Here is my restaurant review for a great eaterie in Marlow, about 15 minutes drive up the Thames from Windsor.
The restaurant is the former home of the poet T.S.Eliot. who famously wrote in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" about the stifling lack of emotion that is the curse of the English.
Thankfully times have changed and the food at the Vanilla Pod is anything but unemotional. It really is a feat for the tastebuds and eyes. When Guardian writer Matthew Fort ate here a couple of years ago he said he was "inclined to think that we may be on the verge of a golden age of British restauranteuring". We decided to go and check if this still held true.
| Our monthly newsletter features discount vouchers for restarants in Windsor. Its free, so sign up today. |
We were warmly welcomed into a small room (seats only 30), sat at a small table and ordered a large bottle of wine. We chose the seven course taster menu which was listed at £45.00 each.
An amuse bouche starter of an espresso cup full of a wildly rich soup
Seared Scallops with Vanilla Pear Compote was a little too sweet for my palette
Lemon Risotto with Smoked Salmon was absolutely brilliant. Modern poets should be sriblling entire reams of A4 in its praise.
Steamed Sea Bass on Linguini with Saffron and Vanilla Cream very well cooked and beautifully presented. The vanilla cream was rich but thankfully it was a drizzle rather than a sloshing.
Roasted Fillet and Confit Belly of Appleton Pork with Mango, Apple and Golden Raisin Chutney . Totally brilliant take on a traditional roast. Very very good. I would love to eat this main dish again and again.
Raspberry Crème Brûlée competently done
Mrs B went for a Lemon Grass infused Peach Soup with wild Berries that was simply amazing. Perfect for a hot evening it was without question one of the finest deserts I have ever tasted.
Cheese course was a single sliver of something solid with a bit of chutney.
The coffee and petit fours were lovely.
Overall I was very impressed and will definitely go again. My one criticism was that having named their restaurant the Vanilla Pod, the menu has been perhaps a touch too heavy on the vanilla, which appears in one too many courses. This is a minor niggle, since by the end we were both wellfed and very happy with the evening's fayre.
Let us go then, you and I (as T.S.. Eliot might have put it), to where the women come and go, talking of The Vanilla Pod in Marlow.