JOHN MILNE: tops for bargains

Reporter: David Whaley
Date published: 06 February 2009


IT is certainly true that your preconceptions of a meal out can be varied. It could be a romantic meal for two, a gathering of friends, or just a 'let's eat out' spur of the moment thing.

At Table Table restaurants, they claim to have a table and setting to suit all, from small corners to hide away in to a large conservatory.

The John Milne has a very welcoming feel to it as you approach from the car park to the large bar ahead of you.

Right are partitioned areas with off-set seating for some privacy, left are more tables through which you meander towards the conservatory.

Tables of all shapes and sizes - as befits the name - and once we had found a free spot on this busy, bustling early Saturday evening, we saw that the variety spread to the menu with separate sections for grill, fish, pasta and salads and pub classics.

On a recent long walk we had called in for coffee and treated ourselves to a bread board and dips that comprised of walnut bread, cheese loaf and flatbread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar rather than houmous and guacamole.

It had been delicious but with a three-course meal now on the agenda I had to force myself to give it a miss and instead had roasted beetroot and goats' cheese tart with rocket (£3.99).

Not at all heavy and I enjoyed the beetroots immensely while Mrs W was enthused by a same-priced prawn cocktail that was theatrically served on a wooden platter with a large portion of succulent prawns and separate sauce so you could have exactly as much or as little as you desired. Neat touch that.

I'm not exactly sure why I was drawn to the gammon steak (£6.99) with fried eggs (I could have had pineapple) but it was thick enough to attack and didn't last long with chips and peas.

Wendy hit a real winner with her salmon skewers (7.99).

They were a pair of skewers with half a dozen sizeable chunks of marinated fish and peppers and served with a sweet chilli dip on basmati rice.

The combination of the marinate and dip gave the salmon a real zing and we both agreed that while the gammon was tasty, it was totally eclipsed by the fish.

Our aforementioned health-kick somewhat limited our choice in the desserts department but we settled for a merangue 'Eton mess' with strawberries and a very refreshing lemon torte.

Top-priced on the mains menu is a 28-day matured sirloin steak at £11.99 meaning plenty of value to be had here and our total bill of £38 with drinks will help others to think that credit crunch does not have to mean stay at home.

The only blemish was a problem with the card reader which meant cash only. Customers were directed to a 'handy' cash machine in the entrance - that charged you £1.50 for the privilege! A bit cheeky that.

Knocking it off the bill would have been top customer service.

 

Have you eaten here? What were your views? Comment in the box below