Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons - Great Milton, Oxon

Le Manoir Aux Quat'Saisons: Nestled in the picturesque Oxfordshire village of Great Milton, the two Michelin starred Le Manoir claims to be "one of the most illustrious gastranomique and luxury hotel experiences in Britain". Run by famous chef Raymond Blanc, Le Manoir has "charmed and delighted guests since 1984".

Review: I was visiting Le Manoir with two colleagues for a long and lazy business lunch. We arrived a little early and were greeted by a lovely lady who took us through to the lounge area. Our first impressions were really good, a really nice building set in wonderful grounds and a glass of champagne to kick off the afternoon.

After looking at the menu, we didnt need much persuasion to select the tasting menu as follows:

Terrine de betteraves, crème à l’aneth
Beetroot terrine, dill cream

********
Risotto aux légumes du jardin,
tomates de Sicile, mascarpone
Risotto of summer vegetables, Sicilian tomatoes,
mascarpone, garden herbs

********
Filet de barbue braisé, Saint-Jacques sur
lit de poireaux; girolles
Braised fillet of Cornish brill, scallop,
tender leeks, Scottish girolle mushrooms

********
Suprême de canard rôti au miel et à la lavande,
cassis et radis du jardin
Roasted Goosnargh duck breast with lavender and honey,
pickled garden radish, fresh blackcurrants

********
Fine nougatine aux abricots poêlés,
crème légère au Kirsch d’Alsace
Pan-fried apricots, delicate nougatine,
poached meringue; Kirsch vanilla cream

********
Mariage Frères tea selection or Café "Pur Arabica",
petits fours et chocolats du Manoir


Conclusion: The food was absolutely superb, amazing in fact and we thoroughly enjoyed our afternoon out. We absolutely loved this place, Monsieur Blanc deserves and award...hold on a minute he probably has a sackful already including two Michelin stars which he's held on to for years. If you can handle the location and driving or better still getting a car to take you as we did it's well worth a visit. Even better still, book a room and stay over taking walk around the grounds in the morning just before breakfast!! First class...I loved it, as you have probably worked out already!

The Waterside Inn - Bray, Berkshire

The Waterside Inn: Situated in the village of Bray, Berkshire and over looking the River Thames, it is only a a stones throw away from The Fat Duck. The Waterside Inn is one is one of only three restaurants in the UK to hold 3 Michelin Stars. Opened by Michel Roux Snr in around 1974, the restaurant is now run by his son Alain Roux.

Review: This was my second visit to The Waterside Inn, the last being in April of 2007. Our table was booked for 8pm and we arrived shortly before. We were greeted by the doorman whilst still in our car. He very kindly offered to park my car and my guests and I entered the restaurant. We were met by a very nice French lady and told that unfortunately there was no room in the lounge area and would we be happy to go straight to our table adding that it was a table with lovely views over the river. The atmosphere was very warm and welcoming and our table was a delight, over looking the River Thames as promised. We ordered some pink champagne as it was a special occasion (my parents wedding anniversary) and looked through the menu. We opted for Le Menu Exceptionnel, a five course tasting menu along with a bottle of red which for the life of my I can't remember what is was!

Before the main event, we were served a pre-starter which include a nice little cheese puff twirl, some pork belly with Chinese spices and a tuna based munchie with a quails egg. All very nice!!

Our starter was Bluefin tuna and scallops marinated in virgin olive oil and yuzu juice, garnished with a spicy guacamole and lamb’s lettuce. This was absolutely delicious and a great start to the meal with coriander in the dish it packed a punch but allowed you to taste the scallop and tuna too.

Next up was the fish course, a Fillet of turbot baked in a vine leaf, served with white grapes and a “verjus” emulsion. I have to say, this was a little bland and lacked seasoning in my opinion. Beautifully presented, I felt the need to use the salt on the table which is unheard of for me to do in a restaurant of this standard. A little disappointing.

After the first course we were given a refreshing tutti-frutti citrus sorbet as a pallet cleanser which was lovely and set me up nicely for the main course.

Roasted loin of venison in a pastry crust with wild mushrooms, garnished with florets of broccoli, Hermitage wine sauce with blackcurrant vinegar. What a treat this was, absolutely lovely and perfectly cooked. This again lacked a little seasoning, but with a touch of salt this dish was perfection and without question something that I would order again and again.

Finally, we opted for the large selection of French and English unpasteurised farm cheeses with some biscuits and crackers to go with it. As expected the selection of cheese was amazing, it really was top notch and is making me hungry just thinking about it. We had a couple of glasses of port to go with the cheese and some coffee and petit fours to follow. All topped off with a visit from Alain Roux who very kindly wished my parents a happy anniversary. Tremendous.

Conclusion: I never fail to be impressed with The Waterside Inn, the service is superb, very friendly and relaxed whilst being completely professional at all times. The food was excellent and of a very high standard and given how much we enjoyed the evening the chef can be forgiven for slightly under seasoning a couple of dishes.