Find Out What We Thought of Durham's Newest Fine-Dining Gem
Laidback to the max but with a tasting menu that will knock your socks off, for a dinner in Durham, FIIK is the place to go
Highlight: The skrei cod with seaweed – fabulously fishy.
What We Wish We’d Tried: We’ll be back for the wine pairing when it’s not a school night!
Our Take Away: FIIK is putting the fun back into fine dining and we love it.
Sitting snugly between the row of buildings on Durham’s Elvet Bridge, FIIK’s simple white exterior fits right in and the frosted glass front gives nothing away. Inside, we find a small, inviting space. Each table is glass-topped and split into compartments filled with dried ingredients – salt flakes, grains, cinnamon sticks and more.
Not to say we’re obsessive, but we’ve been looking over the menu for days and can practically recite the courses from heart. Each menu is themed, filled with amusing puns, and changes every few weeks to keep things exciting. The menu when we visit is ‘Brie Mine!’ and starts with ‘You’re Not the Only Snack in Here’ – bruschetta topped with mozzarella and a delightful tomato sorbet, along with a cornetto filled with cured salmon and avocado mousse, and a goat’s cheese and beetroot gougere.
The two members of staff who work the floor have a great knowledge of what’s on the menu, and keep the atmosphere relaxed as we move onto the next course, ‘Brie Mine’, a twice-baked brie and spinach soufflé with cheddar cream and pickled walnut (which is having its moment on all of our favourite cooking shows right now). After this comes what remains my highlight of the evening ‘My Heart Skrei-ms for You.’ A fabulous dish for fans of ‘fishy’ fish, we tucked into skrei cod wrapped in nori with a seaweed salad, all in a delicious Champagne cream.
We opt for the supplement course (because why not?) and are thrilled that we did as a bowl of lobster tortellini arrives with an intricate chive biscuit on top and a thick saffron bisque. As we’re eating, the restaurant continues to fill up but never feels crowded despite the small space.
‘My Heart Bleats for You’ is up next, and the wonderfully tender lamb loin is served with aubergine, courgette and tomato – a change in direction from the fish-heavy first half of the menu (not that you’ll find us complaining). After this, the penultimate course is a choice between a selection of cheese or chocolate-dipped strawberries. Thankfully, my dinner companion and I have a matching sweet tooth, and the strawberries are fabulously juicy.
Finally, it’s time for dessert, ‘I’m Cocoa-nuts About You’, an adorable white chocolate ganache heart, Yorkshire rhubarb (always a winner) and chocolate nibs. At this point we’re pleasantly full and would be happy to sit sipping and chatting long into the night with our servers, but reluctantly take our leave – eagerly anticipating the next new menu.
