I have to admit that there’s something about the no-nonsense, full flavoured style of Eastern European food that I really like. Emphasis is definitely on the side of hearty and you’re not going to be doing your waistline any favours, but that’s not to say that all delicacy is relinquished. Baltic does an excellent job of adding a degree of sophistication to Eastern European cuisine, if that’s not an oxymoron!

Baltic is both a bar and a restaurant and has done a fair job in promoting local musicians, particularly of the jazz variety, having not only regular Sunday evening gigs, but also several albums. Not being the biggest fan of Vodka (drinking half bottles with worrying regularity in my teens has definitely tempered any desire to touch the stuff now), it’s unlikely I’ll make too much of an effort to visit the bar, but would be happy to drop in if I was in the area.

The restaurant follows the clean, modern feel of the bar, but adds a shedload of natural light, being situated underneath a glass roof which produces quite a pleasant atmosphere. I imagine it would feel quite buzzy, too, with a few more people, but coming on a Monday evening, the place only got to about a third full.

Despite there being quite a good pre-theatre menu (and at £17 for three courses or £14.50 for two, excellent value for money), I had my eye on a couple of off plan dishes. Starters consisted of the Kaszanka for Mrs O-S, a Squid & Octopus Salad for Ms A and the Siberian Pelmeni for me. The salad was a bit of a disappointment, but the Kaszanka (black pudding) light, spicy and well matched with the pear sauce it came with. My Pelmeni were also excellent, the mouth wateringly light veal and pork dumplings far more delicate than they looked and in a simple buttery sauce that left me wanting more.

Mains were a far more hearty affair, with a Roast Goose Leg, Golonka (Pork Shank) and Bozbash (Lamb Stew) all adorning our table, alongside a portion of mashed potato and a tomato & onion salad (giving at least a slight air of healthiness to proceedings!). The Goose leg came on a bed of beetroot & sour cherries, which helped cut through the rich, dark meat of the goose. The Bozbash was filled with tender chunks of lamb, although I personally would have preferred a touch more paprika in the sauce. The Golonka had been cooked for so long I barely had to breath on it before the meat was falling off the bone, with the celeriac & sauerkraut salad again giving the required acidic contrast to cut through the rich meat.

I was actually pretty full at this point, but the ladies were certainly not deterred and selected a sour cherry crème brulée and a Hungarian Chocolate & Hazelnut Torta for dessert, whilst I supped on a glass of Hungarian Tokai. There wasn’t too much of the sour cherry in the crème brulée, which was probably a good thing, but the soft and creamy centre was quite delightful. The chocolate Torta was exceptionally rich and certainly needed the honeycomb ice cream to help remove the chocolate sticking to the inside of the mouth.

The three of us very much enjoyed the food at Baltic, although I’d say that the lunchtime and pre-theatre menu’s are considerably better value than going a la carte. Starters were mostly around the £7 mark and with most of the mains around £16, the bill can rack up fairly quickly. That’s not to say the food wasn’t worth it, but it definitely was on the border of being overpriced, if not slightly going over it at times. Service was reasonable but neither outstanding nor clumsy, but overall, with the quality of the food and number of interesting dishes on the menu, I’d be happy to return.