60 High Street
Milford on Sea
Hampshire
SO41 0QD

Tel: 01590 643557

Website: laperlemilford.co.uk

Vegetarian: Yes

Parking: Public car park

Wheelchairs: OK

Loos: Average

Having heard so much about La Perle we decided it was about time for a visit. It’s is a family owned French bistro restaurant which serves classic French dishes prepared by chef/owner Lionel Sene. Lionel has quite a pedigree having trained and worked in Michelin starred restaurants across Europe and locally at Chewton Glen and Pebble Beach. He met his English wife Emily in Australia and this is their first venture. Lionel’s wish is to provide authentic French cuisine using fresh and locally sourced produce at a reasonable price.

La Perle is tiny and the décor very charming.  Lunch is served from noon but from 11am you can enjoy Continental breakfast. They have an A la Carte Menu, a Specials Board and a £10 Lunch special deal; it includes a lighter lunch option and a drink or small glass of wine.

SM and I ate from the latter option both of us choosing Seafood Linguini served with prawns, seafood, capers and finished with a light chilli oil. The sea food was actually served with spaghetti not linguini but it was delicious and a generous portion so very good value.

Our lunch companions both chose from the Specials Board (which changes every couple of days) Chef's signature dish of 7 hour shoulder of Lamb served with buttered mash potato, turned vegetables & red wine jus £15.95. It was very tender and flavoursome but it would have been good to have been offered some French bread to mop up the jus.

We decided to share the pud on the Specials Board, Chocolate tart served with caramelised orange & strawberry compote £6.95 (chocolate heaven!) and a Selection of French cheeses served with French baguette£6.95. The cheeses were wonderful, just wish I could remember all their names but crackers would have been a preferable accompaniment as the bread was too soft.

As well as our inclusive glasses of wine we enjoyed bottle of a French Syrah Rosé £15.50. (Good reason for bringing out my beloved as the driver!)  To add to our pleasure we discovered that 2 lovely ladies at a nearby table are fans of LWL and indeed one of them had emailed us to urge us to try La Perle, a happy coincidence! Wish we could have stayed and drunk and chatted for much longer but husband’s patience is nonexistent.

Milford on Sea is fast becoming one of the eating destinations for foodies on the South coast; La Perle is the latest jewel (get it?) in the crown! Lunch was enjoyable; we recommend La Perle and wish Emily and Lionel good luck in their new venture. Cost: ££££
 

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Ladies Who Lunch Scoring:

Quality of food 3/5
Variety of menu 4/5
Staff and service 3/5
Ambience, setting & decor 4/5
Value for Money 4/5

Total Yummy Factor

5/5 = Cannot be improved upon, 4/5 = Very good, 3/5 = Good,
2/5 = Satisfactory, 1/5 = Poor, 0/5 = Terrible

The higher the "Yummy" factor, the better the food & service. The higher the number of £ signs the more expensive. (Roughly one £ sign = £5 per head)