Chilli Pickle is a perennial favourite.
Mange Tout - I've only been for brunch, which is excellent, but their dinner menu always looks fab with some great veggie choice. Across the road the Prince George is exclusively veggie.
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[Food] Restaurant 2019 Thread
- Thread starter Machiavelli
- Start date
Chilli Pickle is a perennial favourite.
Mange Tout - I've only been for brunch, which is excellent, but their dinner menu always looks fab with some great veggie choice. Across the road the Prince George is exclusively veggie.
Here is one to keep an eye on. I have posted the link as there is a Black Horse in Amberley Glocs as well, but this is the West Sussex one.
https://www.amberleyblackhorse.co.uk/
Recently reopened Dec 2018, it looks relatively modest from the outside, but a stunning fit out inside. We ate in the bar, as we had the dog with us, but there is a 70 seater restaurant and a garden room, which is pitched at the afternoon tea crowd, a small private dining room and 11 guest rooms to follow shortly.
This is clearly a big venue to fill in a tucked out of the way sort of place. They have a well stocked bar including three real ales and the menu is traditional British food. I ordered pork bites with home made piccalilli, fish of the day (Cornish Mackerel) and rice pudding with roast fig. These are all relatively cheap ingredients and if a chef can deliver top quality dishes from these, then I reckon they clearly have some talent. The lunch menu was £20 for two courses, £25 for three courses.
The lunch time crowd, was a mixture of old school West Sussex tweed, blonds in leather trousers and a stream of young families, with cute well behaved kids. Even on a wet January day. Amberley is a beautiful village to wander around and I am keen to go back and give this place another try, once the spring weather kicks in - recommended.
https://www.amberleyblackhorse.co.uk/
Recently reopened Dec 2018, it looks relatively modest from the outside, but a stunning fit out inside. We ate in the bar, as we had the dog with us, but there is a 70 seater restaurant and a garden room, which is pitched at the afternoon tea crowd, a small private dining room and 11 guest rooms to follow shortly.
This is clearly a big venue to fill in a tucked out of the way sort of place. They have a well stocked bar including three real ales and the menu is traditional British food. I ordered pork bites with home made piccalilli, fish of the day (Cornish Mackerel) and rice pudding with roast fig. These are all relatively cheap ingredients and if a chef can deliver top quality dishes from these, then I reckon they clearly have some talent. The lunch menu was £20 for two courses, £25 for three courses.
The lunch time crowd, was a mixture of old school West Sussex tweed, blonds in leather trousers and a stream of young families, with cute well behaved kids. Even on a wet January day. Amberley is a beautiful village to wander around and I am keen to go back and give this place another try, once the spring weather kicks in - recommended.
Beach Hut
Brighton Bhuna Boy
Amberley is beautiful, I was born there and spent the first 9 years of my life in that wonderful village.
Machiavelli
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #44
Interesting:
https://www.theguardian.com/food/20...-struggling-to-keep-their-restaurants-special
(with apologies for inflecting left-wing metropolitan elitist sh!t on people)
https://www.theguardian.com/food/20...-struggling-to-keep-their-restaurants-special
(with apologies for inflecting left-wing metropolitan elitist sh!t on people)
This is more of a pub review I suppose but anyway.
I took a nice long walk up on the Downs today from Shoreham. I live here so have tried most pubs locally. It was a 17 miler so on my way back home I wanted a feed and a sit down. Plus it was 3pm and a lot of places don’t serve food at that time.
One place I have always avoided is The Swiss Cottage. But I was hungry and one of my resolutions is to try new places and new things . It’s a Greene King so I knew it was going to be microwaved food but The Waterside is GK and same menu, and to be fair for what it is the food in WS is passable if you stick to the classics.
Anyway, the staff were friendly enough and the place isn’t as foul as I was expecting but my goodness the food was bad. BAD.
I played it safe with bangers and mash.
Tasteless pale sausages , weak runny gravy, solid block of yellow mash and the peas were bitter. Plus a caramelised red onion chutney clearly out of a jar that was just a cold lump on top.
Of course I wasn’t expecting fine dining but this was just grim. And at just under £8 not really that cheap for one simple dish.
The nicest thing was the orange and lemonade I had with it.
If I hadn’t been so tired and hungry I’d have sent it back. But I practically held my nose and downed it. I was in and out in 19 minutes.
A grim eating experience I shan’t be repeating anytime soon. Avoid.
I took a nice long walk up on the Downs today from Shoreham. I live here so have tried most pubs locally. It was a 17 miler so on my way back home I wanted a feed and a sit down. Plus it was 3pm and a lot of places don’t serve food at that time.
One place I have always avoided is The Swiss Cottage. But I was hungry and one of my resolutions is to try new places and new things . It’s a Greene King so I knew it was going to be microwaved food but The Waterside is GK and same menu, and to be fair for what it is the food in WS is passable if you stick to the classics.
Anyway, the staff were friendly enough and the place isn’t as foul as I was expecting but my goodness the food was bad. BAD.
I played it safe with bangers and mash.
Tasteless pale sausages , weak runny gravy, solid block of yellow mash and the peas were bitter. Plus a caramelised red onion chutney clearly out of a jar that was just a cold lump on top.
Of course I wasn’t expecting fine dining but this was just grim. And at just under £8 not really that cheap for one simple dish.
The nicest thing was the orange and lemonade I had with it.
If I hadn’t been so tired and hungry I’d have sent it back. But I practically held my nose and downed it. I was in and out in 19 minutes.
A grim eating experience I shan’t be repeating anytime soon. Avoid.
Last edited:
Beach Hut
Brighton Bhuna Boy
Om - Worthing
Have not been here for over a year and sorry to say not great.
For a pretty empty restaurant the service was incredibly slow and the food not great, even had to ask for a 2nd set of pickles with the poppadoms and there were 6 of us.
Needs some vast improvements in my view.
Have not been here for over a year and sorry to say not great.
For a pretty empty restaurant the service was incredibly slow and the food not great, even had to ask for a 2nd set of pickles with the poppadoms and there were 6 of us.
Needs some vast improvements in my view.
Despite it being that very long pay month of January Mrs W and I have been out and about quite a bit so :
Ockenden Manor - one of our favourite haunts for dinner. Used to have a star but no more and to be frank I can see why. Mrs W had oysters three ways to start and thought they were stunning. I had carpaccio - it was average. Was disappointed it didn't have parmesan on it - surely that's a must for carpaccio ?
Mains were roasted cod and pheasant. Cod was bland and unseasoned. My pheasant was made up of bits done in different ways. The breast was excellent but other bits had far too much salt on them. All polished off with a great creme brulee for Mrs W and cheese and biscuits for me. Both were good.
Our meal was part of a nights stay - I'd have been annoyed if I'd paid the £65 a head ( without drinks ). Gone down hill quite a lot - 6/10.
The Plough Inn at Pycombe - a spot of late lunch on the way back from the stay away. Vast menu, very reasonable prices and big portions. Mrs W had Mango and Coconut Salmon with saffron rice and veggies. An absolutely cracking dish and the size of the salmon resembles a whale ! I went for that days special - pheasant again. Two huge breasts ( the pheasant !!!! ) with loads of mash, veggies and red wine gravy. £17 for a dish that was far better than the one the night before. 9/10 ( some of the best non-gastro pub grub I've had in a long time ).
On to this weekend :
Fourth and Church - this place is really becoming a favourite. Laid back and loads of Tapas. We've learned not to order everything to start with and just start slow and then order extra dishes as we go. Decent bottle of wine for £20. Started with a bread selection and Charcuterie board - fantastic. Also came with pickled veg with were also excellent. Then a few dishes including roasted & raw cauliflower, vadouvan spice, almonds, caper dressing, salted yolks ( a dish I could eat every single day and not get bored of ) and smoked haddock brandade, pickled mushrooms, cacklebean yoke emulsion, hazelnuts which is very strong and definately a sharing dish. The star of the show though was the ricotta gnocchi, roast squash, goats cheese mousse, walnuts, marjoram, preserved lemon, kale - a stunning dish !!!!! We shared some goats cheese with pickled pear for dessert. Can't fault this place 10/10.
Next day hangover cure - roast :
The Gather Inn at Hove Lagoon - I had never been to this place but had driven passed it numerous times and always thought it looked a bit dodgy. How wrong I was. We only went for a roast but the service was 5 star - nothing too much. The roasts were HUGE. Mrs W had pork belly that had been cooked overnight ( it's a pet hate of mine when pubs serve pork belly and think they can get away with cooking it quickly ! ) and I had beef after being assured by the chef it was pink ...... and it was. Possibly the best roast out I've had. Will definately be going back for a non-Sunday roast meal as the menu looked good. 9/10.
Ockenden Manor - one of our favourite haunts for dinner. Used to have a star but no more and to be frank I can see why. Mrs W had oysters three ways to start and thought they were stunning. I had carpaccio - it was average. Was disappointed it didn't have parmesan on it - surely that's a must for carpaccio ?
Mains were roasted cod and pheasant. Cod was bland and unseasoned. My pheasant was made up of bits done in different ways. The breast was excellent but other bits had far too much salt on them. All polished off with a great creme brulee for Mrs W and cheese and biscuits for me. Both were good.
Our meal was part of a nights stay - I'd have been annoyed if I'd paid the £65 a head ( without drinks ). Gone down hill quite a lot - 6/10.
The Plough Inn at Pycombe - a spot of late lunch on the way back from the stay away. Vast menu, very reasonable prices and big portions. Mrs W had Mango and Coconut Salmon with saffron rice and veggies. An absolutely cracking dish and the size of the salmon resembles a whale ! I went for that days special - pheasant again. Two huge breasts ( the pheasant !!!! ) with loads of mash, veggies and red wine gravy. £17 for a dish that was far better than the one the night before. 9/10 ( some of the best non-gastro pub grub I've had in a long time ).
On to this weekend :
Fourth and Church - this place is really becoming a favourite. Laid back and loads of Tapas. We've learned not to order everything to start with and just start slow and then order extra dishes as we go. Decent bottle of wine for £20. Started with a bread selection and Charcuterie board - fantastic. Also came with pickled veg with were also excellent. Then a few dishes including roasted & raw cauliflower, vadouvan spice, almonds, caper dressing, salted yolks ( a dish I could eat every single day and not get bored of ) and smoked haddock brandade, pickled mushrooms, cacklebean yoke emulsion, hazelnuts which is very strong and definately a sharing dish. The star of the show though was the ricotta gnocchi, roast squash, goats cheese mousse, walnuts, marjoram, preserved lemon, kale - a stunning dish !!!!! We shared some goats cheese with pickled pear for dessert. Can't fault this place 10/10.
Next day hangover cure - roast :
The Gather Inn at Hove Lagoon - I had never been to this place but had driven passed it numerous times and always thought it looked a bit dodgy. How wrong I was. We only went for a roast but the service was 5 star - nothing too much. The roasts were HUGE. Mrs W had pork belly that had been cooked overnight ( it's a pet hate of mine when pubs serve pork belly and think they can get away with cooking it quickly ! ) and I had beef after being assured by the chef it was pink ...... and it was. Possibly the best roast out I've had. Will definately be going back for a non-Sunday roast meal as the menu looked good. 9/10.
Matt Healy x The Foundry, Leeds.
I guess the title of the place tells you all you need to know, really. Matt is the bearded hipster who made the final 3 of Masterchef Professionals in 2016, and whose sauces Marcus raved over. We were advised to have 5 starters between the 3 of us, and then 1 main course each. Perfectly decent cooking, but only one memorable dish - a very intensely flavoured roasted onion risotto. Wine list was ok. Wait staff were excellent. £70 pp including a good amount of alcohol. Would go again if in Leeds, but not worth a trip.
Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham. 2*. 10 Course tasting menu - blimey charlie, does he like his umami. It reminded me of Noma; much to admire in the technicalities - some deeply impressive cooking - but we didn't actually like it that much. Except the puddings - they were exquisite. Maybe because they were a refreshing change from the umami-laden savoury courses?
They offered 3 levels of wine pairing, we went for the more expensive one, and they were exceptionally well chosen, including a biodynamic Rousanne which was almost undrinkable by itself, but brilliant with the food, and (a first for me) a really excellent Canadian Eis-Cider.
We asked to go into the kitchen, where we had a bizarre experience. We met the eponymous Sat, who did almost nothing except ask for our names and then sign a copy of the menu which he presented to us with a flourish and a smug grin. Did we ask for this? Did we hell.
The room was decent enough. Breakfast the following morning was very good indeed - frankly, we enjoyed it more than dinner. £1k all-in, including a lot of armagnac.
Oh - in the entrance to the field opposite the restaurant were 5 dumped kitchen-grade fridges. Can't imagine where they had come from.
We won't be going back.
River Cottage Kitchen & Deli, Axminster. Starters were fine-ish. Main courses deeply disappointing. The lemon sole was so badly over-cooked it was unreal. It probably had 3x the cooking time it should have had. It came with a salsa verde which was totally overpowering. Really poor cooking. Avoid. £50 ph.
The Sportsman Seasalter. 1*. Bloody hell. This place is just superb. We had the tasting menu - 8 courses for £70 is ridiculous value for this level of cooking. The fish, as you'd expect, was brilliantly fresh and cooked perfectly - the turbot particularly was exceptional. £120 ph. Don't go, you'll make it harder for me to book a table again.
I guess the title of the place tells you all you need to know, really. Matt is the bearded hipster who made the final 3 of Masterchef Professionals in 2016, and whose sauces Marcus raved over. We were advised to have 5 starters between the 3 of us, and then 1 main course each. Perfectly decent cooking, but only one memorable dish - a very intensely flavoured roasted onion risotto. Wine list was ok. Wait staff were excellent. £70 pp including a good amount of alcohol. Would go again if in Leeds, but not worth a trip.
Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham. 2*. 10 Course tasting menu - blimey charlie, does he like his umami. It reminded me of Noma; much to admire in the technicalities - some deeply impressive cooking - but we didn't actually like it that much. Except the puddings - they were exquisite. Maybe because they were a refreshing change from the umami-laden savoury courses?
They offered 3 levels of wine pairing, we went for the more expensive one, and they were exceptionally well chosen, including a biodynamic Rousanne which was almost undrinkable by itself, but brilliant with the food, and (a first for me) a really excellent Canadian Eis-Cider.
We asked to go into the kitchen, where we had a bizarre experience. We met the eponymous Sat, who did almost nothing except ask for our names and then sign a copy of the menu which he presented to us with a flourish and a smug grin. Did we ask for this? Did we hell.
The room was decent enough. Breakfast the following morning was very good indeed - frankly, we enjoyed it more than dinner. £1k all-in, including a lot of armagnac.
Oh - in the entrance to the field opposite the restaurant were 5 dumped kitchen-grade fridges. Can't imagine where they had come from.
We won't be going back.
River Cottage Kitchen & Deli, Axminster. Starters were fine-ish. Main courses deeply disappointing. The lemon sole was so badly over-cooked it was unreal. It probably had 3x the cooking time it should have had. It came with a salsa verde which was totally overpowering. Really poor cooking. Avoid. £50 ph.
The Sportsman Seasalter. 1*. Bloody hell. This place is just superb. We had the tasting menu - 8 courses for £70 is ridiculous value for this level of cooking. The fish, as you'd expect, was brilliantly fresh and cooked perfectly - the turbot particularly was exceptional. £120 ph. Don't go, you'll make it harder for me to book a table again.
Machiavelli
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #49
You and I have come to a stunning agreement on 4&C. I know Paul, who is one of the co-owners, from when he worked at Butler's.
Absolutely love the place !!!! Next time you see Paul you couldn't ask him for the receipe for the roasted and raw cauliflower dish would you please ?
I've got 'Brighton's Best Cookbook' and was disappointed that it wasn't one of their receipes in there.
Due to a business interest I do keep an eye on some of the chain pub and restaurant menus and when researching something the other day I hadn't realised how many people fall for the "Steak Trick".
Most chains show a higher weight Rib Eye, a lighter sirloin and an even lighter rump, and, of course, the prices come down BUT, if you look at the price per ounce in some chains you pay as much per ounce for the cheaper rib eye and rump cuts as you do the more expensive Sirloin. I thought most knew this but a straw poll revealed many didn't.
[MENTION=28490]Machiavelli[/MENTION] posted this a few days ago https://www.theguardian.com/food/20...-struggling-to-keep-their-restaurants-special
“Bains handles this by remaining “authentic”. “If people save to come here, it’d be rude for me not to say hello. It’s called hospitality. But I’m a working chef. By 11.30pm on Saturday night, I’m drained. I’ve spilled shit over my jacket. I might be bollocking someone. It’s a working kitchen. I hope you enjoyed yourself. Here’s a menu. But I don’t pretend to be a host. I’m a chef.”
This paragraph might explain your Bains kitchen experience!
Cowfold Seagull
Fan of the 17 bus
Rib Eye cheaper than sirloin? . . . really?
Miller & Carter, for example:
Rib Eye 16oz is £26.50 or £1.65 per oz
Sirloin 10oz is £22.95 or £2.30 per oz
Rump 8oz is £16.95 or £2.12 per oz
Crazy really, it's the way they display the pricing that catches people out
Cowfold Seagull
Fan of the 17 bus
Thanks. It does, really. Personally, I’d have preferred it if the waiter had said “you sure, mate? I wouldn’t advise it”, but I accept that others wouldn’t share that view.
Beach Hut
Brighton Bhuna Boy
Lunch at Kerbisher & Malt
https://www.markethalls.co.uk/market/victoria
This has just opened near Victoria Station and what a very pleasant surprise - £10.50 and a fabulous cod and chips, well cooked and very tasty.
https://www.markethalls.co.uk/market/victoria
This has just opened near Victoria Station and what a very pleasant surprise - £10.50 and a fabulous cod and chips, well cooked and very tasty.
The only joy I had last night was reading [MENTION=33848]The Clamp[/MENTION], [MENTION=27447]Goldstone1976[/MENTION] and [MENTION=1365]Westdene Seagull[/MENTION]s reviews.
ThevSwiss Cottage review made me laugh, I must get to The Sportsman, and Fourth and Church, I’m disappointed about Ockenden Manor.
ThevSwiss Cottage review made me laugh, I must get to The Sportsman, and Fourth and Church, I’m disappointed about Ockenden Manor.
Machiavelli
Well-known member
- Thread starter
- #60
Delighted you liked The Sportsman. I haven't come across a restaurant that exudes all that's good about eating out as this.