Eat My Words: We review Cafe Nirvana in Grantham
There’s always one idiot who has to try the weirdest thing on the menu.
Guilty.
There was the bowl of spaghetti covered in thick, black squid ink in Venice, the snails in Paris and - the one which still haunts my dreams - the eyeball on my seafood platter in a Chinese restaurant next to a wet market in New York.
Desserts don’t get much better. A block of sugar candy with a scorpion encased and some chilli-coated bootlace sweets dipped in salsa (a Mexican speciality, I’m told) were both much nicer than any writing can make them sound.
And you know what? With the exception of the squid ink (bland mush), being willing to give something new a go pays off - as a recent trip to Cafe Nirvana proved.
Looking for somewhere to lunch I scrolled through the window menu of regular cafe favourites - breakfasts… paninis… salads - until something caused my eyes to pause. The exotic burger selection.
Yep. For the more adventurous folk in Grantham, Cafe Nirvana offers a selection of beasts you thankfully don’t regularly find grazing this patch of Lincolnshire - buffalo, kangaroo, zebra, wild boar, venison, ostrich and crocodile.
Having had the pleasure all-but-two of those before I thought I’d earn my stripes with the zebra, fearing the croc may have a little too much bite.
The venue, which opened earlier this year, is the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Dipendra and Ratna Khati, who greeted myself and other diners warmly to their neatly-laid out eatery.
Through the hatch I could see Dipendra, a charming and smiley host, working away on my zebra combo burger as I read the chalkboard above the door, which explained ‘exotic meats are low in fat and cholesterol… a healthy alternative’.
Unless you’re the zebra, obviously.
Within minutes my plate had arrived, and what a plate it was.
Two thick zebra patties, a nice thick strip of bacon, relish, cheddar and salad were packed into the bun, which was complemented with a generous serving of fries.
Zebra meat is redder than beef, with a softer, sweeter and longer taste.
Instantly I was hooked and I’ll never be able to watch that movie Madagascar in the same way again.
And with plenty more exotic meats on the menu there’s no reason why I won’t be going back.
All dogs go to heaven. But thankfully exotic creatures head to Nirvana.
Out of five:
Food: Had they just chucked two beef patties in there this would have been a great burger. But zebra meat is even tastier so this was a fantastic burger ****
Drink: I decided to be lavish, push the boat out and go for a drink that would really complement the flavours of Africa… a tin of Coke ***
Decor: Cafe Nirvana has a nice, modern cafe feel, lively and well thought out ***
Staff: Brilliant! A warm greeting and send off as well as being extremely attentive throughout ****
Price: The combo burger was £16.95 (although a cheaper version is available at £14.95) which was good value for the amount of food on the plate - not to mention how hard it is to hunt zebra in these parts ***
Have you had a great meal? Share your own Eat My Words reviews or tell us where to try by emailing: news@lincsonline.co.uk
