Equally fab was the sweet, lightly sticky Red Cabbage and its gentle hint of Orange in the background – I really enjoyed this. Roasties are crucial to a good Sunday roast and the ones at Ice and Slice were moreish, due to their fluffy inners being partnered by dripping-pimped, crisp, golden outers; yummy. The sound of the crisp outer of the Yorkies being cut into had us both smiling, and these giants soon resembled a mosaic, albeit one whose pieces were getting dunked into our respective gravy’s (both of which were beautifully rich in flavour)!
His Nibs’ Chicken breast was gorgeously moist and its accompanying, fine textured, stuffing had a great Apricot taste; Apricot, whilst sweet, also has a tart edge to it which balances nicely with the creamy, mild Chicken. The breast was a good size (tick that tile off on your innuendo bingo card!) so The Man was a happy chappy but, I have to say, both our portions were generous.Whilst the white wine gravy wasn’t as intense as my red wine one, it was the perfect partner for the poultry, and it was really nice to see that Ice and Slice differentiate between each meats’ needs.
Presentation-wise, you have to give top marks to this Swadlincote venue; the vegetables came in a trio of cast iron pots (removable lids) housed in a wooden tray, giving a great high-end look to the meal, as opposed to the usual pots and bowls many venues use. All the veg were cooked to retain some crunch and the Garlic buttered greens were nicely glossy and actually did have a super garlic taste to them. You couldn’t help but be won over by the tiny batons of Carrot and Parsnip – they just looked really cute! These root vegetables also tasted incredibly scrummy and had a light, sweet stickiness to their surfaces, thanks to the honey that glazed them. His Nibs generously gave me the lions’ share of the crust on the Cauliflower Cheese; he knows I love it, and this one was bold in its flavour, with the under layer of Cauliflower being nicely (but not overly) softened to turn it into gorgeous comfort food territory.
The quartet of desserts were as flexible as their savoury peers in terms of being suitable for vegetarians and vegans, and this was probably the course that took me longest to decide on; I couldn’t choose between the Mixed Berry and Apple Crumble with Clotted Cream Ice cream or the Roasted Pineapple with Coconut and Lime Mousse, Passionfruit Sorbet, Lime Gel and Lime Crisp. Eventually, I went for the Roasted Pineapple, and His Nibs selected White Chocolate and Honey Parfait with White Chocolate, Honeycomb, Strawberries, Chocolate Gelato and Strawberry Gel – well you all know what a chocoholic he is!!
If I’m being perfectly honest, I would’ve liked a bit more Pineapple and I would’ve preferred it to be bigger, although that isn’t to say that the quartet of rectangular ‘chips’ didn’t look tempting; they did, thanks to their stunning caramelised tan that caressed them. The natural sugars in Pineapple had been intensified by the caramelising, so they tasted divine, and the surface of the fruit had eye-catching char stripes on them. The Coconut and Lime mousse was more of a liquid Meringue texture (and it looked as shiny as Meringue before it stiffens) and my taste buds must’ve been either asleep or on the fritz because I didn’t pick up either element of it. No missing the Passionfruit sorbet however; this minx walks up, grabs you and plants a big, fat smacker on your lips! I loved the contrast between the warm Pineapple and the cool sorbet; my senses were clapping in appreciation.
Next to me, The Man was cooing over the quality of his White Chocolate and Honey Parfait and it was easy to see why when I sampled a bit for myself. The balance of White Chocolate and Honey was perfect, and the gorgeous Strawberry elements complimented it beautifully. Not that any more indulgence was needed here, but up strolled the dark chocolate gelato to add its tuppence-worth! The star of this (dessert) show was the Honeycomb; yes, really. Most Honeycomb is brittle and fairly dry but Ice and Slice like to strike out in their own style (no surprise for these trail-blazers!) and not only was this specimen lovely and chewy, it had the most extraordinary floral flavour. I may be wildly off the mark here, but I’m going to say that Acacia honey was used due to the intensity of the floral tones that were somehow managing to be mild? I had got a serious case of dessert envy, much to His Nibs’ amusement. Payback for me laughing at the roller blind incident earlier – serves me right I guess!
Throughout our meal all of the team had been excellent. Super-friendly, polite and professional in the way they delivered customer care; check backs were done at each course, tables were cleaned between dishes, and napkins replaced and re-laid (along with cutlery). At the start of our meal we’d been offered water, and this came in a carafe with ice and lime containing glasses; all the little touches had been there, thanks to the team working well together.
Hot Wings given here; we loved the different delivery of the iconic Sunday Roast and the venue is super-special. Thank you Sophie, for inviting us along. For more details, or to reserve a table, either visit www.iceandslice.co.uk or ring 01283 480050.
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