9:02am Thursday 19th November 2009
BEING a mere 10-minute walk from our house, Retreat seemed the ideal place to take our wonderful neighbour, Fran, as a treat for cat-sitting during our recent holiday.
Over the years, the building that houses Retreat has undergone several makeovers and its latest incarnation most certainly does not disappoint.
A palette of neutral colours picks out the beauty in the stripped brick walls, and the pendant lighting combined with chocolate-brown leather seating adds to its very “now” feel.
Being one of life’s larks, our friend likes to eat early, and at 7pm we were rather surprised to see not a single table free, so were pleased we’d booked.
Of course, you don’t have to have a meal at Retreat; the extensive bar, which extends to an al-fresco decked area outside complete with patio heaters, offers a wide range of beverages, including cocktails, and the females were tempted by the topical-sounding (cat-related) — or was it tropical-sounding? — Pink Pussycat with gin, grenadine, grapefruit and pineapple.
The menu claims to serve a collaboration of traditional classic meals and modern cuisine, coupled with a unique specials menu, and my starter of stilton and mushroom melt (£4.95) lived up to the first description, while the chicken and pancetta pate gracing Fran’s plate certainly lived up to the second. At £4.99, with lots of toasted baguette and a cute little pot of onion marmalade, it was declared excellent value. My partner cannot possibly resist scallops, so this coming off the specials menu at £7.95 made us feel that we’d certainly done it justice.
Wild mushroom risotto, a 7oz fillet steak with creamy peppercorn sauce (other sauces available) and good old fish and chips made up our main choices, with me enviously eyeing those fabulous hand-cut chunky chips on the other two plates.
The fish menu options included pangasius fillet at £11.95 and grilled tilapia at £12.95.
The unusual theme is continued throughout the lunch menu, with baguettes and wraps being offered, including a meatball foccaccio and sea bass fillet at a very reasonable £5.95.
My two companions just managed to finish a pudding of sticky toffee pudding between them, and the bill, including a bottle of excellent Chilean Sauvignon Blanc at £13.75 and two glasses of Aussie Shiraz Cabernet (£3.75 each), came in at under £30 per head.
We loved the relaxed mood, the diverse age range of the diners, and all agreed it most certainly does live up to its billing to: “offer something for every palate”. By the look of the Christmas/New Year menus on offer, we may be wandering down the hill again in the not too distant future.
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