If you visit
a restaurant which has the courage to remark at the top of their
menu that “We will only ever serve food we’d be happy to be
served ourselves” then you might feel they either have a lot of
balls, or quite simply, they know they’re good at what they do.
This was the message at the top of the menu for The Black Horse,
Woburn, and the latter very much applies. It’s difficult to find
anyone who has a bad word to say about this establishment, and
after my visit…..I realised why. My guest and I arrived on a
Tuesday evening to what was already a heavily populated, but not
crowded restaurant. How many places do you know that would be
this busy on a Tuesday?
We decided to
have a drink in the beer garden first, which runs along the side
of the pub. A long, narrow garden is both tranquil and relaxing.
We took the opportunity to view the menu before being seated and
were already excited about what was on offer.
Décor
A small and
cosy bar greets you to the left when you enter the pub. The
restaurant, like the beer garden, is reasonably long and narrow.
The tables are chunky, well spaced and the lighting is perfect
in helping to create a warm, friendly ambience.
Food
There is a
good choice of starters, and I was impressed that some of these
could be ordered as mains too. I chose the Confit Lamb Belly,
Baby Peas, Green Beans, Cherry Tomatoes and Mint Dressing
(£6.50). This was an amazing dish. The lamb simply fell apart
when cut, and in my ongoing pursuit for “tasty” food, this
simply beat the lot. Well presented, this dish was complimented
by the perfectly cooked vegetables and proved a wonderful start
to my meal. My guest ordered the Bacon, Beetroot and
Goats Cheese Tart, Mixed Leaf Salad (£5.75). This was, according
to my guest, a dish that “melted in the mouth and was simply
fantastic.”
For mains I
decided to try the Breast Of Duck, Sesame Seed, Green Beans,
Buttered Jersey Royals, Gooseberry Jam (£14). I cringe if anyone
orders duck well done, but I am also wary if it arrives too
pink. Need I have worried? Not only are the ingredients
incredibly fresh, the Chef knows how to cook his food. The duck
was tender, not over cooked and extremely well presented. A word
of mention also has to be given to the Jersey Royals. Full of
taste, my only complaint was that there couldn’t have been more
of them with the dish. My guest chose the Crispy Pork Steak,
Sauted Shallots, Aubergine, Courgettes and Roast Tomatoes
(£13.50). My guest went unusually quiet and said very little to
me during this part of the meal. This was clearly another fine
dish which, upon completion was according to my guest, “A must
try for anyone coming here."
The Black
Horse has an extensive wine selection. With my choice of food,
the Côtes du Ventoux, Les Sablons, Terraventoux France (£16.00)
stood out for me but I decided to go on my waiter’s
recommendation. With much delight, he chose the same! This wine
is described as easy-drinking, characterful Syrah Grenache blend
from the foothills of Mont Ventoux. I am not totally sure
“characterful” is a real word, but I’d recommend anyone to try
this wine. It has a wonderful aroma and as far as “easy
drinking” goes, this is as easy as it gets! For desserts I was
now full but I was delighted to see there was a choice of Creamy
Hot Chocolate & Marshmallows (£3). On arrival, this doesn’t look
like a hot chocolate you can drink. You’ll need your spoon to
remove the delicious cream and marshmallows before getting to
the creamy chocolate.
What a
pleasant change this was to end my meal - something sweet and
incredibly tasty, yet not too filling. My guest (a chocoholic
like me) plumped for the Chocolate Tart and Mint Choc-Chip Ice
Cream (£5.00). This dish did not last long! The two “combined to
perfection” according to my guest who not for the first time of
the night uttered the words “Wow!”
Service
The staff at
The Black horse clearly know their job and go about their
business in a polite and professional manner without becoming
too much of an influence on your meal or your evening in
general.
They were
there when we needed them and simply helped to make the evening
flow. In a nutshell….first class.
Atmosphere
How many times will we blame a poor atmosphere on the night of
the week? How many times will we say “it was quiet but it was a
Tuesday?” Well there was no chance of doing so here. The
establishment was packed with happy, smiley people who were
clearly having a great time. The tasteful music is accompanied
by a light buzz of chatter and laughter and this is definitely
the place to be.
Compliments
to the Chef! |
