On Wednesday, after a hard morning's damson picking, I needed food. It was getting late, I hadn't booked anywhere and I had a guest. A quick burger wouldn't suffice. I didn't think that my guest was a big fish fan, so I was surprised when they liked my suggestion of Loch Fyne. It's in a rather posh development next to the river. It's a bit out of the way, which may go some way to explain why there was only 3 tables of diners.
We had a look at the lunch menu, and were glad to see two courses, a side dish and a glass of wine for £11.50. There were 5 choices of starter and main course, 3 were fish, 1 meat option and 1 vegetarian option. I opted for the mussels with shallots and bacon, followed by hake, sauteed new potatoes, samphire in a mustard dressing and a side salad. My guest had grilled sardines with caper and shallot dressing then the salmon fillet with chilli oil, citrus couscous and a side order of new potatoes.
We each had the house white, and were pleasantly surprised that it was a rather palatable, fruity and dry. I've had some pretty ropey house whites, but this was pretty good. My only gripe was that the lunch menu does not come with a non-alcoholic drink. Alcohol at lunch time is not everyone's choice, and the lunch menu is inclusive of a glass of wine. I asked if I could have a soft drink or a tea instead, and was told I could only have wine or tap water!
The starters arrived and I was presented with some lovely plump mussels- just the right quantity for a starter. My only grumble was that the bacon was rather anaemic looking; I would have preferred it to have been cook long enough for it to start to go brown. My guest's sardines were delicious. I am a bit squeamish about oily fish; the flavour can be too strong. These sardines were moist and the sharp dressing cut through the rich flavour.
My guest was similarly impressed with their main course. The salmon, crispy skinned and moist fleshed, was able to stand up to the chilli oil. The citrus couscous, albeit a small portion, was refreshing. My hake was perfectly cooked. My guest claimed not to like hake, but after I removed the spine, she dug her fork in a changed her mind. It's been quite a while since I've had samphire and I'd forgotten how delicious it can be. Luckily, I didn't notice the mustard dressing, as I didn't want it to ruin the flavour of a delicate dish. The salad was very enjoyable as it went beyond the boring house salads I have eaten elsewhere. It was a well-dressed concoction of cherry tomato, spring onion, celery, spring onion, chicory and mixed leaves.
The service was efficient and friendly, so my only complaint was a minor niggle about the bacon.
By rights, if this restaurant was better situated this restaurant would be full!
No comments:
Post a Comment