The Prince Consort

Re-Visited May 2008 & sad to say that because the Chef is ill the food was not quite up to its previous very high standard, it is still very good but we have had to change the marking accordingly. Now 19/25

The food was even better on this visit thanks to their new Chef from Sweden and his lovely wife served us. (And after out last visit they serve the tonics separately from the gin!) Again I was with 3 friends and we agreed we could not fault the food for flavour and presentation. We enjoyed Winter Vegetables in a Filo basket with Hampshire Cheddar & Garden Herb Sauce £10.25 - apparently the best vegetarian dish my friend had tasted, Posh Fish and Chips - beer battered salmon served with hand cut chips and sweet chilli dipping sauce £10.95, and 2 chose Pan Fried Sea Bass Fillets served on a crispy risotto cake with a creamy king prawn bisque £13.50. We we were served a dish of mixed fresh vegetables perfectly cooked, many apologies for no photos this time you'll have to take our word for how wonderful everything looked.... and tasted!. The puddings were refreshingly different. We had Ginger Crème Brulee and a Sesame Tuille Biscuit £5.25. 2 shared a Baked Plum & Almond Tart with Cinnamon and Raisin Ice Cream £5.35. Lastly Espresso infused Semi-Fredo, a light frozen mousse infused with coffee £4.95. All very yummy, we highly recommend The Prince Consort!

Cost £ £ £ £ £

1. Quality of food 4/5

2. Variety of menu 4/5

3. Staff & Service 4/5

4. Ambience, setting and decor 3/5

5. Value for money 4/5

Total Yummy Factor 19/25

Report SM

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

On Tuesday evening 5th June I went with three friends to the Prince Consort as we had heard things had changed there. I am pleased to tell you it has had a great refurb, it exudes a relaxing atmosphere and the staff are very friendly. What a find food wise, good size portions which both look and taste good, Chris the Chef certainly knows his stuff!

We started with three choices between four - Pan fried scallops & streaky bacon with leaves and a raspberry dressing £6.75 (left above). Field mushrooms stuffed with brie and bacon, topped with a herb crust £5.45 (mid above). Goat's cheese and caramelised red onion tart with puy lentils on rocket £5.75 (right above).

Our main courses - Roasted lamb rump held in a rosemary and garlic marinade, served with ratatouille and salsa verde £13.95 (left above). Pork fillet wrapped in Parma ham and sage, baked and presented on mash of the day with a creamy brandy apple jus £13.45 (mid above). Pan fried calves liver and bacon served on a grain mustard mash with rosemary jus £13.65 (right above). Lastly, Smoked salmon, farfalle pasta and asparagus bound in a creamy white wine sauce £9.95 (sorry no pic). All excellent and, although there is a note on the menu to say all food is home made and cooked to order so please respect the time taken in preparing the dishes, we certainly did not feel we were kept waiting.

Needless to say we were all very full but for the sake of research purposes we felt we had to have one pudding and 4 forks! Out of a very yummy selection we decided on pear and rhubarb crumble served with creamy vanilla custard £4.95 We all agreed it was heaven!!! We had coffees and two house wines . Pino £10.95 and Shiraz £10.50.

Having paid the bill and presented our card we met mine host Alistair who, having done his travelling, has returned to his roots in Southampton. Together with his Mother he is working hard to make the Prince Consort a big success and in my opinion is on target so far! When I made enquiries about vegetarian options he said that as a rule they usually have 2 options but if they don't appeal they are always happy to go off menu. He also told me they aim to change 30% of the menu content monthly in order to keep it interesting for their guests plus they augment this with around 3 fresh fish dishes every weekend.

I have awarded a Yummy factor of 8 1/2, it would have been 9 but, as our regulars know, we LWL do not like all the tonic poured in our G & T's, it drowns them and one should be given a choice, picky I know but important to us! I highly recommend The Prince Consort and will be back.