Goose Fat & Garlic

helencb

Neither fish nor fowl 30th August 2008

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The restaurant is well situated within the village of Sawbridgeworth, and occupies a prime corner position. It is warm and inviting from the outside and the ample glass windows show off a contemporary restaurant that certainly draws you in. We did book last minute and had an option of 700pm and 930pm on the Saturday night. The restaurant is popular and it is understandable that they want to do two sittings, although personally we took the 700pm slot, which was preferable for us.

We were recognised on arrival and offered the choice of taking our table right away or seating in the wine bar. We chose the latter. This restaurant has an enviable menu of Champagne Cocktails, Mocktails, Martini cocktails and short cocktails, as well as a wine list which will satisfy the fussiest of customers. We all opted for Kir Royal champagne cocktails and found ourselves a table. Service was swift and attentive and we had been given our table number on arrival, so we could charge to our table without fuss.

The wine bar side of the restaurant also serves tapas, and while we did not sample this, a glance at the menu reveals a choice of over 20 tapas dishes. This is a recent introduction to their services, and personally I always find tapas a welcome snack if it is a drinks only night.

The décor was contemporary, with dark woods and wood floors and warm colours complementing the comfortable high back dining chairs which were in a combination of styles. The place itself was full, but not overly so. We had a choice of stools at the bar, or a table while in the wine bar side of the restaurant. The Kir Royals were fantastic, and I think this was in part to the glasses that they were served in; very tall and elegant, making this a long drink. (so we had another!). I have always had the view that half the enjoyment of a good wine is how it is presented and served.

We were shown the way to our table, which was comfortable for four people and the restaurant was laid out in such a way that we did not ever feel we were too close to other diners, and couldn’t talk freely. The restaurant is not particularly huge, and I doubt it could be much more than 50 covers.

The menu is Modern British in style with an ample choice of starters and mains (at least 12 of each). There were decent vegetarian options, as well as plenty of fish and meat dishes. We were quite boring in that three of the four opted for a fresh crab and crayfish starter with dill mayonnaise under a blanket of oak smoked salmon. They all cleared their plates. I was the odd one out and opted for beer battered King Prawns with a garlic mayonnaise and salsa dip. They were absolute heaven!

We managed to get a little more variety in our main courses, and between us we opted for Sea Bass, Duck, Fillet Steak and Monkfish. I had the Monkfish which was served deep fried in a light crumb with pak choi and spring onion mash with an unusual kumquat marmalade. I didn’t sample the other dishes, but the fact that no one left anything on their plates speaks volumes.

Our starters averaged around £7.50 each, although there were options ranging from £4.95 to £11.50 for mussels. Mains were from around £11 for vegetarian options to around £18.95 for the fillet. These prices are obviously higher than the average pub meal, but the quality of the food, and the presentation on white square plates made this an enjoyable feast.

We chose an excellent NZ Sauvignon white to accompany our meals, and it was just to our taste, although unfortunately it was the last bottle. (I must order a case from the internet). The restaurant did recommend an alternative for our second bottle, which was also most enjoyable.

We did eventually take a look at the pudding menu, as we did not want to offend Chef :P Sis and I opted ‘only’ for a specialty coffee but we did share in our partners’ desserts….I have to say, the passionfruit Crème Brulee was the nicest crème brulee I have ever eaten, with a crispy top which tasted like bonfire toffee yet a subtle passionfruit flavour to the dessert below.

Vegetable dishes were charged as extras, and while we had a couple of portions of sautéed courgettes between us, I don’t think I would have been overly disappointed with the portion size regardless.

Altogether our bill for four adults was £230, with approximately half of that being on drinks (8 Kir Royals and 2 bottles of good wine). Given that main courses are perhaps £5 more expensive than the average chain pub menu, we felt that was reasonable value for money, if not somewhere you would go every week.

Additional Services
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If you are local, the restaurant has a member card, which saves 10% off menus on certain days. They also do special events such as Jazz nights.

You can buy gift vouchers for a friend, or purchase a “Chef for the Day” Package for which includes a meal for two, and is excellent value for money. Or if you want to release your inner Tom Cruise, you can have Cocktail making classes too.

Recommended. 9/10