JSW

Michelin restaurant in a small town, passionate chef and loyal patrons, my kind of place.

Food

Things started off very promisingly. After munching through the olives and parsnip trip, the bread basket arrived, containing a mix of bacon, rosmary, walnut and raisin, and baguette, all homemade, and warm from the oven. We decided to order the tasting menu, which comes out in sets of 2:

1st pair

• Cod with Curried Mussels & Coriander
• Wild Sea Bass with Ratatouille & Pesto

The fish from both dishes were mild, so it was left ot the sauce to carry the dish over. Fortunately both the sauces were excellent. The curry just tastes like curry sauce, but the ratatouille was soft and the vegetables have developed deep flavour.

2nd pair

• Fricassee of Sole with Girolles & Samphire
• Mushroom Risotto

I guess the common theme here is that both contain earthy flavours, but the sole was again lacklustre. I love the mushroom risotto though, it really picked up on the rich sauce.

3rd pair

• Slow Cooked Lamb with Minted Peas & Wild Garlic
• Pork Belly with Apple Sauce

I had to have my lamb well cooked, which meant the meat became very dry. The peas were very nice as usual, but the lamb was a letdown

4th pair

• Salted Caramel Mousse with Peanut Praline
• Lemon & Tullamen Raspberry Feuillantine
• Gariguette Strawberry Trifle with Earl Grey Tea

I was glad I got to try the feuillantine because I couldn’t eat the mousse, because I love the pairing of lemon and raspberry. The earl grey tea ice cream was a disappointment, if it was earl grey, the flavour was so weak. What I tasted of the mousse was very promising, I wish I could eat more.

Rating - 7.5

Atmosphere

Situated in a converted old house, we were the first ones there, and had the place to ourselves for awhile. It wasn’t until we were onto our 3rd pairing that everyone else arrived, and suddenly the whole restaurant was full. As usual everyone was old, and we were the only young casually dressed people there.

Rating - 1.5

Service

Pretty formal actually. I didn’t like the fact that we were delivered a pair of dishes as once, as the 2nd dish always got cold. Service was quick and brisk, until we finished the 3rd pairing, when everyone else arrived…it was a half hour wait before dessert.

Rating - 2.5

C-factor

The tasting menu was £40…we ordered it because to order 3 courses would have been £37. The portions were not huge, and the food was acceptable

Rating - 1

Brownie Points - 12.5

Info

20 Dragon Street
Petersfield
Hampshire
GU31 4JJ
Phone +44 (0) 17 3026 2030
Website