Reviewer’s rating: **** We first visited Tin House in Wellington not long after it first opened, and now realise that 18 months have gone (flown!) by.After the outstanding food and service then, we have visited several times since – it has been the venue for meals for two, nights out with friends and family, and even one for many hen parties.
Fortunately, my initial fears that a restaurant or takeaway can lose its popularity after making good first impressions, were proved wrong.
But in recent months we have become rather lazy and found a quick phone order, a short trip to Wellington and home with a takeaway from the Tin House chefs has been an easier option. But still the same tasty, hot food with a huge selection of choice has been enjoyed. Its continued popularity is proved by the queuing out of the takeaway door during each visit.
That is also a bonus with the Tin House – the restaurant and takeaway are kept separate so diners are not interrupted by people coming to collect takeaways as they are in so many other such eateries.
We visited the Tin House early on a cold Friday night and the warmth of the small, cosy restaurant was a welcome. We were the only diners at this early time but, as we worked through our three-course meal, others joined us.
The restaurant only seats around 30 diners but during our meal we decided that that was adequate – they had not tried to squeeze in more tables in than was comfortable and a large mirror gave a perception of a larger room.
We were shown to a table of four, away from the door in a cosy corner – a nice touch as so often, because there only two diners, restaurant hosts put diners on a small table for two, despite plenty of tables being free.
We were offered a drink and given a menu to peruse – not forgetting the large bowl of prawn crackers to keep us going.
I will admit neither of us could decide on which starter we wanted, so went for the shared platter for two. As always, I said “we’ll never eat all of that!” as it arrived – but in a short space of time we were finishing off the last of the seaweed.
But before that we had already polished off the largest chicken satay I’ve ever seen, smothered in satay sauce, with prawn toast, spare ribs and prawn wonton.
But if you thought that was greedy – wait for the main course. We were so hungry we failed to decide which we wanted and always enjoy a buffet-style event. In our defence there is over 300 dishes on the menu!
So we ordered chicken kung po, chicken with ginger and spring onion on a sizzler and a beef chow mein, along with two portions of egg-fried rice (we couldn’t remember how large the portions of rice were so thought we’d better be safe).
But after ordering, the owner’s father who is a regular face as the host of the restaurant, returned to our table to say we only needed one rice. How right he was. But what a kind gesture too – so many other places would have allowed us to over order and therefore overpay.
No we didn’t quite finish everything in front of us but we had a pretty good go. After refilling our small bowls many times with a selection of our order, we had a fantastic night but had sensibly left room for dessert.
The chicken with ginger and spring onion was in a light sauce with a generous portion of white onions and spring onions. The flavour was beautiful and is a dish which I find doesn’t tend to fill me up too much.
My husband, John, much preferred the kung po chicken dish which was sweet and slightly spicy but not too overpowering.
And his favourite chow mein was, as always, a winner. Beef was a new choice for us, but we both still prefer chicken or pork.
Although pretty full – we were soon persuaded to try a sweet. I went for the toffee and nut ice cream pot, while John demolished a banana fritter covered in syrup, washed down with some traditional Chinese tea.
Attention to detail and service is what impresses me every time at the Tin House – and the plates and dishes served for us to eat our rice, noodles and main course from are always brought out “very hot – do not touch”.
This allows the food to be kept hot for so much longer as we refilled our dishes a number of times. A cold plate or dish is always a non-starter.
The crisp, clean table clothes; the authentic decor; the relaxing background music; the professional, friendly service, which wasn’t too intrusive; and the fabulous piping hot dishes boasting an array of authentic flavours is what makes the Tin House a fabulous dining experience and one the town and its owners should be proud of.
With a bill of just over £50, we had a wonderful night, and yes it is more expensive than getting a takeaway, but it is also very much worth it.
Contact
Tin House, Wellington.
Tel: 01952 250088
MENU SAMPLE
Starters
Crab meat and sweetcorn soup (£2.50)
King prawn satay on skewers (£5.50)
Main courses
Roast duck with pineapple and pickle ginger (£9.50)
Chicken with bamboo shoots and water chestnut (£8.50)
Desserts
Orange sorbet
Pineapple fritter
ATMOSPHERE
Relaxed and authentic
SERVICE
Professional, welcoming and efficient
DISABLED FACILITIES
Access to the restaurant one step, with three to the toilets, but staff very helpful and accommodating
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