carbon14 Blog

The Star has been on our list of places to visit for a little while now. Nestling among the Howardian Hills, we pass close by on numerous trips around the area.

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Friday lunchtime we dropped in and were lucky and surprised to be seated in the restaurant. Its the kind of place where it is most definitely advisable to try and book, but the glorious weather on Friday meant that a restaurant party had elected to eat in the garden and we were able to take their place.

The menu offers a surprising degree of choice, due partly to the fact that it makes little distinction between starter and main, the majority of dishes being available as either.

given the heat, we skipped starters and went straight for the mains. I chose a pan-fried chicken breast with lemon balm risotto. The atmosphere of the restaurant is cosy country pub, and the presentation of the meal matched. Everything about the meal was simply pub meal, but it was the most exquisitely executed pub meal I have ever had. The 'loose' chicken was succulent and generous served with delicate onions, flavoursome wild mushrooms and a great long streak of saddleback pancetta. All sitting on a bed of rich, creamy and slightly fragrant risotto. Another helping of risotto was presented in a timbale.

The vegetables presented on the side were completely unnecessary, but they were perfectly cooked and leant to the pub-grub feeling.

By the end of the meal I was feeling completely stuffed and only the overheard rumour of ginger ice cream persuaded us to look at the desert menu. I'm glad we did. Unable to decide on a desert, we took the opportunity of sharing the desert sampler, a plate sporting a small version of each of the deserts on the menu, including the aforementioned ginger 'ice cream of the day'.

All in all, it was one of the most satisfying meals I've had for a long time. It more than lived up to its reputation and the marriage of Michelin starred food with the cosy ambience really pays dividends.