From the start there was a warm welcome and the staff throughout the evening were impeccable. The restaurant was full but there was no stressing and nothing was too much for them.
We were greeted with Kir Royale cocktails (Fruit cocktail substitute for Carley) and with our meal we had the La Serre Sauvignon Blanc which was a very nice drop. It's light with a bit of citrus and at £17.95 a bottle it is very nicely priced too.
Upon being seated we were given a pre-started which consisted of some well prepared nibbles with flavours and textures that got your taste buds going. There was some refreshing dressed Melon, a couple of wonderfully light puff pastry sticks and some cheesey treats so plenty going on in the mouth and on the plate and that's really the way the rest of the menu goes.
I can only really comment on my meal although we did all (4 of us) choose differently and we did all have a bit of each others. I won't review each dish that came to the table in full detail apart from my own because that would be unfair but I will add small notes for praise and suggested tweaks to dishes by the people that had them.
One thing we all agreed on was that the cooking of each individual component was pretty much spot on and could not be faulted.....unless being extremely picky.
Starters -
Wild Local Rabbit and Meon Valley Pork Faggot with braised leeks and spicy butternut broth
First impression is very good, very pleasing and vibrant colour. The faggot is well sized which given the richness of the meat is good, anything bigger would fill you up too much. I loved the braised leeks they added a slight sweetness to the dish which rounded it off nicely.
The butternut broth which gave the dish such a nice appearance was slightly lacking in spice and could have done with a pinch more. However the other downside was that the bowl it was served in which was quite deep so it mean't you had to kind of dig the faggot out and with the faggot being wrapped in caul this just made it very difficult to actually eat.
It does seem like a petty criticism but I think that if this was served in a bowl in which you could actually get a knife into then it'd be a real winner.
Ostrich Carpaccio - Diner felt there was too much wasabi mayonnaise used on the presentation, could have done with less on the plate and then a separate dish containing extra for the eater to choose to add if they wish. Only criticism to an otherwise lovely dish.
Potted Duo of Fresh and Smoked Salmon - Very nice simple and fresh tasting dish, good smokey flavour that lingered nicely on the palate.
Cornish Scallops and Black Pudding Fondant - Strong flavour in the black pudding and fondant which the diner really enjoyed. Scallops perhaps a little on the small side.
Mains -
Pan Fried North Sea Cod with star anise braised oxtail and oyster mushrooms
The oxtail and mushrooms had a really strong and rich flavour which cod can hold up too although I thought it was maybe a bit too sweet. It had a madeira like flavour which masked any aniseed hint which I was expecting from the star anise.
The cod was presented skin side down which being laid over the oxtail made it look untidy, maybe this was because the skin was a little over crisp (shall we say). For me the fish was a little overcooked too but I do like mine barely cooked, almost opaque so maybe a harsh criticism.
I chose this dish because I thought it'd be a good light option after such a rich starter but in the end I couldn't finish it as it was rather heavy. A nice dish but not a strong one.
Isle of Wight Lamb Two Ways - No complaints regarding the Lamb however in the diners opinion the Asian sauce really didn't work.
Venison Wellington - Huge portion and cooked rare which it needs to be. Left me wishing I'd have chosen it.
Wagyu Beef Burger - The biggest criticism here was that the burger sat atop the salad with in turn was atop the brioche base. The problem with this was that the brioche soaked up all the moisture and became very soggy. Big plus though was the chips. The diner having been to Heston's Hinds Head pub only a week or so ago said LSQ2's were better :-)
Desserts -
Petit Fours -
I'm not a bit fan of desserts. I normally only go for either cheese or a liqueur but as I was still feeling pretty full after my two rich courses I thought better of going for the cheese and thought I'd give the petit fours a go. They are only priced at £2.00 so I was expecting something small.
I was pretty pleased when they came to the table. Four individual bigger than bite size home made delights served on a long dish with some raspberry sauce drizzled over. I had a bit of each before passing the rest around and I felt that it was a lovely end to the meal. The effort that must have gone into creating them is worth more than the 50p a pop they charge for them.
Toblerone cocktail dessert - Diner was in heaven with this.
Rhubarb and Champagne Trifle - Perhaps a little too sweet but it all went pretty quickly!
Cheese Board - Good selection of cheese served up with the usual crackers and grapes. Also had some kind of fruit jelly accompaniment that the diner had trouble working out what it was. I thought it was peachy in flavour with maybe a hint of cinnamon, whatever it was I liked it.
The overall impression of the new menu was that it was perhaps a bit confused. It's very extensive which makes for very difficult ordering which is no bad thing. Each dish has very different fusion elements and whether they all worked or not is down to the individual person. I'd certainly recommend more tasting sessions to really find out what works, what doesn't and if there should be any tweaks. There is obviously a great deal of talent in that kitchen.
LSQ2 will be demonstrating on the Market Place stage at 1pm on Saturday 4th at Eat Reading Live. Check out and like their Facebook page to keep updated with their ongoing offers and future tasting sessions
I'll save my blog about Vintage Roots organic wines until tomorrow as I'm getting distracted by the cricket now......toodlepip xx
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