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Brixham crab and iceberg cannelloni with mango salsa and creme fraiche at CircleReading
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Restaurant review: CircleReading
By Laura McCardleNovember 07, 2012
A Michelin starred chef running a hospital kitchen – I couldn’t believe it either, but it’s true.
The meals served to patients at the new £50 million state-of-the-art CircleReading hospital are prepared by Andreas Wingert and his team.
Andreas previously worked in the Michelin star kitchen at Lucknam Park Hotel in Wiltshire before becoming head chef at CircleBath.
He joined CircleReading with an enthusiastic team, eager to provide nutritious and interesting menus.
Finding it hard to picture the sort of food he would be serving in a hospital I decided to go and try it for myself.
I was joined by my colleague Alan and when we arrived at the hospital Andreas gave us a tour of the kitchen while explaining the vision behind the menu.
Patients are served locally sourced, nutritious food, which is mainly organic, in a bid to get them back on their feet and feeling healthy again as soon as possible.
After our brief tour, we took our seats at a table in the cafe area.
The bright and airy room, which includes a service bar, is decorated with artwork created by local artists and features comfy, modern furniture.
To start, we were served Brixham crab and iceberg cannelloni with mango salsa and creme fraiche.
It was beautifully presented and the flavours were tasty – a far cry from what we usually expect from food at a hospital.
For main course, we had roast loin of English rose veal, which came with a warm grilled asparagus and mushroom salad, sweetbreads and herb creamed potatoes.
Finally, a caramelised passion fruit tart, coconut ice cream and a mango shot which was super sweet and delicious.
The dishes we ate are on the menu which is for patients only but the one for visitors or anyone who drops by for a bite to eat is equally as tasty.
Anyone is welcome to go along for food, you don’t have to be at the hospital or visiting someone who is.
It offers a wide variety of choice for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with everything from oak smoked salmon with scrambled eggs (£7), to vine tomato and mozzarella, toasted pine nut and basil pesto panini, served with salad garnish and hand cooked crisps (£5) and lemon and thyme roast chicken, asparagus, sun-dried tomato and Parmesan polenta (£12).
The cafe also serves a selection of tea and coffee, as well as a range of soft drinks and wines.
Contact Details
- Telephone: 0118 922 6888
- Website: www.circlepartnership.co.uk/locations/reading/patient-experience
- Address: CircleReading
100 Drake Way
Reading
RG2 0NE
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