I booked my husband and I in to the Guildhall Tavern for his Birthday, the booking process was quick and easy with extra confirmation requests too. I was called by Whitney a few hours before the booking and she advised that we were welcome to arrive early and enjoy a glass of bubbles in the drinks lounge upstairs before dinner, this was an unexpected touch so we made sure to finish work early for this.

Upon arrival Whitney greeted us warmly and offered to take our jackets before guiding us up to the drinks lounge, advising us of the nights specials and catch of the day before leaving us to relax.

The glass of bubbles each were lovely and we decided to order a half dozen Oysters (from Jersey) with Sauvignon vinegar and shallot dressing along with the recommended Sea Salt & Rosemary Focaccia with sun blushed tomato & olive tapenade and beetroot & caraway hummus - the oysters were large, full of flavour and shucked without leaving any pieces of shell, the focaccia was wonderfully warm and light. The ladies upstairs were all friendly and attentive, nothing was any trouble.

We then decided to order a bottle of the local Sparkling Dorset Cremant to have with dinner, it’s beautifully crisp with fine bubbles leaving a smoothness as it goes down.

We ordered our food whilst up in the drinks lounge, we were then guided downstairs to our table as the starters arrived… Grilled Scallops in the shell with Garlic & Herb Butter and Korean Fried Cod Cheeks with winter kimchi and miso BBQ sauce, both delicious were flavoursome, well portioned and with a variety of textures and flavours on the palette, a great start. For main my husband ordered the Roasted Hake Supreme with herb crushed potatoes, samphire, steamed mussels, chive and caviar beurre blanc and I decided to go for the Pan Fried Fillet of Sea Bream with fregola & prawn pasta, shellfish bisque, charred tenderstem broccoli, pickled fennel included additional sides of Creamed Leek & Barbers 1833 Vintage Cheddar Gratin and Koffman’s Skin on Fries - everything was cooked perfectly, the fish had crispy skin, fine delicate flakes of flesh, plenty of sauce, the pasta on my dish wasn’t stodgy or dense and the flavours of both complemented one another perfectly, the mains were, unexpectedly, rather large so we didn’t actually need the additional sides, we were so full already but the fries were so crisp and hot that I just kept shovelling them in to my mouth, I didn’t want them to go to waste!

Of course we had to have a dessert, no matter how full we were… Sticky Toffee Apple Pudding for me and the Dark Chocolate Delice for my husband, both truly delicious, full of rich flavour and a great way to finish off a meal. To help wash the desserts down my husband had a St Clements Martini and I had the Summertini - well mixed and balanced - fantastic.

Between dishes we were chatting with our waitress (I’m so sorry we didn’t catch your name, you are Italian I believe) as well as Whitney, sharing wedding stories and experiences of where we came from and where we were going in life re. moving, along with Whitney’s heritage, we had such a great laugh with her and the chat really made our evening and was something that you don’t get to experience in many restaurants these days.

As ‘front of house’ Whitney is absolutely spectacular, thank you for making our evening and my husband’s Birthday meal extra special, we can’t wait to return soon!

(I forgot to take pictures of the desserts!)