No. 10: Pebble Beach restaurant in neighbouring Barton on Sea has a super reputation, however it has been a year or so since we have been.
Today we went along with my wife's brother. Unlike my wonderful wife, he is a passive kind of bloke and not prone to any kind of spontaneous violence towards me. Funny how some children get either the mother or father's genes?!
Anyway, we were here to eat because my wife had a hangover from the wedding reception the night before, and our home-cooked roast dinner was cancelled. She was also being quite quiet and willing to drive, so every cloud has a silver lining.
Pebble Beach is an impressive venue to eat. On entering you are greeted at the front door and first impressions are top notch. As you go to your table in the contemporary designed dining room, you pass the tropical fish tank, a classic and classy bar, and even get to see into the busy open kitchen at work. The outside patio with expansive sea views is extremely impressive and inviting, however the weather dictated today was not one for an alfresco lunch.
Although all of the tables were full, we were soon looked after with drinks, and it was nice to be able to order Steve & I a pint of draft Becks. My wife had a glass of water, accompanied with little sympathy.
Homemade bread started our meal, cheese & onion, walnut & date, Sundried tomato and a Ciabatta were all tasted and enjoyed as we read the menu, which had plenty of specials in addition to the a la carte.
My wife hit the jackpot with the best starter, her Ravioli of duck confit & Savoy cabbage with giroles mushroom and duck jus was fantastic. Steve enjoyed his Watercress soup, whilst I had one of my favourite starters; Twice-baked Beaufort cheese soufflé lined with roasted ground almonds, finished with fondue and kirsch sauce, the flavour was excellent, and the almonds a tasty inventive touch, but unfortunately it was slightly over-cooked.
My wife's main course was Half lobster tempura with stir-fry of pak choi, & glass noodles served with sweet chilli sauce. I had, Duo of lemon sole goujons and tiger prawns served with tartare sauce, new potatoes and mixed leaves. Now, new potatoes are pointless, and mixed leaves just a waste of space on a plate where real food could sit. So, the waitress was happy to accept my request to change my vegetables to chips. Not my best move, as they appeared frozen in origin and not completely cooked. The sole and prawns were fine, but I know chef's hate doing chips, so perhaps that was a subtle way to tell me to keep to the menu in future. Unaware of my chip drama, Steve was drooling as he devoured his Roast saddle of lamb filled with spinach and mushrooms, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and mint sauce.
As we ate, Steve told us about his trip to the Tate Modern yesterday with his (imaginary) girlfriend. He tried to prove she existed by producing a picture of a girl in front of Monet's Waterlilies. It looked to me as if the person involved was just trying to get out of the sight-line to the picture for the photographer.
Time for sweet. My wife declined and now looked a little less green around the gills. Steve, explained he wanted to keep trim for his girlfriend. (What girlfriend!!)
I plumped for the Cheese cake Polish style, which was baked layers of soft meringue, peach & a raspberry sauce. It seemed and tasted more like a Lemon meringue, but with peach rather than lemon, and very nice it was too.
On leaving, Steve extolled the virtues of his dining experience, saying it was the best meal he had enjoyed for ages, going on to say he could wait to tell his girlfriend. (Chat down the phone to a random wrong number more like.)
Pebble Beach is certainly a class place to eat, but I reckon our own Milford on Sea Verveine Fishmarket Restaurant wins by a whisker between these two fine restaurants!
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Today we went along with my wife's brother. Unlike my wonderful wife, he is a passive kind of bloke and not prone to any kind of spontaneous violence towards me. Funny how some children get either the mother or father's genes?!
Anyway, we were here to eat because my wife had a hangover from the wedding reception the night before, and our home-cooked roast dinner was cancelled. She was also being quite quiet and willing to drive, so every cloud has a silver lining.
Pebble Beach is an impressive venue to eat. On entering you are greeted at the front door and first impressions are top notch. As you go to your table in the contemporary designed dining room, you pass the tropical fish tank, a classic and classy bar, and even get to see into the busy open kitchen at work. The outside patio with expansive sea views is extremely impressive and inviting, however the weather dictated today was not one for an alfresco lunch.
Although all of the tables were full, we were soon looked after with drinks, and it was nice to be able to order Steve & I a pint of draft Becks. My wife had a glass of water, accompanied with little sympathy.
Homemade bread started our meal, cheese & onion, walnut & date, Sundried tomato and a Ciabatta were all tasted and enjoyed as we read the menu, which had plenty of specials in addition to the a la carte.
My wife hit the jackpot with the best starter, her Ravioli of duck confit & Savoy cabbage with giroles mushroom and duck jus was fantastic. Steve enjoyed his Watercress soup, whilst I had one of my favourite starters; Twice-baked Beaufort cheese soufflé lined with roasted ground almonds, finished with fondue and kirsch sauce, the flavour was excellent, and the almonds a tasty inventive touch, but unfortunately it was slightly over-cooked.
My wife's main course was Half lobster tempura with stir-fry of pak choi, & glass noodles served with sweet chilli sauce. I had, Duo of lemon sole goujons and tiger prawns served with tartare sauce, new potatoes and mixed leaves. Now, new potatoes are pointless, and mixed leaves just a waste of space on a plate where real food could sit. So, the waitress was happy to accept my request to change my vegetables to chips. Not my best move, as they appeared frozen in origin and not completely cooked. The sole and prawns were fine, but I know chef's hate doing chips, so perhaps that was a subtle way to tell me to keep to the menu in future. Unaware of my chip drama, Steve was drooling as he devoured his Roast saddle of lamb filled with spinach and mushrooms, roast potatoes, Yorkshire pudding and mint sauce.
As we ate, Steve told us about his trip to the Tate Modern yesterday with his (imaginary) girlfriend. He tried to prove she existed by producing a picture of a girl in front of Monet's Waterlilies. It looked to me as if the person involved was just trying to get out of the sight-line to the picture for the photographer.
Time for sweet. My wife declined and now looked a little less green around the gills. Steve, explained he wanted to keep trim for his girlfriend. (What girlfriend!!)
I plumped for the Cheese cake Polish style, which was baked layers of soft meringue, peach & a raspberry sauce. It seemed and tasted more like a Lemon meringue, but with peach rather than lemon, and very nice it was too.
On leaving, Steve extolled the virtues of his dining experience, saying it was the best meal he had enjoyed for ages, going on to say he could wait to tell his girlfriend. (Chat down the phone to a random wrong number more like.)
Pebble Beach is certainly a class place to eat, but I reckon our own Milford on Sea Verveine Fishmarket Restaurant wins by a whisker between these two fine restaurants!
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