La Mesa — Restaurant in Warwick

Well, what can I say? Possibly the best restaurant I've partaken at and I've eaten at some amazing European Restaurants in my time including in Milan which takes some beating.

Gerald welcomed me and immediately offered wine - I asked for a Pinot G. and he said no, have a glass of Flores De Catalina - which I had, and from on, I just did what I was told, lol. Fab wine - great learning curve. Bettina who was assisting came onto the scene in this small, elegant, friendly, and down-to-earth restaurant that in my opinion outranked all the restaurants I tried in Warwick. It's a set menu and you have what you are given (of course they ask about allergies). Six courses as follows on this particular evening:

Heritage tomatoes with pine nuts and crunchy stuff - how can toms taske so wonderful - OMG - and they did Peruvian tuna sushi style - my tastbuds did an overture on this dish - wow! Crazy Meatball with Mascarpone sauce, smoked cheese and hummus - gorgeous dish. Crevettes to die for - prepared to get in a mess but you get little sachets of wipes. Can't quite read my description notes on this but something like: Lamb shoulder, goats cheese and buttery truffle - which basically Gerald said was equivalent to a posh shepherds pie - posh? You bet - it was orgasmic. Dessert - lemon posset with limoncello and lemon shortbread - wow. I'm not really into sweet things but this was an exeption.

Along the way had several more glasses of the excellent wine. Chatted with Gerald and Bettina and have to say they made my solo visit to their restaurant extremely enjoyable. Wear loose clothing and prepare to diet.

PS - The proprietor was kind enough to thank me via text for this review. He had my number I texted the restaurant the booking. And 'thank you' shows how good this...

We made a visit to La Mesa in July for my birthday. This was our second time dining at this beautiful and truly unique restaurant. We were welcomed back with the warmest of greetings that felt like those from old friends.

The food was out of this world and every course felt like a flavour sensation and left us wondering what was to come next. Gerald (the chef and owner) was very experimental this time and we tried dishes that we couldn't ever imagine would work. Pears, cheese sauce with a balsamic dressing... yeah I didn't think it was for me either but omg did it work or what. Absolutely fabulous. I would love to write in great depth about every course we had but we would be here forever and we both would be extremely hungry after it.

Every course we had was left with empty plates (yes, all 7 of them) and happy tums all round.

I know for sure we will be back again to enjoy Gerald's beautiful cooking and the amazing hospitality of his staff. So we hope to see you...

Lovely meal here, slightly disconcerting not knowing the cost of the meal or wine before hand but I'm sure they'll tell you if you ask - it was £7 a glass of wine and £35 each for the meal itself for us. Service was lovely and homely.

Foodwise, it was good, on our night we had rare beef and curry sauce on supermarket rice crackers, an odd but delicious combo; celeriac soup; prawn in salsa verde, mushrooms on brioche...the let downs were that the bread was cold and supermarket bought imo, the chicken main which was overdone, the parsnip accompanying it underdone (but the sauce absolutely stunning). Dessert definitely felt like an afterthought of whipped cream, caramel sauce and Sauternes but given the size of kitchen and the uncertainty of weekday covers it was always going to have to be something prepared earlier or quick on the go. Overall, great idea, definitely someone's aspirations come to life and well worth the...