Shu

Shu, located on Lisburn Road, is among the first few restaurants in Belfast that were recommended to me. I've also heard a lot about how good it is since then, so we thought to splurge a little and head there for our anniversary.

The thing about celebrating special occasions in December is that restaurants tend to thrust their Christmas menu upon customers. Shu was no different, and instead of their usual set menu, we were only given the choice between their ala carte and Christmas menus. This would have been fine if the latter were half decent, but quick calculations revealed that the same items from the ala carte menu would actually cost more if we were to choose from the Christmas menu - well, sod that.

The restaurant was packed at its first sitting of the evening, and it took quite a while before we could get any attention from its staff. Being tucked right in a corner between a wall and a lively 8-person Christmas dinner group probably didn't help either. However, it wasn't too long after placing our orders that our starters were served.

I'm a sucker for crab on the menu, hence was dismayed by the size of the crab linguine with chilli, lemon and parsley (£9). It was tiny enough to be devoured in a few mouthfuls, but it was delicious and I forced myself to eat slowly and stretch out every moment that the flavourful broth was in my mouth. E's crispy duck confit with spiced red cabbage puree (£8.50) was a much more sizable portion. However, it was a bit dry and would have benefitted more from a sauce accompaniment instead of the puree.

(I left the picture uncropped to provide some context for size comparison with the mug of sugar in the background)

Our mains were served fairly quickly too. E was feeling adventurous and had ordered the wild pigeon with blackberry puree, potato fondant, purple carrots and chocolate malt (£18). It was served rare (as pigeon is apparently meant to be), and E thought it was "alright". I'm not sure if pigeon is a meat I'd enjoy though, as it had a gamey taste and I would probably have needed more sauce to mask the flavour.

On my side of the table was caramelised pork belly with cauliflower puree, potato gratin and cider-soaked raisins (£15.50). The sweet-salty pork was tasty, though a tad dry on the inside as well. The dish soon got rather heavy too, and I desperately needed the raisins and what little sauce there was on the plate to offset the saltiness*. The dish could definitely have done with a citrusy addition somewhere. We were happy with the size of our mains though - despite reviews that have said otherwise - and certainly did not need to order the sides of mixed salad and baby potatoes that went largely untouched.

 

We were stuffed but decided to complete our meal with dessert. It turned out to be an excellent choice, as the Valrhona chocolate and hazelnut brownie with warm Earl Grey infused chocolate and vanilla ice cream (£5.75) was utterly delectable. The Earl Grey lent a slight bitterness to the dessert, making it a light finish to dinner and was polished off in no time at all. Our glass of dessert wine, a La fleur d'Or Sauternes AC 2009 (£6), was also a very refreshing digestif with its notes of candied pineapple, lemon and crème caramel.

Our experience at Shu was undoubtedly saved by its dessert and wine. With all its awards and accolades, we were expecting more polish in its dishes but were wowed by none of the appetisers or main courses**. Nonetheless, Shu's prices are extremely reasonable (except for the crab linguine) for a restaurant of its reputation - and perhaps rightly so given its quality.

Shu
253 Lisburn Road
Belfast BT9 7EN
02890 381655

 *: Heavy-handed usage of salt is unfortunately quite common among restaurants in Belfast, with Birdcage on Stranmillis and Il Pirata on Upper Newtownards Road among the worst offenders.
**: The crab linguine came close but ultimately made me go 'wow' for the wrong reason.