A La Mode Restaurant at Norwood House Hotel, Newport
Rating *****Cathy Stanworth finds a picture-perfect restaurant that lives up to its own publicity.
finds a picture-perfect restaurant that lives up to its own publicity.
There's nothing worse than finding yourself sadly disappointed with a restaurant after days of anticipation about eating there. Luckily, this was not my experience here.
From the moment I saw Norwood House Hotel's website, describing what its A La Mode restaurant had to offer, I was counting down the days to my booking.
Searching the net for somewhere to try out in Newport, I came across www.alamodedining.co.uk which gave the perfect picture of a hotel restaurant that simply could not disappoint.
Everything looked lovely, from the building itself to the decor in its cocktail bar and restaurant to its mouth-watering menus and what its promised atmosphere would supply - "a beautiful, stylish and sophisticated ambience". It promised to cater for "occasion and society dining" and offered Sunday lunches.
A family-run bed and breakfast and restaurant business, its special offers hinted at how hard the people behind this place are working to attract business.
One of its popular offers is the Champagne Friday menu. A delicious three-course menu for £20 per person includes a glass of Champagne served at your table.
The place is easily found off the A41 and has plenty of parking. On entering the attractive cocktail bar we were warmly welcomed by two members of staff who happily took our drinks order, (a large glass of red for me, £4.60 and a pint of Carling for him, £3), and handed us the menu as we settled down into a squashy leather sofa.
For starters I chose asparagus tips wrapped in Parma ham with a poached egg. Simon ordered the salmon mousse. For the mains I opted for beef pudding while Simon went for pork wrapped in Parma ham.
We did not have too long a wait before we were shown to our table. There were other tables occupied, but it was still a quiet night for a Friday. I liked the restaurant very much and found the staff attentive, courteous and quietly friendly throughout our meal. What I appreciated was that we weren't rushed through our courses, but were given breathing space in between them, which is essential for digestion and full appreciation of your meal.
My starter came on a warm plate (tick) and was delicious (tick, tick). The asparagus was thick and perfectly cooked; the Parma ham delicious and the poached egg light and fluffy and tasty. The white was light as a feather and the yolk nice and runny.
Simon enjoyed his salmon mousse.
When our mains came, again it was delight all round. Simon's pork wrapped in Parma ham looked delicious and my beef pudding looked and was sublime.
The pork was properly, but not overly cooked, and quite delicious, especially complemented by the Parma ham. Simon said he enjoyed his very much. It made a change from steak!
My pudding was lovely. It was a proper suet pudding, generous in size and fully filled with delicious, melt in the mouth beef. It had lots of onions and plenty of gravy and was absolutely gorgeous. Our vegetables – new potatoes with skins on, broccoli, carrots and cauliflower – were also very nice.
For desserts or puddings – however you want to describe them - I chose the Italian classic panna cotta and Simon went for the cheese board. My panna cotta was light and creamy – a nice light choice to follow my main. Simon had a very generous cheeseboard with plenty of cheese biscuits and he enjoyed this very much.
We finished off with a couple of coffees which came with mint and fudge (£1.75 extra).
The whole evening had been a total delight. Everything was faultless. This is a good three-course menu at a very good price – an experience not to be missed!
ADDRESS
A La Mode Restaurant at Norwood House Hotel, Pave Lane, Newport TF10 9LQ
Tel: 01952 825896
MENU SAMPLE
Champagne Friday's Menu £20 a head for three courses
STARTERS
Homemade soup of the day; Antipasti; Rich chicken liver pate
MAINS
Mushroom Stroganoff; Barbary duck breast; Fillet of monkfish with Parma ham
DESSERTS
Raspberry creme brulee; Baileys cheesecake; Classic crepe Suzette
