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This review was undertaken on
Friday April 12, 2009
We had the
pleasure of visiting the newly revived brasserie on a
Friday evening at the Swan Revived Hotel . Main courses start
from as little as £5.95 and having previously attended many
functions at this venue I approached this review with relish.
Decor
This brasserie
is stylish and spacious. Torch lighting surrounds the restaurant
which is mounted on the beige, wooden walls. Buddha statues and
Asian tablets are displayed on the shelves. This light, airy
room houses comfortable emerald green chairs. A chandelier
brightens the room alongside three large windows letting in
natural light.
Service
Young Amy was
our waitress for the evening and was outstanding. Her polite
manor and patience shone throughout the evening. Every time Amy
took an order or delivered the food she always showed a great
smile. The owner Mark has 25 years of experience at the popular
hotel in Newport Pagnell and has clearly trained his staff well.
Atmosphere
Our review
came in conjunction with a wedding in the hotel, so although the
restaurant did not have all of its tables occupied, the wedding
upstairs added to the atmosphere.
Food
The menu has a
vast array of choices and I finally chose to start with the
Mouls Morinieres - salt water mussels in white wine, onion,
garlic and cream £6.25. My guest picked the caser salad from the
menu which included grilled chicken breast, croutons and
anchovies.
Being a lover
of mussels I knew that I would need some bread on the side to
sponge up the remaining sauce so I also ordered some fresh
bread. The bowl arrived jammed with elongated shells, swimming
in the onion wine sauce. The mussels varied in size and included
some super tasting treats. The creamy white wine sauce worked
well with the melting butter on the bread with a touch of
pepper.
The caeser
salad displayed large leaves, chunky portions of chicken with
croutons the size of mini flat-breads. The zingy taste of the
sauce was perfect. We would go back to the hotel again on a warm
summer’s day just to have this salad. Light, exciting and
incredibly fresh. I asked for the anchovies to be placed on a
side plate as my guest does not like them. I believe they are
wonderful and this gave me a new taste for my pallet…..mussels
and anchovies, an interesting combination.
Penne pasta
with tiger prawns and chorizo in a spicy tomato sauce £9.95 and
a 10oz sirloin steak, with salad and chips accompanied by a jug
of peppercorn sauce £15.95 were the targets for our main
courses. The star of the main course for me was the chorizo that
was popping with spicy flavour and salty juices. The portion of
this pasta dish was grand and included 6 well sized prawns. I
also stole the buttered mushrooms from the steak plate to mix in
with my pasta - scrummy!
The tender
medium cooked sirloin steak had a nice fatty edge and that gave
you loads of flavour. The crispy chips dunked in the sauce mixed
well together. This was another very large meal.
To finish we
shared some profiteroles £4.95 and a pot of tea. The pyramid of
chocolate cream balls came assisted by some fresh strawberries,
dusted with icing sugar and lashings of toffee and chocolate
sauce. This is a dreamy dessert that is for all the chocolate
lovers out there.
The brassiere
has a large menu which will be shortened once Mark monitors the
public’s favourites. The food was cooked well and the experience
was pleasant.
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