Visited October 2006

Having seen recent reviews of this newly refurbished restaurant, we were very keen to see if it lived up to the reports and managed to get together just before the end of the month, while they were still doing a very generous 2 for 1 lunch deal! Well, it helps to spread the cost of all this dining out in the interests of research!

The first thing worth noting in a city with the traffic and parking pressures of Winchester is that the restaurant is part of the Winchester Hotel in Worthy Lane, outside the dreaded one-way system and with extensive parking right in front! Originally built as a Moat House Hotel some years ago, the building has been taken over by Pedersen Hotels who have given the public areas and restaurant the classic “Noughties” chic by decorating in brown, cream and white, no longer original maybe but always very restful and smart.

Over drinks in the bar (no G & T’s this time, everyone was very abstemious and merely had white wine spritzers the size of small Jacuzzis instead) we decided to order from the lunch menu which offers two courses for £14.95 or three courses for £17.95 (though if you collect the vouchers from The Times over the next few weeks, you could have two courses for £10 to include a glass of wine!) There are three choices for each course and the lunch menu changes daily. Alternatively, the a la carte menu offers a wider range and is available for lunch and dinner.
 
While we waited for our starters to arrive, we were served a super platter of flavoured olive oils with a choice of four different breads for dipping (see above), scrummy on their own and, eventually, a nice accompaniment to the cream of leek and potato soup, which was very satisfying, and the smoked mackerel and prawn tian with lemon mayonnaise which was pronounced to be delicious.

For the main courses, three of us chose the pan fried fillet of salmon with caper cream sauce, a slender piece of fish and perfect for those of us watching our waistlines but it may not have been sufficient to satisfy a larger appetite.  One chose the rib eye steak, char-grilled with a tarragon sauce, which was a good size and tender. All the mains came with crushed potatoes, carrots and a green vegetable.

At this stage, the spritzers must have been having an effect because we forgot all about watching our waistlines and being abstemious and attacked the puddings! The ice cream really did taste homemade and was fabulous, the maple syrup and almond tart was rather dense and needed something to help it down but the cheese platter was super value and of generous proportions!

The surprising thing about our visit was that the restaurant was so quiet but we got chatting to Brian, the very enthusiastic Operations Manager, who tells us that they are normally much busier at lunchtime and had a high level of bookings for the evening and weekend. Certainly the staff are charming and helpful, even bringing a calculator to help us work out our individual contributions to the bill ... it must have been those spritzers!
 

Cost £ £ £ (because of 2 lunches for one offer)

Yummy Factor 8/10

Guest Report by CS of Romsey