www.winchesterinn.com -
This week we dined at the Winchester Inn.It was Saturday night, a table for two at 8pm.At8.15 we were the only diners, I am assuming due to the theatre andother mid-summer activities, as it most definitely was not the food. We ordered Panko Crusted green beans and dipping sauces and The Peruvian crab cakes for appetizers.TheGreen beans were beautifully presented and came with two sauces. Agarlic and lemon aioli and a blackberry and chipotle sauce, which wasdelicious. The fruitiness of the blackberries, although not sweet,worked really well with the slight heat of the chipotle. A Light andcrispy hint of batter made this a very promising start.ThePeruvian crab cakes were 2 small very meaty cakes served with a jicamaslaw and a pineapple gelee. They were also very good. The subtle heatin the pineapple gelee really complimented the fresh jicama slaw, thatwas tangy and crunchy and just the perfect amount.Phew, this was turning out to be a lot more interesting that I had anticipated.MayI pause to tell you we were sat on the front porch, the evening warmand still, the gardens really are quite lovely, and for a mid-summer’snight out, it, so far, exceeded all expectations, company included!! For our entrees we had ButterPoached Kobe Style Sirloin with Wild Mushroom Armagnac Demi Glaze andStilton Croquettes. The beef was perfectly cooked to order, and thestilton croquettes were really very good. The smoky saltiness that ischaracteristic of the quintessential English blue cheese came through,and worked well with the creamy potato inside a yummy crunchy coating.
I had the Crispy Smoked Duck Breast with Vodka Tomato Sauce, Goat Cheese Pink Peppercorn Gnocchi, and Cauliflower Puree.
Theduck breast was crispy and tasty, only just a hint of pink, and Iprefer my duck cooked a little less. I didn’t taste anything smoky. Thegnocchi on the other hand, were out of this word, stand up and applaud,Fantastic. They were the lightest clouds of potato shaped into pillowsand coated in a delicious vodka tomato sauce; there is a hint of heatfrom the pink peppercorns, but really just a touch. I am still dreamingof those light, yet comforting, fluffy potato dumplings that completelyout-shined the duck. The cauliflower puree was pretty much that,cauliflower pureed, but after those amazing gnocchi, it really didn’tstand a chance of getting much of my attention.
So, to desserts….
White chocolate tiramisu with a coffee liquor drizzle and Crème brulee of the day.
Ok,my fella loves his tiramisu, so he was always going to order that. Itlooked really lovely; half-sponge fingers were around the outside ontheirs ends, surrounding the white chocolate cream centre. It was verydisappointing, the creamy centre was very firm, too much so, and youhad to really hack at the biscuits to have any with the cream. Thedrizzle was yummy, but it was liquor, so it would be!
Ihad to have the brulee of the day (or week, actually) which was a sweetcorn and cantaloupe brulee…Hmmmmm, well, what can I say, it wasinteresting. You could taste the slightest hint of corn, the sweetnessof it actually worked, although there was some of the corn texture inthe cream and I didn’t care for that. I really could not taste themelon at all; in short, I would say that if you are going to trysomething a bit out there, wild and bizarre combo type of thing, youreally should be able to taste all those quirky flavors, otherwisewhat’s the point?
Thiswas not my first choice of place to eat out, I had always thought it atrifle stuffy from its appearances, but was convinced to try it out.
Wewere both very impressed; in fact my fella thought it as good a meal ashe has had at Amuse, which is truly high praise indeed.
Iwould like to go back and give the other desserts a try, maybe we wereunlucky, or maybe our chef just was too busy perfecting his otherdishes.
Our Vote: We will be back and will bring our friends along too.
