Anyway, there are a few chain restaurants in Reading that I do love, Loch Fyne being one of them (Bill's and Las Iguanas being another two, for anyone interested!), so when I got an email from Loch Fyne saying that they were doing a preview night of their new menu, I was quick to book a table.
The menu was only £19.95 for three courses (a bargain by Loch Fyne price standards!), and featured a small selection of dishes which will be on their new menu.
 |
| A menu that I took home and now has pride of place on my menu wall (also featuring Dinner by Heston, Meat Liquor and any other paper menus I have managed to steal) |
For starter both James and I went for the tempura battered soft shell crab:
It was really good, non greasy, batter and every now and again you got a burst of coriander which is my absolute favourite herb, so it was delicious! I wasn't overly keen on the marmalade though (it was a bit too sour and sticky) so I might have preferred a sweet chilli sauce.
My dad had the chicken liver parfait...
...which was very rich and creamy just as you'd expect! And my mum had the Pan fried bream fillet:
I had to look up what brandade was - apparently it's a mix of salt cod and olive oil and is usually eaten with bread, hence the bread base here. My mum really enjoyed it and said the bream was lovely.
For main, James and I chose the same again (my dad was saying it was a smart move of James' as he then didn't have to wait for me to take a picture of his meal before he could eat!!) - the chorizo and monkfish risotto:
I think chorizo is one of my favourite ingredients as it can liven up any meal (although Christopher would disagree and thinks it is overused!!) and it was no exception here. It was beautifully spicy and matched the meaty monkfish really well. Also they weren't stingy with either the monkfish or the chorizo, which was something I had been worried about! Lovely soft and creamy risotto too.
My dad went for duck (as you do in a fish restaurant)
Again, he got lucky with the side of creamy mash (I really must have some soon!), and also said the duck was delicious - although he did have it well done which I would not have had!!
My mum went for the tuna, which would have been my second choice after the risotto:
The tuna was very rare which my mum said scared her a bit at first, but she actually really liked it in the end (another convert!). It seemed like a really light and well balanced and flavoured dish.
Now onto pudding, which sadly we weren't quite as pleased with....
My mum and I both went for sticky toffee which was the best of the bunch
I actually thought it was great, and the only complaint my mum had was that there wasn't enough sauce, which I can sort of see but also she is obsessed with sauce and would probably just drink it out of a glass!
The more negative comments came from James' chocolate tart and my dad's rhubarb and custard cheesecake.
Despite looking pretty (in the tart's case, not quite sure if the cheesecake deserves that accolade), my dad said the cheesecake was bland and hardly tasted of rhubarb, and James' tart really was not good. Both me and my mum tried a bit and the chocolate filling was a foam like texture, and was really bitter - it wasn't great at all.
However, overall the meal was very nice and good value for money, the interior of the restaurant is lovely, and the service was very good. Loch Fyne in Reading is situated just next to the river but away from the main group of restaurants on the riverside, and is an absolutely lovely building.
Blurry photos but look how nice it looks at night!
0 comments:
Post a Comment