Simply sensational
5:44pm Thursday 8th December 2011 in Eating Out
Simply sensational
THE HORSE AND GROOM INN, Charlton, near Malmesbury, SN16 9DL. Tel 01844 351496. www.bespokehotels.com/horseandgroom. Christmas Fayre lunch served from noon to 2pm, dinner from 6.60pm to 9pm.
THE Horse and Groom in Charlton near Malmesbury has launched its Christmas Fayre Menu.
Three courses plus coffee and mince pies cost £19.95 for lunch and £26.95 for dinner. There are other places charging five times as much that can’t hold a festive candle to this cosy country inn about half an hour from Swindon.
When we visited I chose home cured Gravlax – salmon – with lemon dressing, which was as delicious as it was beautifully presented.
My companion opted for chicken and chorizo terrine with spiced tomato chutney, and was also overwhelmed by the sheer quality of the dish.
My main course was a generous, tender roast turkey parcel with sage and onion stuffing, wrapped in bacon and covered with superb turkey gravy. The whole thing sat on a large fondant potato in the centre of my plate, reminding me of nothing so much as an icon on an altar – an effect enhanced by the buttered half-sprouts and carrots arranged in a reverential circle around it.
My partner was equally delighted with her double cooked shoulder of lamb with garlic mash, curly kale and rosemary jus. If the gorgeous lamb had been any more tender, it could have been separated into bite-sized portions by simply asking it to do so.
For dessert I opted for the home made Horse and Groom Christmas pudding with brandy creme anglaise, while my partner chose chocolate fondant with vanilla ice cream, and it was at this point that we ran out of superlatives.
Not surprisingly, booking is essential. You stand more chance of winning a Lotto jackpot on your birthday than you do of being disappointed.
BARRIE HUDSON
