This was a gifted meal.

Earlier this year I went to The Fox at Peasemore for dinner. I hadn’t ever been there before but it’s safe to say that I will be going back. Not long after I’d been for dinner lockdown happened and the pub closed for a little while. So I’m writing about the dinner now they are back open, and getting rather hungry doing so.

The Fox at Peasemore is in a fantastic countryside location with some beautiful views. It had a very welcoming atmosphere and the staff are great. It’s run by a husband, Philip (the chef), and wife, Lauren (front of house), team and the menu changes so regularly they have been known to re-print the menu halfway through the evening! read more

This was a gifted meal.

I have to admit that I am a big fan of a ‘Tasting Menu’. An opportunity for the chef and restaurant to show off different styles, techniques and flavours; improved further if there’s matching wines to accompany it all. Also, let’s be honest, I’m a fan of anything that means I get to gorge myself on everything indulgent. I was invited to try out The Newbury Tasting Menu and was really looking forward to it; what to expect in terms of theme or style made me wonder what we would be served and yes, I was very excited about the matching wines.

I should begin by saying that there were nine (yes, nine) courses on the menu. Also, as it was a tasting menu and they were after our feedback on the dishes there are no prices below. However, I’m hoping that this, or a very similar menu, will soon be available at The Newbury.

The first course was wild mushroom velouté, garlic chantilly and toasted sourdough. This was paired with an Argentinian sparkling sauvignon blanc. This was a nice, light way to start the meal. The chantilly was good and thick but could have done with a touch more garlic for my liking. The mushroom flavour was just right and the sparkling SB was a great match; acidic enough to just cut through.

The second course for everyone else was scallops and chorizo, however as seafood and I don’t get along I had confit chicken leg with celeriac remoulade. This was paired with a Sicilian zibbibo. The skin on the chicken was so crispy and the meat just fell off the bones. The jus was so rich in flavour and when it got all mixed into the remoulade it was just delicious. I could happily eat a massive bowl full of this. The zibbibo was the wine of the night for me, it’s my new favourite white and I’ll be looking out for it everywhere I go.

For the third course we had chicken liver parfait and redcurrant gel, paired with an Austrian grüner veltliner. The parfait was very rich, it was served with more sourdough toast to scoop it all up and the redcurrant gel and wine worked well together to cut through the richness.

The fourth course was cod, black garlic mash, crispy kale, salsify (and curried mussels for everyone else!). This was paired with a South African Rhone style blend. I really liked this. The kale was so crispy, I thought it could do with a little sweetness to make it even better and the cod was perfectly cooked. A few bits of salsify added a good bitterness and the lightly curried sauce brought everything together well. The black garlic mash was very earthy and the little blob of lemon gel cut through this nicely. Again, the wine was a good pairing for this dish; definitely a combination for the summer.

I was starting to feel well on my way to full at this stage but there were plenty more courses to go. The fifth course was duck breast, cherry puree, spinach, potato rosti and wild mushrooms, paired with an Italian primativo. I loved how crispy the rosti was with this as the texture was great with the soft, rich duck. The cherry and mushroom worked well together, especially with the wine. There were also some kirsch soaked cherries but they were a little strong for my taste.

The sixth, and final savoury, course was rump of lamb, basil mash and ratatouille. This was paired with an Australian cabernet/merlot. This was such a pretty dish and a real classic combination of flavours. I liked that the ratatouille was diced so finely and was full of colour. The lamb was perfectly cooked but a special mention has to go to the basil mashed potato; so smooth, so green and so fresh. The Italian wine was a good partner for this French inspired dish.

The first of three desserts was ginger and white chocolate cheesecake served with a sauternes. I’ve got to confess I really don’t like ginger, however, scooping around it led me to a wonderfully smooth but light cheesecake. It wasn’t too tangy (like with some cheesecakes can be) and was so smooth I’d have thought it was just clotted cream. I do like a dessert wine and I thought the sauternes was great with this.

Unfortunately I had to leave the tasting before the final two desserts, which I was most upset about, but I had an early start the next morning. Had I stayed I would have enjoyed banoffee mille fuille and a warm chocolate tart. I’ll have to hope they make it onto their menu soon!

Overall I thought it was a great menu showing off some real classic flavour combinations and styles of cooking but with some modern twists thrown in for good measure. I think my favourite dish has to be the lamb; that basil mash was fantastic. Or maybe the chicken as it was so rich and homely. The menu as a whole I think would have dishes for everyone giving people an opportunity to try something they might not have tried before. Who could say no to trying this many different plates of food, all in the same place, that are designed to work together.

I was invited as a guest by The Newbury, thank you to them. All opinions expressed and words are my own.

This was a gifted meal.

The Crab and Boar near Newbury is in a lovely location; surrounded by rolling Berkshire countryside. Inside the pub it’s slick and modern but comfortable too. There are plenty of big squishy chairs and sofas to relax in around the bar and the layout in the restaurant means you get the background hubbub of noise without feeling like people can overhear you. A few weeks ago I was invited to try out their evening menu and I was looking forward to it as I had heard lots of good things.

We started with a drink at the bar; a good selection of beers (some local too), wines, spirits and soft drinks, while we looked through the menu. There were a few specials available as well as the printed menu which made it harder to choose what to have! There were a really good number (seven or eight) starters and mains to choose from and much deliberating but I eventually made a decision. read more

This was a gifted meal.

I’m not sure how many of you lovely readers of my blog are in or around Newbury but I think I speak for everyone when I say that (finally) it seems as if Newbury’s culinary scene is improving. We had a few nice restaurants in the town centre, (The Square and Petit Square spring to mind but both now closed), the family run Italian (Valle D’Oro) and many country pubs but we went through pretty slim pickings in Newbury town centre for some time.

It seems now however that times are a changing and we have new places in Newbury in which to dine (chain restaurants I’m not looking at you). Very exciting. We have Brebis for French cuisine, The Newbury is in the Michelin guide, The Lock Stock and Barrel has had a facelift and we have the newly opened Elephant at The Market.

I went to The Elephant on its opening night to see what it’s all about and I can tell you now I will definitely be going back. Inside it’s what you would describe as quirky I guess and although a nice bit of décor is good I’m more interested in the food and drink. They have a good sounding cocktail menu, unfortunately I didn’t get to sample any of them and the food menu has many, many things I would like to try.

There are a wide range of drinks on the menu (other than cocktails) and some interesting soft drinks above and beyond the standard fruit juices and fizzy drinks you would normally find. I was pleased to see there was a good range of beer, including local craft beer too.

There was food circulating on the opening night so I got to try: pizza, mini burger and fish with mushy peas. The pizza was really nice, they have a pizza oven on site and the tomato sauce (the most difficult bit to get right in my opinion) was excellent. The mini burgers came topped with slow cooked pulled beef rib and bacon and onion jam; one of the nicest I’ve had in a long while and the rapeseed based tartare sauce and mint mushy peas with the crispy fish was lovely.

I think The Elephant is a very welcome addition to the Newbury food scene and I am really looking forward to going back and trying some of the real sized meals! Currently there is a bit of scaffolding on the outside of the pub but trust me, it’s definitely open!

This meal was paid for by The Elephant. All opinions expressed and words are my own.

This was a gifted meal.
I was invited to The Vineyard as part of a bloggers wine and food tasting evening. Having been before, indeed spending a wonderful four and a half hour lunch there on my birthday, I would have been a fool not to go. I have only ever been for lunch, not dinner, so I was looking forward to seeing what it was like. Turns out I was in for a treat. I’m not really a wine person, or I should say, I didn’t used to be a wine person.

The Vineyard has had a recent makeover and the addition of the glass floored cellar makes for a great entrance. It’s a little unnerving when you walk across a glass floor at any time but particularly when walking above a cellar that holds 5000 bottles of extremely fine wine. The picture at the end of the cellar has a story behind it and our sommelier for the evening, Yohann, was more than happy to explain it. It is based on a wine tasting that occurred in France in 1976 when French wine was considered the best in the world. The picture depicts a famous Parisian blind wine tasting between French and Californian wine. The upshot being that Californian came out on top every time, much to the shock of the tasters as the painting shows, and it was this tasting that was said to change the wine world forever. read more

We arrived at The Bell on a blissful September evening and thought we would sit outside and watch the world go by as we waited for the kitchens to open. I was sipping on a sweet, fruity cider called Apples and Pears. Also present and enjoyed by my other half was a pint of beer. There was the sound of a tractor in a nearby field, a few twittering birds and the occasional car. The thoroughly English countryside soundscape was only interrupted by an angry wasp. 

I don’t like wasps very much and if they try to involve themselves in my food I swipe them away with whatever I have to hand: in this case, the pub menu. It all happened so slowly, to be honest we should have seen it coming as we were both sat on the same side of the park bench. There I was wafting the wasp away getting more and more ferocious with each swish and before I knew it I was harnessing my inner gymnast as I realised the bench was falling over. We were both desperately trying to stay afloat of the bench and at the same time stopping our drinks from tumbling to the floor. We must have looked ridiculous as somehow, when the bench was righted, it immediately fell over with us on it. I grabbed my cider as it flew towards my face but the beer, most unfortunately, covered us both. read more

Everyone has ‘that’ restaurant. For some ‘that’ restaurant can be a guilty pleasure, shrouded in memories or just because you love it and can’t quite put your finger on it. For me, The Valle D’Oro at Newbury is the restaurant I always call upon when I need something. Sometimes it’s to fill a hole with so much cheese I can barely walk, other times it’s just because I love it. Why do I love it? I cannot be specific as all the aspects of being there work together to ultimately provide an evening you cannot leave without feeling satisfied. read more

The Carnarvon Arms seems to have a bit of a reputation for being one of the best places to eat in the Newbury area. Are these rumours unfounded or based on exquisite experiences had by everyone who has been there? Before my most recent visit, I had been before and it was good. I wanted to try it again with a now more sophisticated, some might say picky, palate. We arrived with no booking on a week night, the staff behind the bar were lovely and friendly and we got a good table. 

Bread, oil and vinegar is a favourite of mine and I think the bread served can tell you a lot about a restaurant. This bread was a bit disappointing. The oil it came with was in what I can only assume is meant to be a ‘fun’ traffic light formation. It certainly wasn’t there to serve any taste purpose. I think that restaurant bread can take two forms; the first a really fantastic example of simple bread or secondly a selection of more unusual or flavoured breads. We had boring brown and wearisome white. They weren’t crusty, weren’t warm and worst of all they were stale. When we informed our waiter of this he said, “OK”.  read more

The Red House at Marsh Benham jumps out at you as you drive down the road and I had been meaning to go for some time. There was no point in going for a half arsed meal; I wanted to go for a proper one. I’m not sure I’ve been to a place that is both modern and outdated at the same time. The garden is modern, the bar and bar area are modern but as soon as you step over the threshold into the restaurant it is like stepping over the threshold to the 1990s. The bottle green patterned carpets and red velvet chairs should have been replaced when the rest of the restaurant was updated. Fortunately the food distracted me from the décor.  read more

This current trilogy will be rounded off by the consumption of another Eggs Benedict at a restaurant I have been to many times.

Summer is almost upon us. Yes to the sunshine, yes to the balmy summer evenings and yes to Pimms. No to the fact that my bingo wings are only just falling short of smacking me in the face if I have to wave at anyone. I suppose in some ways I am glad I shan’t be having more Eggs Benedict in order to attempt to combat my large posterior. In other ways I am not excited for a summer of cucumber and lettuce surprise. The surprise being there are no calories and henceforth no taste or enjoyment. read more