Carol Emmas is desperate for something to dunk her dinner in
It’s 11 years since Nova opened in the centre of Heswall and 11 years since I ate there last. The time lapsed has nothing to do with the food - that was first-rate. Chef patron Moyo Benson is classically trained in French cuisine and worked under Pierre Koffman, London.
Nova has a strong customer focus and the aim to please stands out
It was more the jarring zebra-like striped decor that rubbed. It’s bizarre how an interior can make a difference. Fast-forward to 2022 and I’m pleased to find that success has allowed the wife and husband team at Nova - Jana and Moyo - to expand their modern gastro offering and up-sticks to a larger gaff.
![Nova Heswall Review Wirral Interior](/uploads/imager/299deb39facbb0c50fa0371390d9cd0c/1177354/05457f2c576c13ff97b8cabca51ac2d4.jpg)
I was even more chuffed to find they’ve opted for a more inviting interior. Think, warm sunshine, sunsets, dark skies, and just the right amount of a twinkly glow to make you think you could be somewhere significantly more clement than Wirral.
Nova has a strong customer focus and the aim to please stands out on this particular night as it is day three of a new monthly menu.
"Any feedback is welcome, so we can tweak where necessary", says our restaurant manager.
To welcome us to the table, melt-in-your-mouth smoked mackerel and apple canapés with a sweet and sour kick. Plus, gorgeously soft home-baked seeded bread, zesty olive oil and balsamic vinegar. A not too shabby start.
![Nova Heswall Review Wirral King Scallop](/uploads/imager/299deb39facbb0c50fa0371390d9cd0c/1177355/8a135133ea00740c9a79f91a15d62aee.jpg)
The wine list is comprehensive. I order the lychee-scented Cave de l’Ormarine, Picpoul de Pinet (£4.75 - 125 ml) to pair with the fish from the two-course set menu (£24.00)
King scallop, with black pudding, truffle potato and barley, looks voluptuously inviting. I’m not a massive scallop fan to be honest - it’s a texture thing - but its caramelised flavour plays along well with the earthy black pudding and lush truffle puree. I have to stop myself short from running a finger across the plate to mop up the last of it.
![Nova Heswall Review Wirral Spanish Egg](/uploads/imager/299deb39facbb0c50fa0371390d9cd0c/1177356/7b88ddd9208028f2cb5d0f0349cc6575.jpg)
I’m compelled to do the same with my OH’s starter of Spanish egg, chorizo, paprika potato mousse and beetroot. This may look like an alien has landed on a plate, but appearance aside, it does taste divine.
Perhaps not one for Edwina Currie, the egg in this dish is cooked at 64 degrees - the lowest temperature an egg can be safely and legally cooked - to give a particular softness and finish. With the spicy warmth of chorizo and paprika and a sweet hit of beetroot, it works its warming winter magic.
![Nova Heswall Review Wirral Cod Loin](/uploads/imager/299deb39facbb0c50fa0371390d9cd0c/1177357/758b600fbd46f7b6d8e2fa58ac25d40c.jpg)
One bugbear for this meal is the presentation; white food on a white plate does not excite. The cod loin of my main course is cooked perfectly and flakes off the fork but the rest of the plate is a bit of a desert.
A piece of roasted cauliflower and a miniscule blob of puree fails to excite visually or palatably, even with crispy capers and piccalilli thrown in. I want the mother of mother sauces with this.
![Nova Heswall Review Wirral Venison Sausages](/uploads/imager/299deb39facbb0c50fa0371390d9cd0c/1177358/2d9556df6de80c9d9d5f578b6849c23e.jpg)
“There is no point in being precious about this dish,” says OH, tucking into his main course of venison sausages, mash potato, slow-cooked fennel and medjool date brown sauce.
“The more ladened the forkful, the better the multi-flavour experience.”
You’d think the sausages would be full-on, muscle-flexing venison but they’re surprisingly delicate. Pairing well with the Paparuda Pinot Noir (£4.20) this dish of creamy potato puree, crunchy fennel and gourmet bangers on top, does all manage to come together.
![Nova Heswall Wirral Review Truffle Goats Cheese Dessert](/uploads/imager/299deb39facbb0c50fa0371390d9cd0c/1177359/753dbf25f37c4577df2415bafbd45e12.jpg)
We agree to share a dessert which means an upgrade to the three-course set menu (£27). Truffle goats cheese, parsnip sponge and salted apple sounds like an unlikely flavour pairing, but it’s a gorgeous gooey hit.
The sweet cake, distinct barnyardiness of the cheese and the luscious stewed apple is definitely quirky in a good way. Only one thing missing - you guessed it - a bit of something creamy to dunk it in.
It sums up much of Nova’s food this evening - lacking in sauce, debatable on the aesthetics, but up there on flavour. Perhaps the blips are down to new-menu nerves?
![Nova Heswall Wirral Interior2](/uploads/imager/299deb39facbb0c50fa0371390d9cd0c/1177360/390478b964dc080e4b1ba9d7e198fece.jpg)
There are clearly quite a few regulars in here and I mention to the manager how great it is to see people out eating midweek.
”It’s actually quieter than usual - it always is when the football is on”, he says.
Proven right, we step outside and there’s a metaphorical whoosh of tumbleweed blowing up a dark, cold and empty Telegraph Road. Yet, around the corner, there’s a bar pulsating with bodies, pints in hand, eyes fixated on a large screen.
All power to Nova then, it must be doing something right by continuing to get people through its doors - against the evening’s odds.
![Img 5267](/uploads/imager/299deb39facbb0c50fa0371390d9cd0c/1177374/5848446a72ab819259220a9987ed5443.jpg)
The Scores
All scored reviews are unannounced, impartial, paid for by Confidential and completely independent of any commercial relationship. Venues are rated against the best examples of their type: 1-5: saw your leg off and eat it, 6-9: Netflix and chill, 10-11: if you’re passing, 12-13: good, 14-15: very good, 16-17: excellent, 18-19: pure class, 20: cooked by God him/herself.
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Food
King scallop 7, Spanish egg 7, cod loin 5, venison sausage 7, truffle goats cheese dessert 7
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Service
Unobtrusively efficient
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Atmosphere
Chilled on a chilly match night