Stone is one of our favourite places to visit (it's where we got married!) & now boasts some very good places to eat, drink & be merry!
Little Seeds opened in 2016 & has become a popular addition to the town. It's one of those places that you hear so many good things about but can't help but think "Is it to good to be true?" Their website shows their dedication to fresh local produce & they even have their own kitchen garden where they grow their own herbs! They also make their own stocks, sauces, desserts & ice creams from scratch & bake bread daily-what more could you ask for?!
After spending far too long saying to each other "We should go!/When are we going?/We really need to go!" Mr W & I used one of our days off recently to take a trip to Stone.
Lunchtime opening is 12.15 to 2.30pm Wednesday to Saturday. Our table was booked for 12.15 so you can tell we were keen! A friendly lady called Sophie gave us a choice of table (as it was early & fairly quiet) & gave us menus.
A 2 course lunch is 18.95 with 3 courses at 22.95.
Mr W chose us a nice fresh Chardonnay to keep us hydrated at 20.95!
For my starter it didn't take much deciding, the Smoked Haddock bites with Curry Sauce & pickled Cucumber sold themselves to me fairly easily & Mr W was equally as keen on the Black Pudding & Potato Hash topped with a bantam Scotch Egg.
There is nothing quite like having a plate of food put in front of you & being able to tell that it has all been freshly made from scratch. The crispiness of the Smoke Haddock bites was spot on as was the lovely flaky fish inside. The delicately spiced curry sauce was delicious & the perfect match. Mr W's Scotch Egg was cooked to runny perfection & sat on a savoury bed of black pudding & little chunks of crispy potato. He did let me try a tiny bit to prove it was as good as it looked!
Choosing our mains was pretty easy too. Mr W went straight for the Classic Buttermilk Fried Chicken (which we had tried only a couple of weeks previously at the Stone Food Festival!)
I don't normally choose beef as a main but my mouth watered at the sound of the Slow Braised Beef Shin so that was me sorted!
My beef was "cut with a spoon" tender & came served with a truffle & chive mash, fine beans, crispy kale & onion puree. All perfect accompaniments, I will probably never get my mash that smooth & fluffy...*sigh* oh well!
Mr W was in his element with the fried chicken which came with chips, slaw, corn on the cob, BBQ sauce & hot mayo. The chicken was so juicy & tender & it's crispy coating was just right-not too thick & definitely none of those hard inedible end bits!
Now I quite often pass on dessert but I was so impressed with the food so far that when Sophie (who we learned is one of the owners along with the amazing chef Jake!) returned with the dessert menu I said I would "just have a look" Who was I kidding? Never mind the fact I had cleared both of my previous plates!
The Milk Chocolate Brownie I chose was certainly not like any brownie I had tried before!
Served with a decadent dark chocolate cream, dehydrated chocolate mousse shards, poached pear & apple marigold it was quite honestly the prettiest & most delicious dessert I have ever tasted.
The brownie part was quite light & not heavy or too "cakey" the pears gave the dish a lovely freshness & the dehydrated chocolate mousse gave texture. The smooth chocolate cream was.....well put it this way Mr W had to check if I was ok as I seemed to have drifted off to dessert heaven!
It's incredibly rare that a meal can be described as faultless & I am by no means an expert or food critic, however it is obvious that the food at Little Seeds is made with skill, passion & pride & trust me-it shows!
Thank you to Sophie for the warm welcome & great service & to Jake & the rest of his team for the amazing food.
If ever a 10 out of 10 is deserved it's at Little Seeds.
Little Seeds Bar & Kitchen
16-18 Radford Street
Stone
Staffordshire
ST15 8DA
01785 818925