JSW Petersfield

[thampik]

Went last week to JSW (http://jswrestaurant.com/index.php) after the gap of a couple of years......Considering that the last time I was there, me & the wife ate a really good (and stonkingly good value) tasting menu, expectations were high.

Firstly they have moved and the new premises (just around the corner from where they were) are very much to my taste. When I see simple but elegant and non-ostentatious decor (reminded me of the Fat Duck before they got their third star - not sure what it is like now), I am already thinking that most of my hard earned money is going towards the food! The tables are also spaced apart very generously so there is no temptation to lean over and try a bit of something from the adjoining table.

Having read that JSW had a very good selection of wines from Alsace we were of a mind to try a Gewurztraminer - however the (very good) sommelier suggested a wine that we had never tried before - Auxerrois Moechreben Rolly-Gassmann - £38. Described to us as an interesting wine with a spicy edge, it certainly lived up to its billing. I heartily recommend trying it.

As the monthly budget would not allow a reprise of the tasting menu, we (plus 12 year old daughter) settled for a set lunch at £19.50. I (and the daughter) went for a starter of Rabbit cooked three ways and a main of Shin of beef with truffled mash. The wife chose a starter of Turbot and a main of slow cooked lamb. As you would expect of a 1 Michelin star restaurant, everything was cooked beautifully. I was a teeny bit disappointed (maybe it is just high expectations) with the Shin of beef as it was all very rich and seemed to cry out for a contrasting taste. (As a complete aside, I tried out a recipe for braised blade of beef from David Everitt-Mathias' book Essence this weekend - served with blanched spring onions. A similarly rich dish as the Shin at JSW, but really transformed by the spring onion!). The wife had nothing but praise for her starter and main course. We emerged happy, well fed and content with life.

I recommend you try JSW if you live at all nearby - the prices are very reasonable, the cooking is excellent and the new restaurant is a lovely and tranquil setting for a meal. When you think that it would cost nearly the same to eat two courses at the local (gastro?) pub, this is an absolute bargain...

[SaladFingers]

I must admit to have in wanted to visit JSW ever since seeing the chef's effort on the GBM. His take on the traditional roast just looked like the nicest thing ever, to me. I'm yet to justify making an 11 hour train journey to sample it though.

[food1]

Didn't know he was on GMB??

[food1]

Or should I say GBM!!

[thampik]

I must admit to have in wanted to visit JSW ever since seeing the chef's effort on the GBM. His take on the traditional roast just looked like the nicest thing ever, to me. I'm yet to justify making an 11 hour train journey to sample it though.

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I guess it would need to be a 3* to deserve that

[SaladFingers]

Or should I say GBM!!

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He was in the prelimenary rounds when Matthew Fort visited 4 restaurants from each region.

[food1]

Right, ok, must have missed that one.