EAT: COPPER POT, SEDDON

There's nothing quite like the youngest sibling in the family hitting a major age milestone to really drive home those feelings of old...er age.

To celebrate my brother's birthday (and perhaps to distract myself from my own age), we headed to Copper Pot in Seddon for lunch. I'd been wanting to try the restaurant for quite some time now so it was great to finally cross it off the list.

We started with the Jonai farm jamon 'pan tomate' stone baked sourdough; somewhat like a fancier take on pizza featuring a crusty sourdough base topped with a sweet and flavoursome tomato paste and crispy jamon.

The brother opted for the suckling pig roll, served with mustard mayo and sauerkraut while I tucked into the lighter option of smoked rainbow trout. The flavours of the trout, beetroot and creme fraiche were quite headstrong at times but a bit of play with the amounts of each component eventually established a balanced forkful. The rillette was particularly enjoyable, its texture rich and creamy, and sported a herbaceous dill presence that lifted the natural sweetness of the trout. Some cracker or bread would have been nice to further balance out the overall flavoursome palette.

With a tasty blend of pasta-like käsespätzle, cheese, fragrant hit of truffle and crispy fried shallots, we couldn't not order the truffle käsespätzle. It was a great side dish that provided much hearty comfort.

The lunch menu has fewer items compared to dinner time, and some of the dishes I had wanted to try were not available. It looks like I'll need to return some time. Hopefully in time to get my hands on the truffle toastie...