Back to The Briny.
No alcoholic drinks for us at a weekend lunchtime. Just sparkling water. We were seated at a really nice table and the weather outside was excellent - super cold but crystal clear.
At one point a dining family sat outside with their giant fluffy dog:
My husband and I opted for a mix of small plates. My son had a small and a large plate.
Langoustine Soup £12
Sourdough | Rouille | Aged Parmesan
This was very nice. But would have been nicer if there were a few chunks of langoustine involved or a small langoustine on top. Langoustine does not feature anywhere else in their menu, so why they have this soup featuring is a bit of a mystery to me. The rouille-topped bread was amazing.
Chalk Stream Trout Gravalax (sic) £12
Horseradish Cream | Beetroot Relish | Treacle Soda Bread
I’m not a fan of cured fish but hubby enjoyed this. I hate a bite of the treacle soda bread (served as a tiny warm ball) which was excellent.
Dorset Crab Cake £13
Apple & Coriander Salad | Brown Crab Emulsion
This was the one ‘miss’ of the meal. Too bland and overpriced. Crab bits not chunky at all. Needed some thinly sliced chillies or something spicy to liven it up.
Wild Mushroom Arancini (VG) £10
Allium Velouté | Pickled Leek
No photo. The pedant in me grinds her teeth when the description says arancini and they serve a single arancino (but perhaps to be expected after the ‘gravalax’). The penny pincher in me weeps when that single ball of rice with a bit of mushroom costs £10. Son enjoyed it very much so at least it wasn’t a miss.
Beef Sirlion £32
Beef fat fondant| Grilled Roscoff onion| Beef croquette
Skin-On-Fries £5
Seaweed Salt
I stole a few of these fries - perfectly cooked. I like that the malt vinegar was brewed, aged and bottled at The Old Nuclear Bunker in Cornwall!
Roasted Heritage Carrots £6
Black Garlic Ketchup | Crispy Kale
These were very moreish and made us feel good about eating some vegetables.
Choux Bun £10
Eggnog | Pear | Spiced Chestnuts
This was a nice dessert but the spiced chestnuts were missing in action.
The service was slightly ‘off’. A pleasant enough young person was the main server but they weren’t really switched on and other members of staff kept having to step in belatedly or be requested by us for things. At one point a slightly severe older man started whisking away our finished plates etc without any interaction at all. He was quite abrupt and at one point a knife flew off the plate and onto my son’s jacket he had draped over the spare chair. There was not a word of anything like oops or sorry from the severe man. It was a bit bemusing and off-putting and probably contributed to my son not feeling like he wanted dessert. But having visited this restaurant quite a few times in the past several years, the service is probably their weakest aspect.
