I love food. Whether eating out or dining in at home if I'm trying something a little bit different then life is good.  For our pre-Valentines day meal we decided to book a table at the Russian restaurant called Rasputin. We'd been once before, around 18 months ago with friends on a weeknight and wanted to return for another go. Last time it was very quiet so I cleverly made a Saturday evening booking a few weeks beforehand for 7pm. Due to me making a bungle with travel arrangements we arrived a bit earlier and the place was deserted so at least I could snap a few pictures without attracting any attention. Nothing says romance like taking blog pictures. Sorry for the dreadful picture quality - low lighting and phone cameras is not a great combination.
The menu looked very similar, if not the same as last time; a short set menu with two courses £10 and three for £13.50 which I would class as particularly good value. Being a greedy mare, I wanted to order from the larger menu which was quite a bit more money (but hey).
I ordered the rabbit pate, served with pickled beetroot, rye bread and butter along with salad leaves. Adventurous-ish. Although the dish was quite pleasant, I was expecting a spreadable pate; what arrived was something I would have classed as a terrine.
Chris settled on the Soup of the day which we were informed was Borsch (beef). It has to be said that Irina is always on hand to explain anything on the menu and appears to do all the cooking herself. The soup was plentiful and a little thinner than anticipated but served with cheesy toast (which I was distinctly envious of!)
We plumped for a bottle of red wine between us, the label on the bottle is like a piece of art to me. All the wines are from abroad – I forget the precise areas but the one we chose initially was Armenian I think (this one was the alternative as the other one wasn't available).
For mains we both chose the Gregory Rasputin Pork which we both ate on the previous visit too, on the basis that it was so good before I couldn't resist! Breaded pork with cheese (and mushrooms but I ordered without the offensive fungi) on delicious mashed potato with a tomato sauce reduction with sauerkraut with sausage in. Absolutely scrumptious. Plate-lickingly good.
It's pretty rare I can leave before a pudding if we're out for a special meal and having already glanced at the dessert menu when intially ordering I had my heart set on the pavlova. I made a good choice, it was a generous portion and hit the spot.
Chris opted for the pancakes which he enjoyed and frankly I was disappointed that he ate them all, I wanted to have some too.
By this time we were rather merry on wine and decided to order Armenian brandy coffees, something which I would never do with a clear head as I don't drink spirits! I made an assumption that the brandy would be in the coffee but that was not the case, so I had a sip and pulled a face so tipped it into the coffee (which then made the coffee undrinkable too) so swapped it for Chris' unspoilt coffee. Note to self: you don't drink spirits. The petit fours looked cute but I only ate the ones which looked like ring doughnuts. Do not be fooled: they are rock hard. Nearly broke a tooth!
We had a thoroughly enjoyable meal with the only real downside being the quietness of the restaurant. By the time we left there were another 3 tables of diners and of course the traditional music playing. The plus side of course was that we had no trouble with service or feeling like we were being rushed. The decoration is a little odd and I imagine some potential diners do not make it as far as the restaurant tables (the dining is on the first floor – probably part of the reason for it being quiet) which would be a shame.

Rasputin gets a thumbs up from me. Have you dined Russian style?
Sophie