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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.
The 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!
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