The Pompeii Steakhouse, 1 Abbey Street, Carlisle

I love a good steak but I struggle to get a good one in this country. I think that part of the problem is that I like my steak rare and no one appears to believe that when I say rare I mean it. Invariably it comes out medium rare and that to me is a waste of a good piece of red meat. We noticed this new restaurant a few months ago and decided we must give it a try but as you all know time passes by and you never get around to it.

Just before Christmas Andrew announced that he was off out for dinner with some old school friends. "Great" I said "We could give you a lift in if you like?" "No thanks I'll be OK" "What about you give us a lift in and we'll go somewhere else for dinner and you can bring us back" "No thanks, I want to go in on my own." It was official, we had been dumped. Andrew was to drive his car in on his own and Mike & I were to drive our car in separately and have dinner just around the corner. We are no longer cool enough to be seen out with but perhaps we were never really cool in the first place!

We decided to give this restaurant a try and as it was just after new year we expected it to be rather quiet. I had rung up and left a message on the answer-phone to book a table and received a phone call back the next day by a very pleasant young lady confirming my reservation. A positive start.

As the table was booked for 6pm we were the first to arrive and were offered a table in the dining room which was a little bit cramped so we elected to sit in the bar area. The staff were very friendly and accommodating and as I had offered to drive I sipped on water whilst Mike ordered a Jack Daniels whilst pursuing the menu. I decided on the creamy mushrooms to start, followed by the fillet steak. Mike was having a meat-fest and ordered beef carpaccio followed by the steak platter which consisted of fillet, picanha, rib eye and bistro taster steaks, and been described as a carnivore's heaven. 

The starters arrived promptly and my garlic mushrooms were very good, nice creamy sauce without being too rich, with soft garlic undertones. Mike really enjoyed his Carpaccio and the starters were just the right size. I don't know what you think but I feel that there is a tendency for meals to be so big these days but these were just right and enabled us to set our tastebuds flowing without spoiling the main event.

By this time there was a steady flow of customers arriving, and it was clear that many of them were regulars. The place had a really good vibe with  the chatter of customers and a good flow of Frank Sinatra and Doris Day on the sound system.

The restaurant serves it's steaks on a stone which has been super heated and my steak came raw so I could cook it myself on the hot stone which had been seasoned with salt. As Mike usually likes his steak cooked for longer he had had his steaks sealed and they arrived sizzling on the stone. I could no longer blame the chef if my steak was overcooked. It was a really inventive idea and the quality of the steak shone through. Delicious. Mike decided that he would have his steak delivered raw next time as there was a tendency for the steak to cook through quicker than you can eat it as there was so much meat on his stone and to be fair to the staff they had recommended that the steak be served raw for this very reason but Mike lacked the confidence to do it.

We finished off with a chocolate mousse cake for me (of course) and a saffron poached pear with honey soaked brioche which Mike loved and he accompanied it with a large glug of brandy. He made the most of not driving for a change! The whole meal with a bottle of red wine came to £100.30. I could not fault the food, the service nor the ambience of this restaurant. It is nice for an intimate meal for two but would also be fun in a crowd. It is clear that this restaurant has been discovered by some local residents and is certainly worth a visit. To be sure we will be going back and it'll not be my turn to drive!