Category Archives: Food and Wine

The Iron Duke, Stratfield Saye, Reading

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After driving past the brown road sign, pointing out this restaurant, we decided to go there this evening. I am glad we did as we had a thoroughly good evening.

The Iron Duke is a quaint little restaurant, located in rural Stratfield Saye – an area that crosses the Berkshire/Hampshire border. I couldn’t find any reviews for the place, so went in “blind”. As it was a Thursday evening, and around 715PM, it was very quiet, but started to fill up more as the time passed by. Both of our waiters were very friendly, chatty and attentive. The dining area had 3 parts to it, all of them airy, clean and felt homely. We chatted with both Matthew & James (the owners who were also serving us) who said they had bought the place in Nov 2010 and refitted it. This refit was to a high standard too. They asked if we had been there before, to which we replied no and I said about seeing the sign going to work. I pointed out that the sign was near the Wellington Arms Hotel, and they informed us that they had both worked there the year before, but left to pursue their own place, good idea I reckon!

So, onto the food…..

We both ordered starters. I opted for the Baked whole Camembert infused with garlic & thyme which came with some dressed leave and chunky toast. Mini opted for the Ardennes pate with plums & Brandy served with warm toast & salad. Both starters were served on slate, never really fussed about slate to be honest. I thought the Camembert was very flavoursome, got hits of garlic in areas. Mini thought the pate was “so so”, it looked nice but I don’t think it delivered on flavour as much.

For our mains we both opted for Wellington Estate Lamb Wellington served pink with sauteed new potatoes & shallot salad. Cracking piece of lamb from the nearby Wellington Farm Shop (where we buy a lot of our meat), cooked perfectly too. I also ordered a side of their chips – yes I know but as you know if you’ve read my other posts, this is my benchmark of a chef, and I am happy to report that the chips were good! We did have one comment here about the main, we both thought the portion of potatoes could have been bigger. I think it was about 2 small potatoes cut in half, and they were small. The chips filled the gap though, but it was an extra cost.

For desserts I opted for Orange & Amaretti Truffle Torte. Nice light crumbly base, hint of Amaretti and a burst of orange here and there. Mini went for, surprise surprise, Chocolate fondant with ice cream which he really enjoyed. We both thought the desserts were a bit on the small side though, again nothing major but they were £5 each and I think my slice was about 1″ at the widest edge and about 1″ high. We finished off with coffees.

 

It was a really nice meal, with a few tweaks here and there it could be better. The fact that Matthew and James source as much as they can locally is commendable. They have a brilliant attitude, and really switched on with their service. I would recommend this to anyone who fancies a nice meal in the area. Total bill, including 1 pint of ale and 1 G&T, came to £78 – not cheap and I feel for these prices they could give a bit more in certain areas with regard to the portions.

Food – 7/10

Service – 8/10

Value – 6.5/10

The Queen Inn, Dummer, Hampshire

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I’ve only heard of the village Dummer when Sarah Ferguson got married to Prince Andrew, and her parents lived there. Never been near the place until our visit to the Queen Inn and what a lovely village it is.

This outing involved 4 of us and we had randomly chosen Dummer to just try out for a pub meal, not knowing what was there (very unlike me as I normally research EVERYTHING beforehand!) we drove through and saw this welcoming building. For a Wednesday evening it was fairly busy – not standing room only, but still a good number of people – this is a good sign I think. Ordering drinks at the bar you can take a look at the Specials board, which had both starters and mains. I had spotted a few bits that sounded yummy already.

The staff are all very friendly, and we asked where we had to sit to eat. They do have a dining area, but you can also sit in the main bar area so this is where we sat. After some deliberating we decided to go straight to the mains. I ordered the Wild Boar steak with chips and veg, and a side of onion rings. Our very friendly and happy waitress bought all our dishes over (from memory we also had lasagna, scallops and chili – all of which were given the thumbs up) and we tucked in.

The boar steak was a good thick slab of meat, and very tasty. I’ve never had boar before so I can’t compare this to anything – I don’t think it was overcooked, but it may have been near it, but still enjoyable. The accompanying veggies were carrots and broccoli. The onion rings were nice, but a bit sparse on the quantity I thought. They were £3 and the small plate had about 5 on there, but it was just a side order so nothing to really moan about (a few more would have been nice though!)

After filling ourselves up with the mains, we were offered desserts. We all “umm’d” and “aaah’d” and decided against it, thinking of our bodies as the well honed temples they are. The waitress cheekily said “I will come back in a bit”. She wasn’t fooling anyone we thought, we had made our minds up and were sticking to them, resolute. When she came back we all caved in and ordered a dessert each. I went for Sticky Toffee Pudding with custard, very nice and sticky. We also had 2 cheesecakes and an apple strudel, again all of these got the thumbs up. Everything, including drinks, came to £86, we paid £23 each which is pretty good for 2 courses and a few drinks.

In summary, if you are out near Dummer then take a look here. They have good beer on tap, a nice atmosphere, very friendly and happy staff and good pub food. Their website is here.

 

Food – 7/10

Service – 8/10

Value – 8/10

L’Ortolan, Shinfield, Reading

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This was my first lunch at the L’Ortolan. I’ve had dinner there 3 times previously (and they were all great too).

There were 2 of us for lunch and we chose from the Du Jour menu (as it was lunchtime we didn’t want anything too heavy). Upon reaching the main front door, it magically opened and we were greeted by the friendly front of house team.

We were asked if we wanted to have a drink in the bar, which we did (only juice!) and also had some olives and deep-fried whitebait with a mousse dip – nice nibbles. I ordered the following; Ham Hock Terrine, Sea Bream and the “Chef’s featured dish” for dessert, which at this time was Raspberry Souffle.

We had the chef’s appetiser, but I can’t remember what it was (it was something small in the bowl with no descernable taste). My ham hock terrine was accompanied with pickled mushrooms and a white bean puree – it looked very clean and appetising on the plate, and lived up to this when devoured. The terrine was light and flavoursome, and the veggies were well balanced, nothing too sharp.

When the sea bream was bought over, you got an instant whiff of sesame, and it was presented in a stack of noodles, mushrooms, fried onion rings and the fillet. The waitress then poured, from a large glass teapot, the galangal broth. A big hit of Thai spices leapt from the dish. The fish was cooked perfectly – crispy skin, succulent flakey flesh.

The pre-dessert were 2 coffee ice cream cones. Nice mini versions, about 2 mouthfuls, and the ice cream really packed a punch with its flavour. It was like having a handful of coffee beans in your mouth. Really really nice.

The dessert was sublime. A perfect souffle. Light, fluffy, half of it poking above the rim of the bowl. It came with a selection of fruits and a granata, which was lemony sharp.

The staff, as always, were attentive and polite. The restaurant got fairly busy from when we arrived (at 12pm) and had a good buzz to it. I was glad to not be disappointed on this 4th visit.

 

Food – 7/10

Service – 9/10

Value – 6/10

The Chequers, Cutnall Green, Droitwich

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This was my first time to this restaurant and I enjoyed it. In total there were 6 of us, and we had booked a table for 830PM on a Saturday night. We arrived at around 815PM and waited about 5 minutes at the bar to notify someone we had arrived. We were offered a table pretty much immediately and the waitress was friendly and bubbly.

The table we were given was a large, round one which was perfect as it meant we could all talk to each other. One small point I will make was the position of this table near the main thoroughfare from the kitchen delivery point – a couple of times my chair was knocked so I had to sit a bit closer to the table than I would normally. No big thing, but it would have been easier if the gap between this chair and the next table’s could have been a bit bigger.

Onto the food! Very good quality fare, and really good value for money. I don’t think anyone gave any part of their meal a thumbs down, which is good. I had the Chicken Liver parfait – very smooth and light and accompanied with a small baguette (this could have been sliced in the kitchen beforehand, rather than doing it at the table, less crumbs). For my main course I chose the Belly of pork – cooked to perfection and covered with a medium intenstiy gravy. Served with a small portion of champ (mash with spring onions), a caramelised slice of apple (really nice), and a thin crackling straw (really crispy). The pork cut easily and had great flavour, a really really good choice. Dessert for myself was Chocolate Brownie and Clotted Cream Ice Cream – the brownie was cooked well – good consistency and medium flavour. I was a little disappointed with the ice cream, I couldn’t really get the clotted cream flavour, but the dessert was still nice.

Considering there were 6 of us, and each had a 3 course meal, with a couple of side orders, drinks and 1 bottle of wine, a couple of dessert wines and a couple of coffees, the bill came in at £233 (£176 for the food, £57 for the drinks). We opted to give £42.50 each (which I think is bloomin’ good value) which gave approx. 10% tip.

 

Website is here

 

Food – 7/10

Service – 7/10

Value – 8/10

The Wellington Arms, Baughurst, Hampshire

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It was an impromptu decision to book a table at this Gastro pub. Saturday lunchtime, I thought I would call to see if they had any reservations; thankfully they did, but we would have to eat in the garden. No problem, it’s been a warm sunny day. Dinner at 6pm it was then!

I’ve read, as I do, reviews by my favourite food critics. One of these is Giles Coren and he gave the place a rave review. I appreciate Giles’ reviews too as he has a similar outlook to food as I do – good, honest, tasty food coupled with good service.

Upon arrival we turned up literally as the front door was being unlocked, well sort of. We parked at the rear in the car park which gave a lovely view of the garden that we would be dining in. Sun was shining, the flowers were out in the various borders, and it was great to see a raised planting area by the kitchen where the herbs etc were being grown. We later discovered about the pigs, chickens and bees too, but back to arrival. After trying the front door we found it was locked. Simon, the Front of House and part-owner poked his head through the window and told us he would go and get the key to unlock. Our table was reserved for 6PM and the sign on the door said “Saturday 630PM”. I was wondering if I had got the time wrong, but there was nothing to be concerned about here.

After letting us in, Simon greeted us into the main dining area, which is small, but homely and welcoming (it’s not all about size!). He offered us some drinks whilst we were waiting and then said we could choose wherever we wanted to in the garden. We sat in a nice sunny spot, surrounded by trees on the other side of the road, and well tended borders bursting with various tulips and other plants. After waiting for about 10 mins or so we were ushered back in to choose our food from the chalkboard menu.

Before having to read through the choices, Simon asked us if we’d been before. It was refreshing to speak with an owner with such honest enthusiasm about his guests. It felt like talking to an old friend, and we had only just met him. I explained that I had seen various blogs and things, and I mentioned Giles Coren. He asked if I followed him on Twitter and he even realised that I had tweeted that afternoon about our visit to the pub – great service so far!

Talking with Simon you can see the passion in his eyes when he speaks about the pub, which he runs with his partner Jason (who does the cooking). They’ve been running the pub for about 5 years, and I must admit it’s a hidden gem. It’s not on a main road, so unless you knew it was there you would probably not drive by it. Hopefully after reading this review you will venture out and try this cracking place out. The pub’s website, here, does say that it only has 8 tables inside, and it is small – I think it’s the smallest pub that I’ve seen that does food. Don’t let this put you off though.

We chose our courses and then went back to our table in the garden. It was still very pleasantly warm. A short while later we had some bread brought to us by a very charming waiter, again a friendly attitude and natural smile, I guess the owner’s attitude is infectious. We had 4 chunks of bread, 2 white, 2 brown, 1 of which was Rye with caraway – really nice. The first, and only, criticism in this review – the butter was rock hard. I know it’s only a small thing, but hard butter doesn’t work with soft, warm bread. For this to be the only dip in the whole visit was almost negligible.

Enough of the background and stuff, onto the food review! For starters I ordered the “Country style terrine of local rabbit & wood pigeon with home-grown green tomato chutney & char-grilled toast“. Great textured slab of terrine, served with a leaf salad, chutney and toast. The terrine was moist, flavoursome and chunky. You had to push with the knife to cut it, and it didn’t fall apart when cut – it stood strong! Paired with the biting chutney it was a delicious mouthful. Mini had the “Asparagus with poached Wellington egg, croutons and crumbled cheese.”. (We think the cheese was feta). The egg, from their hens who live in the field on the premises, was deep, golden yellow and poached perfectly – slicing the yolk allowed this liquid gold to pour onto the fresh asparagus. The croutons were crunchy and dry, a great change to those burned, greasy things you can sometimes get.

My main was the “Sirloin steak with fat cut chips” , I also ordered some spinach and garlic as an accompaniment. As soon as I saw the bowl of chips arrive, I knew they would be good. If you’ve read my other blogs you know I rant on about chips. Seriously, how hard is it to do a good chip? These chips were BRILLIANT. Dry, crunchy, fluffy, tasty. I would have been happy having a bigger bowl and 2 thick slices of bread, that’s how good they were. In my opinion these were miles better than the chips I’ve had at “Dinner at the MO”, “The Royal Oak” and “The Hand & Flowers”. Maybe I hold the British chip at too high a standard to achieve, but tonight this quality level was easily reached. The steak that accompanied them was again perfectly cooked, medium rare, and had a nice thick band of fat running round the outside, which melted when chewed. The meat itself cut easily and had a great flavour, not as strong as some I’ve had in the past, but it was really enjoyable. Another thing to note here are the portion sizes – not skimpy during any course. Mini had the “Spring Lamb stew” with a side of green beans, pea and mint. He informed me that the peas were perfectly balanced with the mint, giving a refreshing taste. The lamb practically melted when put into the mouth. It wasn’t a heavy stew as this was now Spring, but it was a very, very tasty meal. Considering how fussy mini can be with his meat then this was a definite thumbs up! We both had a glass of the house red with this course, and it is supplied to the pub by a local merchant, Caviste. They are based at Odiham and we’ve been to the farmshop that they are co-located with. For a house red this was a cracking glass of wine. On the first smell you got a hit of berry, and it had a good, rounded taste to it.

As the sun was setting, it started to get a bit chilly. I was only wearing a T-shirt and just before it started to get chilly Simon bought out a mohair blanket for either of us to use. Mini was wearing a jumper so I guess he thought I might get cold. What service! I did get cold around dessert time, and was thankful to wrap this around my shoulders as it just took the edge off the breeze that was blowing now and then. This didn’t put a damper on the evening in any way. As you can also see in the pic below, the teapot has a cosy on it – these are made by Simon’s mum and you can buy the tea service in the pub!

For dessert I opted for the “Sticky toffee pudding with our clotted cream & lashings of toffee sauce“. Great choice. The pudding was light and tasty, but the star for me was the sauce. I could easily have had it in a pint mug and just drink it. It had a dark molasses hint to it, proper flavour as you would expect toffee sauce to give. Mini had “The Wellington Mess forced Yorkshire rhubarb, whipped cream & meringues” – he didn’t say much which is always a good sign as he was busy eating it. All you could hear from our table was a lot of MMMMMMMM’s ;-)

With dessert we both had teas. I had one from an Australian company, Husk. ‘Calma – A relaxing blend which promotes a sense of calm Organic peppermint, rosebuds, lemon balm, spearmint and aniseed’ – it had a great perfume to it, and was a refreshing cup of tea. Mini had a Darjeeling, and also a glass of the home made Sloe gin, which was divine. It reminded me (as I had to have a little test) of medicine as a child, but the really nice stuff that you didn’t mind taking!!

 

So, to summarise. If you don’t want a great meal, with brilliant service and genuinely friendly people with real ethics, then don’t visit the Wellington Arms. The fact that you’ve read this far means you have an interest in food, so you would be daft not to book a table here!!! The total bill, which also included some takeaways (they do their own jams and things, and also sell organic eggs – we had 6 eggs and a jar of jam) and a 10% optional service charge, came to £119. This included drinks too (1 PT 6X, 2 G&T’s, 2 glasses of wine and a Sloe gin).

Food – 9/10

Service – 10/10

Value – 9/10

 

Shmoke and a Crêpe?

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This was our 4th visit to Amsterdam, and the main purpose was to just go and chill out for a weekend which was something we did. After going back now this time I think it will be some time when, or if, we visit again. Not saying that Amsterdam is rubbish, but it’s got a limited appeal if you want to do something more than drinking etc – in my opinion anyway (and yes I realise about the museums, but once you’ve done them you don’t normally go back, and if the sun is out I don’t like spending time inside!)

On landing, which was a Friday, it was raining. Great start! It rained all afternoon and into the evening, and at one point we did get a bit wet, but hey it’s only water – ain’t gonna kill ya. We were staying in the NH Doelen hotel. Great location about 7min tram ride from Centraal and pretty good central location for walking round the bars, hopping onto trams etc. The first night wasn’t that great, mainly because of the noise from outside the hotel. This hotel is an old building and suffers from noise leaking in. To top it off, the bloody place was robbed in the early hours of Saturday morning, and we had the Police bashing the nightdoor in around 6AM. This was the second time the hotel had been hit, and the same nightwatchman! We asked for a room change, and got one with no fuss, this time at the back of the hotel adjacent to the canal – much better. The staff were really friendly and helpful so it wasn’t a total nightmare of a place :)

After checking in we found the closest bar and got some beer in, which is good. We also got some Bitterballen ordered as soon as we could, if you’ve not got a clue then look here – they are seriously addictive! Then, as custom has it, en route back to the hotel we stopped for frites with mayo – nom nom nom!!!! This was all done by about 3pm – marvellous! During the other drinking times over the weekend, I had my first try of Westmalle Dubbel, what a glorious tipple. 7% so fairly chunky, but had some real sweet notes to it; think of burned sugar, toffee. Not the kind of drink you knock back, but well worth a look if you are out there.

So, getting onto the main thing – the food. Before leaving the airport we wanted some breakfast and thought we would try Gordon Ramsay’s “Plane Food” as we were flying from T5 in Heathrow. Nice food, haphazard staff. Considering this is an airport place, and time being of the essence, they failed. First off, they forgot the coffee order, and then bought 2 lots over (and tried to order 2 even though we only had 1). We then had to ask twice for the bill – again this is taking time and planes don’t wait (I may be over-egging a bit, but it annoyed me). The food was lovely – perfectly poached eggs Benedict. Nice place too, comfy seats, airy feeling etc. Just a shame the staff were crap.

The first proper meal we had was at Ristorante d’Antica. A restaurant we stumbled upon whilst looking for another place. I must say this was the best Italian meal I’ve ever had AND we also got a free chef’s table, well sort of, as our table was about 20ft from the open kitchen and I had an uninterrupted view of the chefs doing their business. For my starter I had Carpaccio Cipriani – Thinly sliced fillet of beef with Parmesan cheese and a mustard truffle dressing. I was expecting a small side-plate sized portion, but how wrong was I! The plate resembled a charger size – and the beef was about 2″ in diameter and filled the outer rim of the plate. In the middle was a pile of rocket and the waiter then grated a bowlful of Parmesan. The beef was mild in flavour, but melted like butter when eaten – great start. My main was Spaghetti capesante e zucchini – Spaghetti with scallops and zucchini. Probably the best scallops I’ve tasted too – perfectly cooked, cut into quarters and in abundance in the bowl. Really nice, fresh dish. Deep but light sauce, perfect homemade pasta. Really, really nice. Pudding was Zabaglione – my first ever try. This was served with vanilla ice-cream. The dish was like eating spoonfuls of air, drenched with alcohol (a little bit too much for me) but was sublime – will be trying this myself!

Whilst dining we also saw the waiters (some of the best I’ve had the pleasure of being served by) perform their little theatrical pieces, one of which was serving Pasta al Parmigiano – Home-made green spaghetti, made from spinach, with a tomato sauce and mushrooms, at table flambéed with whisky in a Parmesan cheese. Imagine a car tyre, that was made of Parmesan – that was this chunk of cheese on a trolley. The chef had poured the whisky into a big ladle in the kitchen, placed it under a pot to heat it up (but not ignite it). When the dish was ready to make, the waiter would then light the alcohol in the ladle, and pour this burning liquor over the whole top of the cheese – effectively a sea of blue flame atop the Parmesan. He then deftly worked the flame and cheese, thus melting it, and then added the pasta onto the melted cheese, twiddled it into a pyramid shape, and plated it. Spectacular! It smelled fantastic too – I was tempted to order myself one there on the spot!!!!

One time for lunch we stopped at Werck, just next to Ann Frank’s house. Very minimalist, but warming atmosphere. I had the Werck burger which was cooked just right – slightly pink in the middle, and served with some really crisp, fresh salad and the ubiquitous frites and mayo – well worth a visit if you are that side of town.

Sunday morning we went to Gartine – a place that the Lonely Planet app pointed out was worth the visit, and it really was. This, I think, is a hidden gem that the locals use, and it’s down a tiny alleyway that we walked past the day before trying to find it! When we did find it, we were just plain lucky because all the tables had Reservation on them, but someone was just finishing up and the table was free for 1 hour. For breakfast! I mean, breakfast! WOW! The cafe is small – holding about 8 tables I suppose (maybe 10?). The thing about this place is all the food is homegrown and produced. We had brioche, with melted chocolate and homemade lemon curd. Drool. Seriously good curd. Had little bits of lemon in it, and had a great twang to the taste. They also serve delicious teas. A table next to ours had the big breakfast (which I was in awe of) – I can’t fully remember all of it, but there were piles of cakes and croissants which has to be a good thing!

Our last evening meal was at Krau Thai Classic, literally 3 mins from the hotel. Another great find. Quirky little restaurant with a really steep staircase – think of the royal navy ships! Really friendly staff, and a slightly crazy chef who said he would bring us the chef’s special after our starters (chicken satay, really good satay, and steamed pancake rolls), and if we didn’t like them we didn’t have to pay. He turned up with a plate of 6 Thai Basil leaves, with chopped bits in them, and tamarind sauce dolloped onto them. He showed us how to roll them, and then stuffed one into my mouth! They were really fresh tasting, almost a palette cleanser. Our mains were spot on too. Chili beef, Thai green chicken curry, sticky rice and a noodle dish. Very nice food indeed.

Our last place to eat was Puccini about 5 doors down from Krau. Lovely little cafe, with a nice ambiance. Very tidy and cosy, friendly owners. Had a great portion of scrambled eggs and warm ham.

 

So that was that. Thoroughly enjoyable weekend, some great new places found, and sunny days. Luvvly jubbly

 

 

 

Dinner, Mandarin Oriental, London

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Heston Blumenthal’s latest project; Dinner. Dining with a historical background, reproducing recipes from centuries ago.

The Mandarin Oriental. A 5* hotel in Knightsbridge. In my opinion one of the finest hotels in London. We have stayed just once, but I feel it is the epitomy of 5* service. From when the doormen see your taxi pull up, to being seated in the cocktail bar before dining. It’s not cheap – but hey this is London and 5* so you don’t bother to look at the prices, you choose what you want and enjoy it. If you think about the expense you won’t enjoy it as much.

Once we had been seated in the cocktail bar, “The Mandarin Bar”, we chose a cocktail each. I went for the Thai Martini – Lemongrass infused Plymouth gin stirred with sweet vermouth – very light and refreshing. Mini went for a Mai Tai #1 – Bacardi and Myers rum shaken with fresh lime, Pineapple, almond syrup and a dribble of grenadine, Served long over ice. Waiting for our drinks to arrive we were informed that our table was ready. 730pm.

On entering the restaurant you could smell the “newness” of it still. To the left was the kitchen sat behind glass walls. To the right the private dining room. The main restaurant is a mixture of dark brown leather chairs, and cushioned benches (banquette like) with dark brown wooden tables. Hanging from the ceiling are huge, round light holders – think of medieval rooms with something similar to a wooden wagon wheel hanging from a chain. Instead of candles, these were adorned with electric light bulbs which had matching filaments; perfect W shapes. The lights on the walls and columns were glass mouldings of jelly and blancmange moulds. Dotted on flat surfaces here and there were small, glass vases holding various white flowers and plants. The leather chairs were very comfortable.

Having already studied the menu at great detail once we had reserved a table, we already knew what we were going to have. The following was our choice for our first meal at Dinner:-

For me; Salamagundy, Sirloin of Black Angus and Tipsy Cake. For Mini; Meat Fruit, Spiced Pigeon and Chocolate Bar. We also ordered a 3rd dessert, Brown Bread Ice Cream.

Let the review begin!!!

Salamagundy (c.1720) Chicken Oysters, Bone Marrow and Horseradish Cream

Very light and tasty. I love bone marrow, and this married well with the salad and chicken oysters (just in case you don’t know what chicken oysters are, they’re the two small, round pieces of dark meat on the back, near the thigh). The horseradish cream was delicate and not overpowering. A really good start.

Meat Fruit (c.1500) Mandarin, Chicken Liver Parfait and Grilled Bread

First time you see this, you have to remember this is not a Mandarin (well you are sat in the Mandarin Oriental), but a chicken liver parfait. The mandarin, bright orange, even had the small green leaves sticking from the top. After splitting the parfait with your knife (it didn’t need cutting as such as it was ultra smooth and light) you see the inside. Light, fluffy pate. We were told by our waiter that the parfait also had foie gras mixed with the chicken livers. The parfait was outstanding; sublime texture, deep taste but light as a feather. Another great start.

Sirloin of Black Angus (c.1830) Mushroom Ketchup, Red Wine Juice and Triple Cooked Chips

Upon arrival, the waiter had a slight accident and sent my chips flying across the tray. He immediately apologised, left the remaining items and got a new portion sorted. The steak was cooked well, being a sirloin it wasn’t packed with flavour, I would have preferred a rib-eye. The chips were golden in colour, piping hot, light and crispy. It may have been the fact that they had just come from the kitchen, but all I could taste when eating them was the oil they were fried in – and it wasn’t the taste I was looking for. My search for the “Ultimate Chip” is still being done (so far the best chips I’ve eaten were in the Fountain restaurant at Fortnum & Masons in London) – I digress. The mushroom ketchup was a little too acidic for my liking; it consisted of small, chopped mushrooms, with vinegar, shallots and beef stock. By far the star, in my eyes, of this dish was the red wine juice. This was packed with flavour; deep and beefy. You could see the tell-tale sign of butter (I guess) as you poured it as you could see a small oil slick on the top (good oil!)

Spiced Pigeon (c.1780) Ale and Artichokes

A pretty looking dish, delicate and light. The pigeon was cooked perfectly, still pink in the middle. The artichokes were in quarters, matching the portions of pigeon. Mini said the dish was pleasant, but didn’t really have much spice considering it was advertised as Spiced Pigeon. He said he got a small hit at the start, but this fizzled away within seconds
The mains, in both our thoughts had been a bit of a let down. We realise this is a new(ish) restaurant, not awarded with anything yet (and awards aren’t all the be-all and end-all for us), but we both thought this was a definite dip in the proceedings. We also thought the meal was feeling a bit rushed, in that the starter was quite quickly followed by the main. Thankfully things did get better from here. Desserts were coming, and we had ordered 3 which is our latest “thing”. We do this so we can share them and have a bit of everything.

Tipsy Cake (c.1810) Spit Roast Pineapple

When we spoke with the waiter who was taking out first order, we said we had already chosen online and were thinking about taking the Tipsy Cake. He said it would be good to order this now as it took 40 minutes to spit-roast. When the dish came we thought “Why bother saying about the time taken” as there wasn’t that much pineapple. It was about 6 chunks. Think of portioning a pineapple top to bottom, giving a wedge of pineapple. It was very, very juicy as you bit into it. The juice poured out. For my personal taste it was a little tart, but I am quite sensitive to tart food. The Tipsy Cake was served in an small iron pot. The closest I can think to describe it is similar to lardy cake, maybe even a doughnut texture – light balls of dough, with a fantastic sauce hidden below. It tasted like butterscotch to me (I maybe wrong here!), but putting a spoonful of all components into your mouth was a divine experience. Writing this is making my mouth salivate – that, in my world, is a good food memory!

Chocolate Bar (c.1730) Passion Fruit Jam and Ginger Ice Cream

On arrival I looked at the plate put in front of Mini and just went “wow”. This “wow” was for the dark, ebony coloured slab of chocolate sat on the plate. It didn’t look real. It looked like a chunk of shiny marble. To the side were some biscuit crumbs and a quinelle of ice cream. Pushing your spoon into the chocolate bar makes way to a hard base. Putting the chunk of dark matter into your mouth gives you a hit of bitter, dark chocolate. Awesome. The ice cream had a refreshing zing of ginger to it, but neither of us could taste the Passion fruit. We think it must have been inside the bar, but we just couldn’t taste it. This didn’t really matter. This dessert was Mini’s favourite (probably due to it be chocolate, period.).

Brown Bread Ice Cream (c.1830) Salted Butter Caramel Malted Yeast Syrup

This was another of my choices. I’m glad we ordered it, but I think I enjoyed it the most, as I like malty tastes. The ice cream sat atop a mixture of oats and biscuits. How did it taste? Think of a hot, freshly baked brown loaf. You get a taste of the malt, a bit of the salt, a slight sweetness, and then the cold,smooth ice cream. It wasn’t ‘outstanding’ but it was enjoyable.

To accompany each dish we had “wine by the glass”. I didn’t take a note of the full name as I had forgotten my notebook, but we had the following; A Riesling (Salamagundy) and a Vouvray (Meat fruit) with the starters, Burgundy with both mains, a Pacherenc and another Riesling with desserts.

To end the meal we both had a tea each; 1 Silver Needle and 1 Li Shan Black Tea. These came with an amuse-bouche which was a white chocolate ganache infused with Earl Grey tea. I had 2 of these! The teas were very nice, mine was malty and strong, mini’s was refreshing and light.

In summary, we had a nice evening. The food was good, not great. Maybe we had a higher expectation. We knew we weren’t going to get the Fat Duck experience, it’s not that kind of dining. I did think that some of the flavours would have been very different to what I have had before, but nothing really was. The service was very good, but as said before this is the Mandarin Oriental. Even this wasn’t without a couple of small issues, maybe if we’ve not eaten at 3* places before we wouldn’t even have spotted them, so it’s nothing to worry about, but they say the devil is in the detail. The things we noted were; placing the bread and butter onto the table, my glass was knocked. Clearing things from the table as single items, rather than waiting for both to finish. Brushing down the table to then remove the salt and pepper, leaving salt and pepper on the table and not clearing it away. Spilling my chips on the tray. Not big things, but things you wouldn’t necessarily expect to see at a restaurant like this, bearing in mind the location and costs.

We also noted that there were a number of empty tables, which was odd as all we’ve heard is people trying to get booked, and being told “3 month waiting”. We sat down at 730pm and finished 10PM. There were at least 6 tables around us that stayed empty all night, and we couldn’t see the other side of the restuarant. It did feel busy, but there were a lot of staff going here and there; we had 5 different waiters. All were friendly and charming, with a couple really standing out.

Would I recommend “Dinner” to people who haven’t eaten in London before? I’m not sure to be honest. This could be a bit harsh to say, but I think it needs better consistency and this should come with time. London has so many fine restaurants that I think you could get a similar experience to, and a lot cheaper. I know I’ve said about cost here and there in this review, and I know this is London and it’s the MO etc, but this wasn’t a cheap meal. Having wine by the glass always bumps the price up (the Burgundy was £21 a glass), and the cocktails cost £32 for two. Overall, including service @ 12.5%, the cost was £282.67. We didn’t feel robbed, but it was a mixed feeling for the night. If, after reading this review, you want to visit to try, then please do.

 

Food – 8/10

Service – 9/10

Value – 6/10

The Wellington Arms Hotel

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As part of my birthday weekend, we decided to re-visit the Wellington Arms Hotel at Stratfield Turgis, near Basingstoke, Hampshire. We first ate here about 3 years ago with friends. It was an unplanned visit, and we all had a thoroughly good meal, which was on a Sunday as this one was.

This time round we didn’t enjoy it half as much, which was a real shame. I “hate” re-visiting places where you originally had a good time, to then leave wishing you hadn’t bothered. I may be a bit harsh here – it wasn’t that bad, but it was nowhere as near as good as it was in our opinion.

The hotel is situated on the A33 between Basingstoke and Reading. We drive past it daily on our way to work, and there are always a number of cars outside in the week, and it’s pretty busy most weekends. As this is the first real weekend since Christmas, I guess most places are quiet. We had our table booked for 1pm and upon entering there were about 20 or so diners already scattered around the place. The dining room is split into 2 areas, and it’s quite a nice place to eat. The seats are comfy, the staff are pleasant, and the surroundings are nice too.

Upon receiving the menu, we both commented how much less choice there was. At the point of writing this blog I visited the website and they have a link to the online version of the menu. I took a look at this and can say that the version online is showing about 40% more choice than the one we were given. I expect this may be a seasonal issue, but restaurants should make sure their menu’s are reflective of what you are going to get.

We ordered a sharing starter, the “Pantry Plate of Meat” – “Cured ham, duck & herb pâté with fig relish, duck bruschetta, grilled & roast vegetables, breads & dips from our pantry”. For my main I chose the “Pork Belly with crackling” – the online version is different as mine was more of a Sunday roast, served with roast potatoes, parsnips, apple sauce, gravy and a Yorkshire pudding. Mini ordered the “Chicken & Ham Pie” – “Hand torn chicken, ham hock, carrots, shallots & greens braised in white wine & herb sauce topped with puff pastry & olive oil mash” which, after placing the order and waiting about 5 minutes or so for the drinks, was informed they had sold out. I realise that this could be a matter of timing, but the waiting staff should know what IS and ISN’T available during the dining window. For his alternative he chose “Golden Glory Battered Fish & Thick Cut Chips” – “Hand battered in Golden Glory ale, mushy peas, thick cut chips, tartare sauce & lemon”

The starter arrived on a huge rectangular plate, which just about fitted on the 2 seater table. It was a good assortment of food, but there wasn’t really much ham, just 2 slices. The duck bruschetta was nice, but there was only 1 of these which we had to cut giving each person about a 1″ wide chunk. The star of the dish was the pâté – really nice texture and deep flavour, plenty of it too! The mains then arrived a bit later, not too much of a wait but considering it wasn’t that busy we were just wondering when they were going to turn up. Mini had ordered a glass of wine to accompany the main, this turned up about 5 mins after the main was delivered, along with the malt vinegar that we also asked for – not great timing here…..

The chips were not in my opinion “thick cut” – they were just normal sized chips, and nothing to write home about, a bit floppy and tasteless. We believe the fish was haddock – neither of us are fish experts but we were sure it wasn’t cod. The batter was nice and crispy, and there were no bones, which is always a good thing! My plate looked like it had been sat under a hot lamp for a time, and woe upon woe there was no crackling to be seen. I asked if the chef had any hidden in the kitchen as I really feel that if you advertise “Belly pork with crackling” then the only reason you order it for is to eat that amber nectare of the God’s – the crackling itself. The pork was a rolled affair, with about 2mm of crackling, which wasn’t even done enough to eat and enjoy. I’ve had worse, but again this wasn’t anything I would consider yummy. The potatoes were a bit flowery – I wonder if they were fresh that day?

After eating these 2 courses we decided against ordering a dessert, as we were fairly full but were also not that fussed about spending any more money on mediocre fare. Considering we had a starter to share, 2 mains, 1 pint of bitter, 1 glass of apple juice and a large glass of wine, the bill came to £48.80. I did feel a bit ripped off, as either of us could have made a much better version of the meals at home. Another “annoying” thing was that the Chip&PIN didn’t allow any tip to be put in, and we had no loose change, so didn’t tip. To be honest we always give a 10% (at least) tip, but in this instance I didn’t feel too agrieved not to leave a tip.

We won’t be going back to this place again, not sure why it has changed. Maybe it’s gone under new management as I don’t recall it being part of the InnForANight chain. Change isn’t always good – in this instance it was downright poor.

 

 

Food – 4/10

Service – 4/10

Value – 5/10

Biscotti coming out of my ears…

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A few months back we found a very easy biscotti recipe. After trying it a few times, and tailoring it each time to suit, I thought I would share it with you all. I’ve made 3 batches of this very recently, and they are very very very moreish.

The link to the recipe can be found here and I thought I would also put a few pointers in this post if you fancy trying them out:-

  • The mixture ends up really sticky, so make sure you have a bowl of flour to coat your hands when handling it
  • The recipe says about putting it onto a floured surface, shape then transfer to the baking tray. I find it easier to do it straight onto the parchment/baking tray
  • It says to roll the mixture into a 25cm sausage which is 3cm high. I have never been able to make it this size using the levels in the recipe. I guess this may be a misprint? I normally make it about the 1″ short of the width of my baking tray (roughly 14″ or so), then squeeze the sides in until it’s about 2″ wide and about 1″ (or thereabouts) thick
  • I’ve also added pistachio nuts (slightly broken) which is yummy, and I’ve also painted the biscuits, when they go in for the 2nd time, with apricot jam – that was nice too
  • When it comes to cutting, it’s really upto you on how many you want out of it. I prefer “daddy” sized biscuits, so normally make the “sausage” a bit narrower in depth, so more in height, and cut about 1″ (2 fingers) wide.

It’s a really fool-proof recipe, and they keep for 1 week easily, if you can leave them alone, in an airtight container. If you like biscotti, and want to make your own, and save money, then give this a go :)

The cup below is a normal sized cup, not a miniature one!

Masterchef Professionals – The Final

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Yet another fantastic final episode of Masterchef this year. Congratulations to Claire Lara who beat the other finalists, to take the crown. From the outset I thought she had what it took to win – a good background knowledge and a high level of consistency with her approach to cooking.

Watching these chefs working their days at different restaurants, and seeing how much effort is put in hours before service is being done, really puts into perspective how hard these people work. I know it’s sometimes “easy” to slate some food when delivered to your table, and ultimately we are a paying customer and are choosing to eat at the restaurant, but when you see how much “behind the scene” work is put in, especially in the high end places, it may be worth to give more compliments next time to the chef and his assistants.

Anyhoo, I just thought I’d write that down, and best of luck to Claire, David and John. Also, Claire is expecting a baby soon so good luck with that too! Some more to read in an article here