The Britannia — Restaurant in England

Such a find! Fabulous beer garden area behind.

We have since attended again, so this is a second review [can't work out how to add 1 review!].

Anyway, we have to say this was an outstanding experience! Totally blew us away.

From the moment we arrived and were superbly taken care of by our wonderful waiter Daron [I apologise if I have mis-spelled his name] through to the food itself.

Firstly, and I mean this is a "first" anywhere: he greeted us by shaking my hand and welcoming us. A greeting he sincerely repeated with Julia; not in a sleazy way but totally respectful. He then enquired as to our preference to sit inside or out. As it was hot, we elected to stay indoors and were led to our table in the restaurant and seated.

He explained the menu, all the while engaging in pleasant, humorous banter that put us both at ease. We wanted a suitable wine; and when asked discovered he was a sommelier, knowledgeable in the specifics of the available wines and recommended [accurately] fresh, crips and dry Italian Rose.

The menu is good, not extensive but varied enough for most tastes. As is typical for Dorset eateries; the focus is on fish which is not my 'thing' but I opted for the rolled pork with apricot; while Julia had the Duck.

The rolled pork was perfection! I've not had anything like it ever before as it can often be too sweet. But not this one. The dish was a delightful blend of flavours and sensations masterfully crafted by chef. Everything was done perfectly. From the roast vegetables which were still lovely and crisp but not underdone to the individual cauliflower cheese portion that had been finished under flame of grill. The pork itself was smooth and tender. Perfectly roasted.

I felt I was having a fine-dining experience.

Julia's duck was equally wonderful; as duck can often be dry. For Julia; who loves strong flavours; there could have been more - but that is not a criticism as most would have delighted in the subtle flavours.

Onto desserts: I'm a fan of souffle IF done well. After the experience of the main; I suspected we were in the presence of a chef or set of chefs who seriously know their craft, so with anticipation ordered the pistachio soufflé and Julia ordered the apple and gooseberry crumble. Neither of us had seen, let alone eaten gooseberries for decades. We eagerly anticipated our desserts.

And they were stupendous!

Generous and tasty. Truly perfection.

Then, just as we thought it couldn't get any better; we decided to partake of an after dinner 'special' drink. My darling Julia loves Espresso Martini so could not go past their Salted Caramel special-take and it was wonderful.

I'm a single-malt guy and had already picked a 15yo; when I started chatting with our wonderful waiter who spoke of Caribbean tradition sipping warmed, aged dark rum. I do love dark rum, but knew nothing of it. I decided to allow him to educate me; and asked for what he would have, traditionally.

Out came a Brazilian dark rum in a brandy-snifter nestled on a crystal goblet of hot water, gently warming the rum. Meanwhile the vapours were trapped by a folded paper screen keeping the scent within the brandy snifter. I had never had dark rum this way, and I am a convert. Simply the most smooth delicious liquid; the equal or better than the finest whisky.

Both Julia and I were totally taken-aback by this fine-dining experience we had; and have found our new favourite place.

Should you go here? Well, yes you should - but not too many of you as we want to be able to get in too!

We are already booked in for...

We had lunch today at this wonderful new pub restaurant which is now run by Brasserie Blanc.

We were welcomed by the lovely manager Omid and served excellently by our waiter Eddie. The firm's executive is Michelin starred chef and culinary legend Raymond Blanc. The place has lots of different areas including cosy pub spaces one even with an open fire. Plus large open restaurant space. I have put up pictures so that you can see the food, which was lovely. I had the Mediterranean fish soup starter and the chalk stream trout both of which are the best example of those I've had in years. His lordship had the cheddar cheese souffle followed by the burger and chips. He loved them both. He was particularly pleased that the burger was cooked to how he ordered it which was well done. It's good to have a chef that listens to the customers’ requirements. We had a couple of different sides, one was a baguette with dips which was really nice generous portions - the garlic butter one was absolutely delicious and full of garlic so if you like garlic it's perfect. For dessert we had sticky toffee pudding and chocolate delice. Both of these were delicious and also very well prepared and served. Afterwards we had lovely strong cappuccinos. There was a selection of milks available for the coffees which was appreciated. I had the oat which tasted lovely. For drinks we had a gin and tonic which was strong enough to get the other half squiffy even though it was only a single and I had an orange lemonade, which could have been more orangey. I also had the Prosecco rose which was very lovely and light, but could have been chilled a tad more. His nibs also had a small serving of rose which I also snaffled a taste of, this was also delicious and light. Highly recommend this place. The manager said they offer Sunday lunch, so we will definitely be back for that as soon as possible after they...

I've always been a fan of this pub/restaurant and normally its the first place I recommend to others. Sadly this is no longer the case, after a very disappointing Sunday lunch. However it is more the Customer Service, or should I say lack of Customer Service which has prompted me to leave this review. Having had to send the first plate back as the food was cold, together with an extremely dark brown, hard Yorkshire Pudding (very off putting), the second attempt was not much better, limp over cooked veg, a small portion of cauliflower cheese, left under the heat lamps for so long, it had melted into a pot of yellow oil and yet another hard over cooked Yorkshire. Yet I ate what I could and paid the bill. I don't like to post bad reviews so I decided, rather than make it public, to email the company direct to inform them of my disappointment that the standard of food was not anywhere near what I have experienced before from this establishment.

A few days later I received a phone call from the Deputy Manager, questioning me about my comments. Was I sure I had the right restaurant? Was I sure it was on that Sunday? Not once but three times! Not very professional at all, in fact I found his attitude and questioning insulting. He said he needed to speak to the Gen. Manager and would call me back in a few minutes. He didn't call back of course. Instead two days later he sent an email with an offer of a free dessert when I next visited? Firstly, I don't want a free dessert, secondly I doubt very much I will chance being served another bad meal at this restaurant. It's a shame because once they had very high standards both for the food and...