Situated in Heswall, Nova is a delightful family-run gastro restaurant offering a very clever take on modern British cuisine. Seated at our table, we were offered a complimentary amuse bouche to warm us up. It consisted of mini Lamb and Beef Burgers with pesto and broccoli. What a great start, beautifully presented and delicious.
To start, we ordered the Salad of Quinoa, Baked Beetroot and Celery dish. We paired our starters with a South African wine – Freedom Cross which was a light Chenin Blanc and reasonably priced at £17 per bottle. Our starters arrived and the presentation was out of this world. The simplicity of the menu hugely underplays the amount of attention to detail and creative thinking that Head Chef Moyo Benson applies to his unique dishes.
The Baked Beetroot was a wonder of colours and smells. Lots of roots cooked using different methods; heritage, pickled, salt-bake and roasted. The Goat’s cheese and honey dressing complementing the dish perfectly. The Salad of Quinoa served with fresh crisp Red Mullet, avocado and Aji sauce was light, delicate and tasty. The Celery dish – Nova’s take on the Waldorf salad was divine – clean, fresh and full of flavours – our favourite!
Having experienced the starters, we were intrigued to see the main dishes. We opted for the Pollock, Braised Fennel and Pork Belly. The Pork Belly arrived and where do we begin? There were so many different elements to the dish – this wasn’t just your typical Pork Belly. It came served with a black pudding scotch egg, crackling and creamed leeks. Truly amazing and a piece of art. The Braised Fennel was served with sweet potato, puy lentils and aged garlic. This was the first time we had tried aged garlic – which is served black. Chef Moyo explained to us that the process took 255 hours! Very rich and delicious. The Pollock was served with a daikon salad, fregola and miso. Again this dish was cooked to perfection and the flavours worked wonderfully together!
For dessert we ordered Date Pudding, Selection of 5 Sorbets and Treacle Tart. The dishes arrived and oh did we have fun! The selection of 5 Sorbets were all home-made and consisted of Beetroot, Lager & Lime, Pineapple, Passion Fruit and Tamarind flavours. Each sorbet sat on a base of either powder or crumbs! Put simply… exquisite. On your next visit to Nova, see if you can guess which sorbet is which! We scored 2 out of 5! The Date pudding is a must for any whisky lovers! The dates had been soaked in whisky and the dish was accompanied with whisky ice cream. The Treacle tart was served with crunchy dried orange segments – this dish was absolutely perfect.
Overall, we had a wonderful experience. The dishes served provided a unique and genius take on British cuisine – the planning, thought and preparation that is applied to each and every dish is truly impressive! Chef Moyo and his team are warm and welcoming – if you do get the chance to chat to Moyo, he is a fascinating guy, as well as a culinary fine artist. Five stars.
To book a table call 0151 342 9959.
Web: novarestaurant.co.uk
Facebook: /NovaRestaurantHeswall
Twitter: @NovaRestaurant
Nova also provide outside catering:
www.novatheoutsiders.co.uk
