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This restaurant review was
conducted on September 29, 2009
The residents of Moulsoe might
not like me much for saying so, but the Carrington Arms, despite
being only a short drive from Central Milton Keynes, is
seemingly in the middle of nowhere. For that reason, when I
opened the door on a Tuesday night, I was a little surprised to
see the restaurant absolutely packed. For those of you who have
yet to eat here, this alone surely tells you just how good the
food must be.
Reputations are not built
overnight but word has quickly, with some justification, reached
many of those who love to eat great food in delightful
surroundings that The Carrington Arms is the place to go.
Décor
The Carrington Arms is an
incredibly pretty venue. With a perfectly and dimly lit
restaurant, leaded windows and oak beams adorning the low
ceilings, you will immediately feel relaxed in what is a warm
and cosy environment. You might sample some of the best dishes
you’ve ever tasted here – it’s that good, but there is nothing
pretentious about the place at all. Somehow, despite maintaining
many of the buildings original features, this restaurant
possesses a very fresh and modern look.
Food
We were here to sample The
Carrington’s Autumn menu which is released on October 14, 2009.
The a la carte menu does of course change according to the
seasons and the kitchen have worked tirelessly on perfecting the
following dishes.
First up we sampled the smoked
salmon and horseradish cream with fennel, frisee and dill salad.
The Carrington Arms are always very meticulous about their
presentation and this dish is no exception! The white cream
(with a subtle kick) contrasted beautifully with the square
black plate. The beautiful thing about this starter was the fact
that every mouthful possessed subtle changes in flavour, but the
amazing and powerful tasting salmon was allowed to shine
through. My partner does not normally like smoked salmon, but of
three starters we tried, this was undoubtedly her favourite.
That in itself, when you read on, shows just what a great dish
this is and this will surely be a hugely popular choice amongst
diners.
Seared breast of wood pigeon and
roasted baby onions on a warm potato and Woburn black bacon
salad with wholegrain mustard dressing was next. The pigeon was
particularly well cooked, tender and moist. This was one of my
favourite dishes of the night. You could taste the freshness of
the onions, potato and the salad and I liked the way the mustard
did not control the dish. Many starters can be overpowered by a
mustard or a sauce but this was spot on. The one tip I would
give you here to enjoy this option all the more, is to ensure
you get some of the pigeon, onion, potato and salad in every
mouthful. These ingredients are a marriage made in heaven and
they combined unbelievably well.
Our last starter was the
homemade local chicken and mushroom pie with suede and pumpkin
puree. The incredibly light crust to this pie amazed me and this
was another dish that was so well presented, it was almost a
shame to ruin it. The puree had a wonderful texture and we could
both have eaten this all day long on its own. A five-star
starter if ever there was one!
After a short break we moved
swiftly onto the roasted local free range chicken supreme –
stuffed with sage and smoked streaky bacon on baby leeks, with a
tomato chutney, served with caramelised red onion mash potato.
This lengthy list of ingredients did have me wondering how this
dish would work and after eating it, I am not completely sure it
did. It could not be faulted for quality or presentation, but
for me there were too many players on the plate, all seemingly
vying for my attention. The highlight was both the amazing
chicken and the outstanding mash which had an almost sticky
texture with amazing flavours that kept me going back for more.
The quality of the chicken and the mash make this an outstanding
choice on its own, so do not be put off ordering this yourself,
especially as I would not be surprised if this dish is changed
slightly when the menu is officially launched.
 We
then moved onto the seared Woburn venison with root vegetable
mash, sprouts, chestnuts and red wine sauce. This was another
dish that got the taste buds flowing. The venison could not have
been cooked better – these leaner cuts of meat can sometimes be
tough, but this was tender, meaty and rich. The cuts of venison
were placed on another outstanding mash but what made this dish
all the more special was the sauce, the amazing tasting sprouts
(you have to try them to understand just how good they are!) and
the chestnuts. Again, the kitchen have managed to get a
wonderful combination of ingredients to come together as one.
The smoked haddock and shellfish
pie was the last of the three dishes we tried. This on its own
probably indicated this would not be a favourite of ours. That
said, the fish within the pie was exceptional. I had my
reservations about the presentation of this dish (extremely
unusual for this venue) but this is another meal that is work in
progress. I am certain this will prove a big hit with clients
over the coming months.
The eagerly awaited desserts
were soon delivered to our table and it is worth pointing out
that this is another reason The Carrington Arms excel at what
they do. Every attention goes into every single course. Rather
than be let down by a tiresome and ill-thought out dessert at
the end of your meal, you will almost certainly, regardless of
your choice, taste something that will live long in the memory.
This last statement applied very much to both the cute looking
bramley apple pie and the Cambridge burnt vanilla cream (the
original Crème Brulee) served with incredible shortbread
biscuits. I am certain I could try to copy this apple pie a
hundred times and fail every time! The pastry broke away with
ease when touched by my fork yet somehow it was crunchy and
moist at the same time. The pie contained very thinly cut apples
which were a delight with the compote and cream.
 As
good as the pie was, the crème brulee is in a league of it’s
own. I unfortunately did not get to eat as much of this as I
would have liked – much to my own disappointment, my partner
clearly loved this dessert. If I was given one word to describe
this dish, it would be “perfect.” It’s incredibly light and
tasty and will have you wondering whether you can be greedy and
order another one. The homemade biscuits were again testament to
the fact that the kitchen work hard on every single part of
every dish. What a way to finish an outstanding culinary
experience.
For those of you who love your
cheeses, The Carrington Arms have an enviable selection of
cheeses which you can choose to make your own cheese board. Some
serious thought has gone into producing an exciting range of
cheese and you will also be served a good variety of biscuits
and a superb caramelised chutney. The Barkham Blue was a real
winner with my partner and this has been described as one of the
best blue cheeses in the world. She also enjoyed the nutty
Celtic Promise. The Stinking Bishop, which certainly lives up to
its name, is also a popular choice but you will need to ignore
the smell of this cheese if it is to get anywhere near passing
your lips.
Service
The service was, like the food,
impeccable. Whilst the staff are extremely professional and know
what they are serving, they also make you feel comfortable and
at ease. A close eye was kept on our drinks making us feel
looked after by what seemed genuinely nice people.
Atmosphere
The restaurant was extremely
busy yet somehow the extremely efficient waiting staff never
once seemed rushed. This transcends to those who are enjoying
their meal. A happy and vibrant ambience was evident throughout
the night and with reference to “happy” clients, is it any
wonder when the food is so good?
In summary, everything about
this place is special and will continue to prosper as many more
people discover this beautiful venue and their wonderful food.
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