REVIEW: Wellington Arms, Baughurst Road (From Basingstoke Gazette)

REVIEW: Wellington Arms, Baughurst Road

10:22am Monday 28th November 2011 in Taste and Tell

The Wellington Arms

Baughurst Road, Baughurst, Hampshire, RG26 5LP

0118 982 0110

thewellingtonarms.com

SOME things in life are worth going the extra mile for.

The cosy Wellington Arms is building a fine reputation for fantastic locally produced food which wouldn't look amiss gracing the tables of some of London's best restaurants.

Yet under the management of owners Simon Page and Jason King, the 'gastropub’ is gathering up accolades and glowing reviews. Well deserved, too - diners can be assured of the freshest, locally sourced ingredients on their plates.

When we arrived, the place was already buzzing and we were warmly welcomed by the staff. The evening's menu was chalked up on a large blackboard with the dishes so temptingly described it made for good pre-dinner discussion. The wine list, too, was rather special.

As a party of four, our starters gave us a taste of the good things to come. A country-style terrine of rabbit and chicken was hearty and flavoursome, served cold with fresh salad leaves, mustard mayo and char-grilled bread, baked on the premises. The queen scallops were juicy and sweet, pan-fried in a caper butter, accompanied by aromatic samphire, cooked quickly to retain a 'bite'. The home-made potato gnocchi starter was complemented by sage, pumpkin and walnuts - crunchy and full of flavour. My tiny pheasant mushroom and thyme potpie was sensational. Delicious!

Accompanied a crisp unoaked Spanish chardonnay and a full-bodied Shiraz, our main dishes continued to tantalise the tastebuds. We enjoyed a succulent ribeye steak, bursting with flavour, with home-made crispy thick cut chips; a roasted loin of cod with gnocchi; lemon sole with new potatoes and wilted spinach - both fish fresh off the boat at Brixham; and another potpie - a larger version filled with venison braised in a red wine jus. Just the thing for a cold winter's evening.

For dessert, the sticky toffee pudding, served with lashings of caramel sauce and the pub's own clotted cream, was deemed a culinary triumph. The coffee-addicts among us spotted an Italian delight - affogato, which combined a scoop of vanilla bean ice-cream with a freshly brewed espresso coffee, poured over the ice-cream at the table to create a sublime mix.

The meal was fairly priced (average £8-12 for starters, £14-21 for mains), especially considering the quality of the ingredients, but our only gripe was the paucity of vegetables served with the main meals. Indeed, the potpie, although a delicious meal in itself, came completely unadorned. We had to order vegetables and potatoes to complete the dishes at extra cost.

Watch out for the optional service charge - we failed to notice that 10% had been added to the final total and thus the staff received an additional generous tip.

Donna Jones