don't miss out on stylish Bistro (From The Bolton News)

don't miss out on stylish Bistro

12:35pm Thursday 21st May 2009 in

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MY partner and I decided to treat ourselves and dine out in LA — Lower Adlington, that is.

The Bistro is a quaint but stylish little restaurant on Market Street. It’s near the roundabout which can take you up to the railway station or in the opposite direction down to a residential area.

Adlington is a commuter area for people working in Bolton, Manchester, Preston, and even Liverpool and I will wager keeping prospective diners in the village represents something of a challenge for the proprietors of The Bistro.

It has been open for a few years now, and this is the third time I have eaten there. I was not disappointed on my return.

The menu is not enormous, but I think this a good sign. Better to do not very much — very well, than a lot of things — badly.

It was Saturday evening when we visited, and it was not exactly heaving.

However, we were warmly greeted and before we were shown to a candle-lit table in an agreeable position we selected starters of New Zealand green lip mussels (£5.50) and chicken liver, orange and mushroom pate (£5.25).

It did not take long for them to arrive and I have to say my mussels were to die for, having been cooked with shallots, garlic lemon, white wine and flat leaf parsley, served with garlic bread.

My partner was similarly pleased with her pate, served on dressed leaves with warm pitta bread and onion chutney.

This set us up nicely for our main course.

I opted for the salmon florentine (£12.95) which was lightly poached with a spinach, smoked salmon and prawn sauce while my partner chose the peppered chicken (£11.95) — chicken breast wrapped in bacon, topped with a cracked peppercorn sauce finished with asparagus.

Both dishes came with melt in the mouth and ideally complementing sauces. The asparagus on my partner’s dish gave it real class.

Unusally, with two courses down, we were not done. Onward to the desserts (all at £3.50) and I was delighted with my brandy snap basket — filled with Cornish ice cream and fruits of the forest and finished with a raspberry coulis. My partner had the Tiramisu, which she said was so good she wished it was twice the size.

Together with a bottle of house red wine and a pint of Kronenbourg lager, the total bill for the evening amounted to £60.30, which I did not think was half bad bearing in mind the quality of the food and service. OK, it was a quiet night, but goals still have to be scored, even if you are only on the edge of the six-yard box.

Car parking for this venue is straightforward. There is a small one right next to the restaurant, or there is the roadside — meaning you don’t have any excuses not to dine at The Bistro.