Located in the Sport City area, just outside of the City Centre, you will find Vermilion. The space occupies multiple floors taking in an opulent restaurant space, a separate bar and ample space for large celebrations such as weddings.
It is a few years since my last visit and I knew the menu had taken on a different angle, so I popped by to give it a go!
Considering the sheer size of the restaurant, the space is divided cleverly to feel a lot more intimate and there is something to see in various areas. One of my favourites is the glass fronted wine room near the toilets, with its vast store of wines, spirits and glassware. You definitely have to have a nosey when you visit!
Let’s move onto the food and you’ll find more fusion cooking on the menu at the moment. When I last visited the menu was predominantly Indian cuisine but there are definitely more Thai influences in there at the moment.
I can’t visit without starting with poppadom and dips. As you can imagine, they are not the generic poppadom you find at other Indian restaurants. I love the colourful lattice style poppadom that are served and the dips are beautiful. The sweet pickled onions are sliced in half so they sit nice on the poppadom when eating and the cherry ginger chutney was a lovely tartness to counteract that sweet flavour.
From the specials, we were keen to try the Mango Avocado Pani Puri; lightly fried puffed balls with a little mango and avocado inside. The top is hollow so you can pour in the spiced water, before popping in your mouth whole. The burst of flavours is beautiful as they all work together but become prominent in the mouth at different points. Starting with the crunch, then the smooth fruitiness of the filling, ending with the warmth of the spiced water. They really are like no other starter and I am here for it.
Wanting to indulge in the Thai side of the menu, I chose the Tom Yam Khoong. Tom Yam soup was a staple of every visit I have made to Thailand in the past, despite the Thai spice heat always blowing my head off! The Vermilion version had that punch of heat but it wasn’t too intense. There are loads of huge king prawns, to the point that you could easily enjoy this as a main if you were after something a little lighter. The blend of spice and herbs is spot on and satiated my Thai food craving.
My friend went for the Dragon Roll Torpedo Sushi Maki, which are also on the large side! She said the flavours were lovely but their size made them a little difficult to eat. Nothing that a knife and fork wouldn’t cure though.
For mains I headed back to the Specials to try the Rajastani Lal Maas; a delicious smoked lamb curry with yoghurt, Kashmiri chilli, clove and cardamom. Something I find when ordering curries in most other places is that the meat tends to be on the fattier side and there is usually an imbalance in ratio between meat and sauce. That is definitely not the case here, in fact I took more than half of this portion home for lunch the next day and I was still stuffed! The garlic naan was also delicious. On the thinner side which made it less doughy than normal, it’s structure lends itself for perfect dunking and dipping in that rich sauce.
My friend switched to the Thai side and tried the Pad Kra Pao Gai with added prawns. The fragrant wok fried prawns are served alongside jasmine rice, topped with a crispy soft yolked egg. As with my Tom Yam, it really hit the spot and I’ll definitely come back when I am craving that Thai food hit once again.
We ordered two desserts but I’m only sharing an image of one!
The first was Under the Volcano, which might hint at why there isn’t an image. A chocolate bomb is melted at the table with hot salted caramel to reveal a peanut butter ganache, salted caramel ice cream and a cashew nut crumb. It’s as rich and decadent as it sounds, and the perfect dessert for those chocoholics out there.
It was a no brainer for me to order the Lotus Biscoff Cheesecake. The Biscoff cheesecake filling was lighter than I was expecting and a nice way to end the meal, with a caramel ganache that is also light and sweet.
Alongside the food, there is a vast cocktail menu with some secret surprises when you order the Bubble Magic. The gin, limoncello and Earl Grey cocktail is a must try!
In summary, we really enjoyed our revisit to Vermilion and the added Thai twists are welcomed. They bring a lovely variety to the menu and allows for bigger groups to ensure everyone can find something they will enjoy.
