541. Spring Dining (2). Weekday Lunch At Samo.

   In Blog 537 I reported enjoying a splendid Sunday lunch at the recently opened Samo in Great Western Arcade and so I resolved to have a weekday lunch there. I was once more very happily seated in the window and enjoyed watching the passers by, some of whom looked at the menu outside displaying what was on offer and having done so, drifted on. I was quite keen for them to take the plunge and come on in and try what was on offer since I like worthy new businesses to get the support they deserve but also because I was the sole launcher there that day and I was feeling a little lonely.

The menu, I’m afraid, was somewhat disappointing - for the main it was either bavette steak and frites, moules and frites or barbecued hispi cabbage with other vegetables. Barbecued hispi is good enough but hardly the stuff that dreams are made on. It all seemed somewhat unambitious but I suppose if you only have one customer then caution is needed in choosing what to offer lest money be lost rather than made. Anyway, I enjoyed my tasty starter of chicken liver and port parfait witha lovely and lively roasted grape chutney and equally enjoyable toasted brioche. A good start.

  I don’t mind mussels but have never been able to stomach more than four or five in a dish so I rejected the moules and opted for the bavette steak. The bavette was cooked just as I should like it and was tasty and tender - and the chips were nicely cooked in beef fat which gave them a good deep flavour and they had the crunchy outside and soft interior which is now de rigeur to enable one to praise a chip, be it triple or any other number of times cooked. There was a rather bitter sauce, if you may call it that, and it detracted from the pleasure the rest of the dish gave.

  For dessert, I opted again for the creamy rice pudding with ‘seasonal jam’ which was enjoyable and expelled the lasting flavour of what had been poured on the bavette.

  I like Samo and wish Chef and staff well with the venture but the lunch was hardly worth the trouble of travelling into town for,  because, while it gave a fair degree of pleasure, in some respects it was , frankly, underwhelming.

Rating:- 🌛🌛🌛

7 May 2026.