The Terrace at The Montagu Arms Hotel

The success of this family evening was down to the doubts concerning the effect of the restaurant being between one chef leaving and his successor arriving being completely dispelled by the high level of fine-dining cuisine produced by the kitchen and the friendliness and expertise of the front of house staff, especially the sommelier, Sergio, who was not only a fund of information about the wines in the flight accompanying the tasting menu but also willing, amongst a number of other highlights, to demonstrate the difference between top New Zealand pinot noir and top Côte d’Or red Burgundy. The snack was a better gougère than most, and the amuse-bouche notable for the delicious creamy onion sauce. There was then something of a hiatus before the next course arrived, although thereafter the pace of service to our round table of nine was perfect. Lovely Scottish scallops accompanied by cauliflower purée, fresh apple and topped with a delightful coriander and cumin velouté were followed by an excellent rabbit terrine with its backing of black pudding, prunes and a clever crispy rabbit bon-bon. Then came tender duck breast, honey roasted but without the honey dominating, endive tarte fine, artichoke purée and a slightly peppery sauce giving an extra element. The very generous cheese course comprised local and French varieties, all in exemplary condition, taking us to the desserts which were a delightful deconstructed lemon meringue pie with a tangy basil sorbet and orange “salad”, and crème frâiche partnering a pleasantly mouthfilling salted caramel fondant sparked by a cider sorbet. Altogether a most praiseworthy evening much enjoyed by the whole family.

It helps, of course, if the sun is shining and you get a table overlooking the garden, but if you add to that a set menu at a very reasonable price cooked for you by a Roux Scholar and a decent wine list at less than London mark-ups, you can count yourself very lucky. While we previewed the menu we enjoyed one of our favourite Hampshire sparklers, made our choices at a leisurely pace and were shown to our properly laid table. We were impressed with the front of house staff who made every effort to ensure our comfort and made sure that my wife’s dislike of hake, which was the fish dish on the set menu, was not a problem by substituting the sea bass from the à la carte menu. A good half bottle of Chablis made a perfect match for both the lovely creamy home smoked salmon risotto which was beautifully balanced against an imaginative fennel and beetroot salad, and continued well with the excellent Cornish hake with its light braised pearl barley, generous sauté of wild mushrooms, contrasting sprouting broccoli and really tasty cep sauce. The sea bass clearly demonstrated its freshness and its accompaniment of yummy pressed potato and black pudding, perfectly done roasted pumpkin and, again, crunchy purple sprouting broccoli all served to point up the splendid fish. We finished with something of a traditional English dessert updated for today’s tastes, a warm pear and almond tart with brandy cream which was attractively light and showed off the main ingredients really well. Good coffee and petits fours rounded off this New Forest lunch treat.