This week it’s a guest post of sorts – my parents went to visit The Sherlock Holmes, Quimpere, France, and brought back photos as well as their own views on the food. Welcome to a new (and possibly to be continued) segment – based on an interview with my own mother, it’s V’s Verdict!
They found The Sherlock Holmes on a side street in Quimpere – quite lucky, too, as it was the only restaurant in the area with vegetarian options. As you can see, it is a quaint building in the medieval part of the town. You had the choice to sit inside or outside, and they opted to go in.
It was a very small restaurant with just 5 tables, and a staircase up to another small seating area. The whole restaurant is themed around 19th century London. The decor consisted of old-fashioned street lamps standing around the room, bowler hats on the walls, and lots of references to famous London residents of the time – such as Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper.
There was a fun atmosphere overall, with an open kitchen where diners could see the food being prepared. The host and the head chef seemed to be brothers, with matching quirky facial hair – one with a twiddly, curly moustache, the other with a pointed beard.
It was very busy with locals, and although the food was all made by hand, the service was nonetheless very fast.
The burgers on offer were all given names to match the theme – my parents went for the Long Liz and the Mary Jane Kelly, which you can see above. Other options included the Moriarty, Tower Bridge, Baskerville, and the Queen Mum. They definitely have their branding on point!
So, to the Long Liz: this was a patty made with cooked rice which was then moulded together with raw mushrooms – something that would definitely seem a bit odd if served in this country! Rice burgers are pretty popular in France, as we’ve seen in previous reviews, but the raw mushrooms are a new touch. It was the more healthy of the two options, and by all accounts was very enjoyable with it. The two rice burgers were pretty substantial, and were served together on a ciabatta bread to give them a little more room.
Now onto the Mary Jane Kelly – this was a courgette burger, served with salad, mushrooms, rocket, and houmous inside the seeded bun. It was very filling, and although it had been pan fried, it was not at all greasy. It was well balanced as a whole, with the flavours coming together nicely. The courgette itself did not have much flavour, and was slightly bland, but the other elements of the burger made up for this.
Despite having the houmous in the bun, it was not too garlicky – this seemed to have been made fresh to their own recipe.
The rest of the plate, as you can see, was the same in both meals. There was salad with French dressing as well as a serving of chips. There was definitely enough food to leave them both satisfied with the meal. The salad was crisp and fresh, if rather basic, and the chips were of the standard frozen variety.
The bread used for the buns was very fresh. Overall it presented very good value for money, particularly when compared to other restaurants and pubs that they visited during their trip.
These burgers are, for obvious reasons, exempt from the top rankings – but based on V’s views, I’ve given them a rating all the same.
Oohh I like the sound of rice burgers with mushrooms! I wonder if I could perhaps make them? Hmm. Something to think about! Good to hear the salad is fresh, too! I love the fact the restaurant is themed around 19th century London! That’s so unique! It sounds like a really lovely place to eat out.
Never heard of a rice burger – I feel like I need to try one! This place sounds fantastic 🙂