Long weekend in New Forest and Bournemouth

We’re off to visit our friends P&M at their flat by the sea near Bournemouth, and plan to call in at B’s aunt and uncle’s in Lymington on the way back.  I decide to break our journey down with lunch in a pub in the New Forest, so after a bit of research in the Good Pub Guide, I settle on the Three Tuns in Bransgore.

Getting there however proves a bit more of a challenge. First we miss the turning off the A31, then nearly miss the next turning as well.  Approaching the village, we see signs for the Three Tuns Beer Festival which is on that weekend, but then encounter a Road Closed sign – looks like sewer works. So we turn round and follow the diversion signs, and come back into the village the other way – no sign of the pub. The Guide said the pub was opposite the church so we follow signs to a “Community church”, but that is clearly not the place, and then find ourselves on the wrong side of the roadworks again.

So putting pride aside, I wind down the window and ask a lady passing by – but she’s not a local and has no idea. Further on, I have to resort to getting out and asking a passing cyclist, and at last get some directions – “opposite the church”. Anyway we eventually find the place, an attractive thatched building, with a very full car-park. There are bouncy castles and slides outside but we go on  in to the bar. There is a restaurant area as well, serving more sophisticated dishes such as rabbit pie, pan-fried sea bass, and garlic prawns, but as we’re expecting to eat out in the evening, we settle for the bar menu.

The pub is pretty busy and the service at the bar very slow, but finally I get to order – venison pasty for me and chicken Caesar salad for B. There is a range of four local beers plus Doom Bar, but we have the Chilean Sauvignon Blanc and some water – that takes the bill to £37, so not a cheap place. The venison pasty is excellent – full of meat, and more like venison en croute. The accompanying chips though are only lukewarm, and the apple and shredded carrot garnish distinctly odd.  The Caesar salad is full of chicken, anchovies and fresh croutons, but the chicken itself lacking in flavour.

As the pub is “opposite the church” it fills up with guests for a wedding, including a giant of a man who fills the doorway and has to stoop under the low roof beams. The beer festival will feature various musicians, but there weren’t any there at the time. Outside the kids are playing happily, and a hog roast is doing good trade, as a steam traction engine pulls up. Clearly a fun place to be – once you find it.

That evening we are in Southbourne, and after a healthy walk along the promenade we head out to a little local Italian called Café Riva on Fisherman’s Walk, Boscombe overcliff.  The place is very simple, looking more like a beach café than a restaurant proper, but the menu is very varied, and the service prompt and friendly.  To start I have the beef carpaccio – a generous portion with rocket and onion garnish.  B has scallops and chorizo, which is excellent, coming with a tangy sauce. P goes for the mussels – a huge pot, in rich wine and cream sauce – while M decides she doesn’t want much, so chooses the melon and prosciutto, which nonetheless is also large.

For my main course I choose the fish of the day: brill. This turns out to be two large fillets, with green sauce, accompanied by excellent chips. Sadly I only manage to eat half, and although the waitress offers, we can’t really take the remainder away.  B orders the fillet steak, which comes a little more well done than the “rare” she ordered, but is still very good. P orders the extremely rich sounding chicken roulade – stuffed with spinach and cream cheese, in a creamy sauce – which he does manage to finish, but only just. M has the tagliatelle mediterrean – a vegetarian option, which she says is very good.   With three bottles of wine between us the bill is just under £130 for the 4 of us, excellent value for such good food served in unpretentious and friendly surroundings.

The next day we take a foot ferry across from Tuckton Bridge to Mudeford flats to see the £170,000 beach huts. Not for us I think. We arrive for an early lunch at the Beach House Cafe, another place that looks like a simple cafeteria. But in fact again the menu is interesting, and it is waiter service.  The starters look interesting (eg calamari) but we just have main courses.  I go for the fish of the day again – this time it’s hake on mushroom risotto. This is full of flavour, with the risotto an excellent support.  B has the mussels here, again in a creamy sauce, but not too rich. They’re tasty, but not as full and plump as she really likes them.  M has the fish pie which comes in a traditional steel dish, covered in thick golden topping with a huge prawn sticking out – seems like a fine example of the dish. P chooses the aubergine tian, which looks something of a mess on the plate. Lots of tomato sauce is topped with mushy looking aubergine and courgettes, but he seems to like it well enough.  B and I have a bottle of wine, while the others have a local cider – very pale looking, bringing the bill to about £75.

Day 3 and we head into Bournemouth and on the rich enclave of Sandbanks for a little nose around. Properties on offer at around £7 million, but there seem to be a lot for sale, so maybe you could drive a a hard bargain. From there we go into Poole, and choose the Banana Wharf,  overlooking the harbour for lunch. It’s a big place, but pretty quiet on a Monday lunchtime. The menu here is very extensive, so it takes us a while to choose. Eventually P decides on the marinara linguine, at which point the waitress points out there is a “two-for-one” offer on pasta and pizza. As M was going to choose pizza anyway, this is a good deal for us, but rubbish marketing, as there was no indication outside, and we’d been expecting to pay the full price.  The linguine is good, without masses of tomato sauce, and M’s pizza with tuna and anchovies, very thin and crispy.   B has the Eight King Prawns, hot in a garlic sauce – very good.  But the highlight in terms of presentation at least was the chicken fajitas I ordered. This arrives on a specially designed wooden tray, with the chicken (mounds of it) in a sizzling tray and the accompanying guacamole, soured cream, tomato relish and cheese in separate pots at the back, with the wraps folded in a rack on the side.  The wraps were a bit heavy, but the chicken really tasty. We have one bottle of wine (guess what, Chilean Sauvignon Blanc) while P&M have San Miguel.  This brings the bill to £66, again good value.

After lunch we say goodbye to P&M and head over to Lymington. J&E have booked us in for an early dinner at The Mill at Gordleton  just a short drive away. This is an almost ridiculously romantic setting, with a short walk from the car park over a little softly lit bridge across the mill stream to the hotel which is covered in creepers, with attractive steel sculptures spotlit in the garden.  There’s  a terrace area for summer meals, but this evening we are inside. We are first in, so get a lovely table by the window overlooking the garden, but the place does fill up pretty well for a Monday night.  Inside the décor is a combination of attractive paintings and some rather large and garish silk flowers, but the overall style is very polished – much more so than any of our other meals this weekend.

Three of us order from the set menu, but B chooses from “Signature” a la carte menu. She has the Asian spiced gravadlax of organic salmon with cucumber raita and chilli naan to start.  The salmon itself is nothing remarkable, but the accompaniments are good, and it is elegantly presented.  For main course she has the Devonshire duck breast in a cherry brandy sauce.  This is a large portion of beautifully pink duck, which comes with sweet potato fondant and  buttered greens. Definitely a good choice.  

Both J&E have the goats cheese starter, which is an ample portion, while I have the curried parsnip soup of the day – a rich warming broth. E and I then have the salmon and prawn “en pappiette”. This is a dramatic presentation of lightly charred parchment (not edible – we tried!) enfolding the fish, with potatoes and courgettes in a light sauce.  J orders the lamb, and asks for it not too pink, which is how it arrives. The main courses are accompanied by a dish of seasonal vegetables (ie nothing very interesting) nicely cooked al dente.

For dessert, I have the crème brulee – another large portion which I don’t finish – J has ice cream with ginger, and E a sorbet.

The wine list starts at £18 for the house wines (Pinot Grigio and Malbec), there are special offers on bin-ends, and a good range of wines by the glass. We chose an Argentinian Viognier (Alma Mora, San Juan 2009/10) at £22, and we also had two bottles of water and coffees.  

Several of the waiters were quite young and probably inexperienced, so were a little hesitant, but this didn’t really detract from a lovely evening. The owner was at one table with her daughter and friends, and happily chatting to the guests. And to top off the romantic style, as we were leaving we saw that one couple had been presented with a plate of chocolates, with “Happy Anniversary” written in chocolate around the edge.

The set menu was good value, so all this luxury came to just £174 for the 4 of us – you just need to find a romantic partner!