Jean Graham's Blog: When in Cafe Rouge for the Confit de Canard (& WIN a dinner for two!)

There has been so many new bars and restaurants popping up around Birmingham that sometimes you forget about the staples we already have (& love) in the city. I mean it’s not every day that you want your cocktail covered under a veil of a heavy white fog or your dinner to come in those tiny terracotta dishes smothered in oil. Sometimes you just fancy a roasted duck, a glass of red wine and a belly-bursting amount of cheese. Well, Cafe Rouge’s got your back. And their restaurants are placed rather strategically around the whole Birmingham city centre - in the quaint Brindley Place, in the manic Bullring and in the high end Mailbox.

French cuisine at your fingertips - and now the leaves have coloured red & yellow Cafe Rouge has revamped the menu to suit the foggy mornings, chilly lunch walks & nights that come too early. The autumn menu features a couple more steaks and hearty options to give you the warm and fuzzy belly feeling we’re all after these days.

From their starters I’d pick the Champignons a L'ail any day. They remind me of those childhood family trips to an abandoned castle somewhere in the middle of the Czech Republic where we spent the whole morning picking mushrooms and then we’d eat them fried on toast until our bellies were so full that we’d just snuggle up in front of the telly with a cuppa and do absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. Dishes that remind you of your childhood are they best, aren’t they?

I’m a duck obsessive so when I spot it on the menu there’s no going back. Cafe Rouge makes an exquisite Confit de Canard. It’s so ridiculously tender that you question all your previous eating out decisions. I could eat it every day. On the weekdays I’d eat with their orange sauce because it gives it a spicy kick to wake you up and on the weekend I’d dip it in their cherry sauce - it’s oh so sweet and comforting.

You must not forget to try their Selection de Fromages (a cheeseboard if you like). I have found my personal goats cheese favourite through this very cheeseboard. It’s called Rond du Cher & I urge you to specifically request this one kind if goats cheese is your cuppa tea. It’s so buttery and soft and makes you want to smother your face in it.

Oh and have I mentioned the Creme Brûlée? You’d be a fool if you didn’t try it! The gentleman sat at the table next to us shamelessly shouted that this is the BEST brûlée he’s EVER had (and he was only half way through his cup).

Have I swayed you for a spot of French cuisine next week?

If the answer’s YES (or even if it’s a no but you just like when others pay for your dinner) then head over to my Twitter (HERE) to win a dinner for two at one of the Birmingham Cafe Rouge restaurants!

T&Cs for the giveaway:

🍴The meal for two is up to the value of £60 and cannot be used in conjunction with any other offers

🍴The prize can be only be redeemed in one of Café Rouge’s three Birmingham restaurants: Brindley Place, The Bullring and The Mailbox

🍴Must be redeemed by Monday, November 28th 2016

🍴Prize will be drawn on Monday, October 31st 2016

🍴If we do not hear from the winner within 24 hours then another prize winner will be chosen at random

🍴The prize is as stated and cannot be transferred, sold or exchanged. There is no cash alternative