Bars & Pubs

A pub where youre met on the patio by aproned staff who ask if youre joining them for dinner? Where all the tables are set? Where waiters invite you to select a piece of bread from a basket (50p per person)? This is not the sort of pub youd stroll into and order a pint, even if the menu does highlight a weekly-changing guest ale (perhaps Eversham from Lincolshire, or Harvest Down blonde beer from Scotland). A blackboard lists daily specials, but theres no bar menu and the prices and spiffy presentation are on par with a proper restaurant. Several dishes can be served as starters or mains and seafood options are plentiful. Suppliers such as Goosnargh and Elwy Valley are namechecked. Of the mains, lamb pot au feu featured hunks of root vegetables and a light broth with the roasted meat; roast chicken came with a vol-au-vent of tarragon-flavoured mushrooms; but the winner was grilled sea bass with delicious porcini mash and jammy caramelised onion sauce. Dessert portions were uneven, though we enjoyed buttermilk pudding with roast rhubarb, banana tarte tatin and chocolate orange cheesecake. Staff were mostly friendly and briskly efficient.

Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008