What the critics say: The George & Dragon, The Seahorse…

14th June 2010, 12:10pm

A round-up of the latest reviews

The Seahorse, Devon
Jasper Gerard, The Telegraph, 10 June

"I start with three Lyme Bay scallops chargrilled then roasted briefly in their shells and covered with crunchy breadcrumbs. They sing of olive oil, garlic and – cleverly, sweetly – white port, but chiefly of the sea. 

"Whoever said prawns are puny should try these wild langoustines, bigger than Mike Tyson's fists and just as fearsome. They are roasted in garlic, parsley and olive oil. Fennel seeds add a lovely anise flavour. Nautical but nice. 

"My main course is calderetta (meaning cooking pot), a Menorcan stew of lobster, fennel, bay leaves and rich tomato sauce. The deep sauce is lovely but while I manage to find about three mouthfuls of lobster, my shirt and trousers seem to have enjoyed a banquet."

The George & Dragon, Wiltshire
Lisa Markwell, The Independent, 13 June

"Scallop and black-pudding salad (£23), meanwhile, is a pleasing combination and if the monkfish wrapped in Parma ham (£16.50) is a little less generous and crisp than I'd imagined, it goes down just fine. The lemon and Dover sole, one for each parent, is the star of the show – fresh and excellently prepared, although it has been taken off the bone and Mrs M senior wishes she had either been offered the choice. 

"The plus and minus columns of this meal are each filling up. Great fish, but chips that are served in a sauté pan – a misleading affectation if ever I saw one – and sauté potatoes which are a little flabby for this early in service."

Gauthier Soho, London
Tracey MacLeod, The Independent, 12 June

"The meal began with complimentary pre-starters. First, some dull chickpea beignets, with an acidic mustard emulsion for dipping, then, more promisingly, a tiny, confited pigeon leg with a thimbleful of sautéed broad beans. 

"The delicacy of Gauthier's cooking asserted itself in our starters. David's seared scallops with lime, celery and a crustacean velouté were precisely cooked; my spring truffle risotto, creamy but still with a bit of bite, was 'properly truffle-y', in David's words, and topped with a glorious blanket of shaved fresh truffle. 

"Main courses were small – effectively tasting plates – and failed to excite; when you've ordered Angus beef, you expect more than two dainty bitefuls, however good they taste, served with spring vegetables and some earthy Jersey Royals. David's fish, a pearly slab of baked halibut fillet with white asparagus, was almost too delicate; 'a bit boil-in-the-bag' was his whispered assessment."

Paramount, London
David Sexton, Evening Standard, 10 June

"Wild sea bass with potato gnocchi, asparagus, samphire and caviar cream (£25) was an enjoyable, luxy concoction, a moderate-sized piece of fish, crisp roasted on the skin, in a creamy, buttery sauce, with a delicate scattering of samphire off the stalk and sc

"Saddle of rabbit, roast leg and confit shoulder, peas, carrots and grain mustard sauce (£22.50) worked too, despite being, in fact, a trio, with the shoulder having been minced, formed into a square patty and deep-fried in breadcrumbs, deliciously. Again, there were even more ingredients on the plate than had been listed, including a patty of spinach and some wild mushrooms."

The Field Kitchen, Riverford Farm
Jay Rayner, The Observer, 13 June

"The main course brought bowls of their new potatoes baked inside paper bags with wet garlic, braised carrots, turnips and kohlrabi that tasted more of themselves than could ever be decent, braised summer greens with wet and wild garlic which threw up layers of brassic and bitter and aromatic, seasoned with Parmesan, and a dark, crusted gratin of fennel and chard which had us scraping around the outside of the dish with the spoon. Oh, and there was some pot-roast guinea fowl.

"They finished by laying out half a dozen cakes and puddings, among them a mango pavlova, a trifle mined with their own rhubarb, a baked custard and a sticky toffee pudding, made to the great Joyce Molyneux's recipe, which was shockingly light."

Warehouse Kitchen & Bar, Southport
Matthew Norman, The Guardian, 12 June

"The inter-course hiatus was brief (apparently the cooks like to be away by 1.55pm), but long enough to notice that the clientele was almost exclusively sixtysomething ladies who lunch. If that was a delight – the Footballers' Aunts market has been neglected too long – so were our main courses. I had miso-marinated black cod with a radish salad, and if Walkers crisps could capture that essence in its new range, Gary Lineker would be ecstatic. 

"My friend loved how his Moroccan lamb shank, couscous and smoky aubergine relish nimbly eschewed any depth of lamby flavour that might have clashed with an enticingly bitter marinade. 'Brilliant,' he said, 'how everything gives the impression of good food, in the way Michael McIntyre gives the impression of being funny. That way, you take it on trust and don't have to think."

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