Last week after a busy day of catching up with various odd jobs in town, I fancied treating myself to lunch.
I decided to give Giraffe a try as their menu was packed with dishes I hadn’t seen before.
Order your meal from Deliveroo
The chain restaurant dreamt up by husband and wife team Juliette and Russel Joffe sells dishes from all corners of the globe with the idea being Giraffe’s get a broader view than the average mammal.
Sticking to a minimal budget and a pledge to be healthy(ish!) I opted for three dishes from the ‘small plates’ menu.
Here’s what I had:
Lovely Olives: a variety of olives with a light dressing that is good enough to eat on its own and is a simple, refreshing, healthy alternative to chips, pakora or any other kind of takeaway starter. The marinade had softened the olives and gave them a thorough delightful taste.
£2.95
Halloumi skewers: When it comes to cheese I normally like a melted Camembert with a few chunks of apple and maybe some oatcakes.
Something blue is about as risy as I’m willing to go with dairy products but I’d never really consider a cheese as a dish in it’s own right.
These semi hard Cypriot chunks of, unripened brined cheese made from a mixture of goat’s and sheep’s milk, have a high melting point and so can easily be fried or grilled.
This gives them a pleasant rubbery texture and a strong, flavoursome taste which is rich and robust.
At first seeing only two on the plate I was disappointed and thought at least one more would be needed to sate my hunger but served on a bed of delicious peti pois peas and chopped up cucumber, I found the dish to be filling as well as heartily, uniquely tasty.
£3.85
Salt and pepper squid. Squid is something I have never had any interest in trying. I always feel superstitious that a giant avenger will rise from the murky depths when I’m next on a ferry, to drag me down to Davy Jones locker for munching on it’s relatives.
However, well salted and peppered seafood is something I have tried and rated as a hidden underused delicacy, so I was delighted to see it on the Giraffe menu.
Throwing my fear of sea monsters to the wind, I ordered the small but succulent portion and revelled in it’s flavours.
This delicious portion of breaded bites packs a huge amount of flavour for what looks like a small amount. They are hot (and I really like spicy food) but they have that wonderful after taste of something that is deliberately spiced to accentuate the flavour rather than splattered with heat for the sake of filling a menu requirement.
£3.85
Giraffe is now available to order from on Deliveroo, a company who have filled what seems like an extremely obvious and gaping, gap in the marketplace.
In the busy day to day of the 21st century, takeaways can be a necessary time saver but do they necessarily have to be the same old guilt inducing, cholesterol piling, uninspired variations of reheated meat and microwaveable calories served by 24 hour kebab house come Indian come pizzerias?
Where is the easy option for someone looking for a delivery of food that’s healthy and delicious.
I charged myself with finding a healthy(ish) meal for dinner that only just exceeded Deliveroo’s minimum order requirement of £10.
The menus that the firm offer delivery for provided more variety for the money than I had expected.
