Fahrenheit Bar and Grill - hiding in plain sight

We reviewed Fahrenheit a while back. The reviewer at the time loved it. Last week, Christopher and I went. As you might know, Fahrenheit is the restaurant in the Genting Casino at Fountainpark. Christopher, it turns out, is a Genting member. He used to play roulette every now and again. Last week, though, we were looking for food rather than games of chance.

Carpaccio as it should be: light, flavoursome and moreish.

We went early. Casino’s are not like other places, they run on their own time and get busier later on. We were in a perfect position to people watch and as people came in. There were couples, pairs of friends, even a sports team meeting in the restaurant. It was a Thursday and we were looking forward to starting the weekend early.

Starting as you mean to go on

The menu was new: all spring fresh. Christopher, the vegetarian, went for the avocado vinaigrette. It came with pickled pears and was really refreshing. Most days, it comes with figs.

Avocado vinaigrette: served here with pickled pairs. Creamy, sweet and tart.

I had beef carpaccio. It wasn’t an easy decision: salt and pepper squid is a favourite with me, haggis bonbons are always gorgeous and who doesn’t enjoy scallops.

The carpaccio was tender and came with rocket and Parmesan. A great way to start. The last time I had carpaccio in a casino I was in Las Vegas, in the rotating restaurant at the top of the Stratosphere, giggling because our server had told me he preferred the carpaccio somewhere else. He was probably right, because it was oversauced. No over-saucing at Fahrenheit: the carpaccio was treated with love and respect.

And then go large

We had the cinema deal, a special offer of mid-week dinner that comes a cinema ticket. The deal includes two (£20.95 per person) or three courses (£23.95) and a drink from the bar menu. Spring calls for rosé so that’s what we had. It was very easy to drink so we got a bottle when we finished our glasses.

Christopher’s main was the nasi goreng – Indonesian fried rice. He chose to have it without the egg. It was savoury, slightly sweet and came served with salad. Tasty and filling. If I’d chosen it, I’d wanted the egg and would probably have pimped it with prawns too.

Having had the week’s beef, I decided to have the pan fried sea bass for mains. It was served with tender, buttery fried potatoes, ratatouille and pesto. The skin was crispy, the flesh tender and the combination rich and comforting.

Sea bass with perfectly crispy skin hides a treasure of ratatouille.

Fahrenheit has a good range of fish options – the monkfish red Thai curry sounded great – as well as a busy grill. The burger was flying out – it was very popular at the table of 12. It’s a flexible menu with something for everyone. I like that the salads can be dressed up with halloumi or chicken, and that there are sides for extra hungry (or less hungry) diners. I’d like to try a steak at some point: they offer béarnaise sauce as well as a signature bourbon and chilli sauce.

Sweet forever afters

There were a few tempting options for dessert but Christopher and I both wanted the cherry frangipane. There was no competition. There’s something about the buttery, almondy comfort of frangipane combined with tart fruit that jsut wins every time. We were not disappointed. The tart was served warm with strawberry and cream and it was very good.

Cherry frangipane and a huge gorgeous strawberry.

I had reservations before we went. I’m a little afraid of casinos after that time in Las Vegas because I don’t understand them as spaces. Fahrenheit isn’t scary. The restaurant is downstairs, mahjong players twitter the sparrows on either side of the stairs as you walk down. The space is open, night-dark, as it should be, and comfortable in dark browns, creams and blacks. We had a good view of the high-roller private room in one direction and the kitchen in the other. I relaxed into it. The service is efficient and charming. We had a great chat with Stephen about the challenges of running a restaurant in a space like a casino. We had a really nice evening and we will be back. Fahrenheit is one of the closest good restaurant to where we live.

If you, like me, are casion shy, don’t let that stop you from checking them out.