Foodle

Another evening visit to this delightful pub and yet another evening in darkness as all my visits during the winter have been here!  I’ve been here too many times to not be here during the summer and on this visit it was nice to see the upper private dining room that can booked if done in advance and for up to roughly 10 people.  What I would love to do here as well at some stage is have breakfast which it will also provide as it is an Inn with rooms in the classic of senses which I also love about The Red Lion Freehouse.  Glorious charcuterie, a great cep soup and believe it or not, a wonderful salad as a main were in the mix for this visit.  The set menu was back for superb value in the evening of 3 courses for £24 at this standard of cooking and this is the other key strength of this eatery.  Hospitality could not be more down to earth and welcoming at the same time and was also good to meet chef Dave Watts who was on point for this evening.

Food Grade: 76%

As with all set menus, there is a reason for their reasonability in that the cuts of meat will obviously be less expensive and as I discovered on this visit, it will obviously reduce the general size of the dish.  Therefore, this was a useful reminder that with some set menus, the portion sizes will sometimes not be as big as you would expect at all.  The sauce béarnaise here still remains among the very best I have come across in the country in perfect tarragon zing and viscosity and the ingredients alone did the talking for the starter of chicory, sweet mustard and blue cheese with apple – simple and effective.

My only niggle with this meal was that the chips actually appeared and tasted over done which was a surprise at this level.  Not catastrophic but was surprising as a simple, clumsy error like this reduces the pleasure valve and can easily be avoided.  However, the home made ketchup was a stroke of class and another first for me.  So much so, that a blob of this in to the béarnaise seem to make a rather nice pseudo sauce choron for my OCD on these sauces.

The set chocolate dessert was not lacking in chocolate and was a pleasurable beast but the prize went to the selection of desserts which was a cracking idea for the a la carte (allows a tasting of the main desserts from the a la carte on one plate).  This was another way in which this pub shows its good flexibilty above others in being able to accommodate this and essentially take two courses for £18 from the set and then do an a la carte dessert on top which is a very good way of doing things.

So, although this menu was a step down from the previous menu, it was certainly excellent value with some very good elements.  I look forward to coming back in a warmer month so the outside can be seen and enjoyed with a full blown a la carte blast which will happen next time for their absolute hits.

The pork main was less of an explosion and I would have preferred to have had more of the veg to add a little more balance to the otherwise protein and carb-rich plate as well as giving a little more moisture to the pork however, I particularly liked the smoked quality of the brown butter mash with the pork.  Although I accept it was the set menu option, the crackling was not very notable in comparison to others that have been enjoyed but otherwise the dish was pleasant enough on the palate.

The vanilla ice cream had run out giving rise to the replacement of the maple syrup and pecan ice cream and frankly I thought this was a far more gratifying anyway.  Delightful maple notes and as it melted in to the crumble which was soft, juicy and had the perfect amount of sloppiness just under the crumble – it all came togther beautifully.  Normally I would never do nuts in ice cream, but this not only got away with it, but I thought this dessert was another belter.  The simple things when they are done like this don’t need much else!

A lovely meal and such good value as well.  This is confirmed in my book (having had an initial, lovely experience years ago) as a quality venue for food (and the place in general).  Not the last time I will dive in I am quite certain.

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I loved this place.  Tucked away at the end of country lanes sits this alluring seaview hotel with its Michelin starred restaurant.  The short version is that it was actually quite difficult to pick many holes with this visit in any way as I thought the setting was charming, the food as heartfelt with strong and completely amenable flavours (many of which stem from the chef’s childhood experiences), the décor cosy and although the service was not as polished as some other luxury hotels overall, the experience left me walking away with a skip and a jump which is exactly the whole point of these visits n’est-ce pas?  Great stuff all round and I knew before the end of the meal I wanted to come back and enjoy another time and in the warmer months whenever can be done.

The opening snacks of cauliflower cheese pillows with chive were a nice bite-size duo to start with but I thought could have had a bit more moisture inside when the outer crisp was as thick as it was.  However, the fish cake ball with parsley purée and lemon caviar and plum and apple chutney pork dougnut were completely sumptuous and showed the level of efforts that the restaurant was prepared to go to just on the openers.

The opening snacks of cauliflower cheese pillows with chive were a nice bite-size duo to start with but I thought could have had a bit more moisture inside when the outer crisp was as thick as it was.  However, the fish cake ball with parsley purée and lemon caviar and plum and apple chutney pork dougnut were completely sumptuous and showed the level of efforts that the restaurant was prepared to go to just on the openers.

The amuse bouche of cod and potatoes that were blended together (brandade) within a shelfish broth was comforting and with a degree sweetness at the same time.  The breads were equally lovely.  These ranged from a clotted cream brioche (wonderfully rich) and sour dough with fig and and hazelnut and another with malt star – all of which were fluffy and pleasantly original.

The pork jowl starter with white onion purée, mushroom powder, cider reduction mixed with pork mousse and shallots was fab, no question.  The pork was melt in mouth, the sweetness of cider reduction well balanced, the toastiness of the hazelnuts was there and the sharp of the rhubarb all came together beautifully – a lovely dish.  The beef main itself was a tender as you can imagine all held together with a lovely garlic purée and easy on-the-mouth spinach.  The fact that this had bone marrow which was toned down as well was all the merrier.

Pre-dessert of mango curd, coriander sorbet, mango tuile and diced mango was the perfect blend of warm & cold, savoury and sweet, crunch and smooth – actually in terms of these it was text book.  Unbelieveably, I didn’t take a snap of this course but I put this down to wanting to devour it as quickly as I saw it.  This then led the way to dessert itself which was taken straight from childhood memories in the summer garden of the head chef where this tart took its variation from.  It was a gloriously rich tart made from our old Cornish friend, clotted cream with raisin purée, golden syrup gel and with a ginger beer sorbet on the top.  Although the tart was less warm, eggy and soft than traditionally expected (as it had the texture literally of a slightly stiff clotted cream), it was an indeniably lovely flavour.  It was the sort of dessert in fact where I was looking forward to each subsequent, clotted mouthful which was rinced and complimented perfectly with a lovely ginger sorbet.

In summary, there really wasn’t much not to like on this visit and it was especially pleasant to speak with and get the ground perspective from the head chef (Chris Eden).  Even though it was dark on my visit and I couldn’t see a thing beyond the cliff, the outdoor decking, dining conservatory, menu itself and the feel of the restaurant makes me easily see how this would be a charming break away in almost any context.  Something I hope to do with others another time.

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My second visit to James Sommerin and this time the restaurant was in posession of a shiny, new Michelin star as at the 2017 guide.  I honestly can’t say I’m completely surprised at that based on the first visit as it was a serious contender and the headline for this visit is that it was definitely a noticeable notch upwards from the first visit in terms of the food but I was also amazed at how the service seemed to be so stretched and how long it took for things to come together.  It was really good food but my advice is to not have any time constraints at all – during my meal I heard more than one table in my vicinity quietly commenting on how slowly things were progressing or not being informed enough which is genuinely the experience I had.  However, if you can survive the wait, there are quality moments here and I believe the best way would simply pay a little extra for for the chef’s table to guarantee more timely service as diners there seem to have no issues.

Regrettably, I have to report that from the outset of this meal it was obvious that the service was pushed to the limit.  I counted 5 staff on the floor to cover 38 people in a packed restaurant and might just be enough but didn’t seem to add up on this occasion.  A key, combat indicator was noting staff had that ‘hoping not to be asked anything’ air about them – rushed with an avoidance of eye contact.  After a 10 minute wait in the holding / bar area it was actually 36 mins until canapés arrived at the table and an hour after arrival that bread arrived.  My request for a food menu 20 minutes in at the table was answered with there was only enough copies to being used by other tables so something was obviously not quite right as that is a bit of a surprise for a restaurant to not have enough to go around or have to wait to share – a genuine first for me.

Regrettably, I have to report that from the outset of this meal it was obvious that the service was pushed to the limit.  I counted 5 staff on the floor to cover 38 people in a packed restaurant and might just be enough but didn’t seem to add up on this occasion.  A key, combat indicator was noting staff had that ‘hoping not to be asked anything’ air about them – rushed with an avoidance of eye contact.  After a 10 minute wait in the holding / bar area it was actually 36 mins until canapés arrived at the table and an hour after arrival that bread arrived.  My request for a food menu 20 minutes in at the table was answered with there was only enough copies to being used by other tables so something was obviously not quite right as that is a bit of a surprise for a restaurant to not have enough to go around or have to wait to share – a genuine first for me.

Anyhoo, now that that gripe is out of the way I can focus on the food and on this occasion I opted for the chef’s selection after looking at the menu as this was to be signature dishes of the week, selected by the chef. Kicking off with the canapés, I thought these were excellent.  The garlic espuma was outstandingly light and interesting with fennel seeds, the tapioca crisp texture was tougher / chewier than expecting but with strong flavour from the taramasalata and the cheese greyures were nice with truffle but I not in the same league as House of Tides or Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.

20 minutes later after finishing these, they were cleared.  At 9pm the bread arrived (I arrived at 8pm for my 8pm table) and this came with salted seaweed and normal butter (both beautiful texture and fair in flavour).  The focaccia bread was fine and nicely warm and I had high hopes for the onion bread but it turned out to be drier and tougher than the norm – I wasn’t expecting The Ledbury standard for the onion bread (pretty to beat anywhere in the world), but this version could have been more impressive.

Next came liquid pea ravioli, sage, ham and Parmesan foam.  This was a lovely combination, done well and although first thought a little subtle, it was still darn nice.  The butter poached lobster was good with a light and well spiced bisque and hints of fennel with crunch of granola & seeds and broccoli was overall v pleasant.  Final fish of the evening was the brill with smoked potatoes and salsify which was a gorgeous dish – it was creamy, smokey, crispy and juicy.  All round this was brilliant.

The beef was done beautifully with a lovely jus.  The cheek was very nicely done (moist and seasoned well) and the parsnip purée and onion all made for a very good dish.  This was highly enjoyable.  And on to the sweets – the lemon curd, meringue, cherry and biscuit with lemon essence all over was a beautifully designed dish.  Dry ice for the sake of it is a bit dangerous as it spells style over substance but this really did gain the lemon fragrance wafting over the entire table and me which was great.  The Lemon tart sorbet itself was completely delightful.  Poached pear, caramelised toffee ice cream dessert was similarly pleasant with beautiful flakes of pastry and the petit fours were delicate and all really excellent.

So all in all, I thought the food on this visit was in a considerably strong league.  Apologies to have to keep going on about it but it really was marred by the unpolished service.  It was nice to see the head chef personally bring out some of the dishes to the tables but the pace that was needed for this and the fact that one table had desserts placed at a table with empty savoury dishes still to be collected, combined with the hour wait for bread (not a stand alone course) made this the more notable point of the visit.  A shame, as the food really was quite super and comfortably in the upper quadrant of 1 Michelin starred UK venues.  If more menus were available, more staff were at hand, more genuine proactive desire from those on the floor to give what diners needed with more attentive urgency, this would take the restaurant to a super level.

As it stands, I feel only going to the chef’s table would be the only choice for a more slick meal.  Total time for the meal was 3 hours, 45 mins by the time that the bill was paid which, for a 6 course menu is just too long. For 18 courses (which I have done in a similar timeframe) this is fine but not, I would suggest for 6.  Although I received a discount for being a Luxury Restaurant Guide member (annual fee to get discounts at various places at various times), the menu price represented very good value for money for what was produced – some excellent dishes.

As time was an issue we had to go for the 3 course set menu at lunch priced at £32 pp.  With canapés and an amuse bouche and the overall quality of the food, the first thing to say is that this was very good value.  Canapés of sweetcorn panna cotta with bacon and mouth-bite of truffle was warmly receieved although I felt the sweetcorn panna cotta would have been better with a touch more seasoning.  The amuse bouche of leek mousse and salmon was absolutely sumptuous – perfectly light and balanced with gently pickled beetroot and fried shoe-string potato for texture.  The white and brown breads arrived beautifully warmed and the unsalted and seaweed butters were both served at the perfect temperature.

The pork belly and mackerel were the chosen starters, both of which were frankly superb.  The creamed jus that accompanied the mackerel went perfectly and this was a lovely dish, as was the pork belly that was probably the best of the meal – powerful in flavour and carefully constructed.  These were followed by the mains of shin of beef and the vegetarian option.  As the menu does not give too much away, it was only apparent on serving that the vegetarian option was a lasagne with cream sauce and parmesan foam to accompany which was well done and left me wishing for more and the shin of beef with creamed mash I tried was also delightful.  All the desserts were ordered and again, it was only obvious on serving that the passion fruit was a soufflé – thankfully, these I love.  The soured dark cholocate was very much needed as the passion fruit soufflé was exceptionaly sweet.  It was gratifying to have, particularly on a set menu, however I did feel it was in danger of being a little too sweet and could have possibly benefitted from being set a fraction more.  This was not a show-stopper though and it was a very nice aspect to have at the end of the meal.  The cheeses showed the very good value of the options here.

All in all, the skill shown on this basic set menu for lunch was clearly evident; there was no question of being of a very high technical standard.  The service was very good throughout I felt that this meal demonstrated cooking that, in my opinion, was clearly operating within the 1 Michelin starred quadrant.  My only regret is that all diners were driving and had to leave relatively early, so we could not drink or stretch to the other menus, however, this will be done on the next visit which I look forward to doing and will do in the next few months to see the whole show.  A highly pleasing meal.

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