Orwells at Shiplake

[david goodfellow]

Ryan Simpson's new venture will be up and running at the beginning of next month.

The website is in its early stage but there is a bit of information on there.

http://www.orwellsatshiplake.co.uk/

[JudyB]

We never made it to The Goose at Britwell Salome before Ryan left, but we did make it to Orwells in May.

It's too late now for a proper write-up, but we did have an excellent meal, and here are some pictures to keep you going:

Appetizer: Confit Salmon with horseradish and Marie Rose sauce

Starter: Crab Cocktail with Marie Rose sauce and soda bread

Mains:

Sea Bream with asparagus, crushed potatoes

Sole with crushed peas, rostis and caper butter sauce

Desserts:

Rhubarb crumble with Tonka bean ice cream

Chocolate Pot with toasted brioche

[david goodfellow]

Thanks for that report JudyB, not been yet, perhaps soon.

I,m assuming that you ate from the "Orwells menu" not the "The Room" menu, as I say we have not been yet but I understand "The Room" is the consevatory.

The desserts look generous portions, according to the website they do a dirt cheap lunch deal for £10, very similar to the very popular Hand and Flowers one which was well covered on here last year.

Clearly your a lot, lot, closer than me, perhaps on your next visit you could report back on that one, no pressure, just a thought

[JudyB]

Thanks for that report JudyB, not been yet, perhaps soon.

I,m assuming that you ate from the "Orwells menu" not the "The Room" menu, as I say we have not been yet but I understand "The Room" is the consevatory.

The desserts look generous portions, according to the website they do a dirt cheap lunch deal for £10, very similar to the very popular Hand and Flowers one which was well covered on here last year.

Clearly your a lot, lot, closer than me, perhaps on your next visit you could report back on that one, no pressure, just a thought

Yes, that was the "Orwells" menu and not The Room. Although I suspect that we are quite a bit nearer than you - it's about a 45 minute drive from here - we are unlikely to make the £10 lunch since it is only Monday to Friday .

[leecotton]

I ate here on Saturday and found it to be very nice indeed. We ate in the Pub part as opposed to the smarter "room", but it's still quite nicely furnished with tablecloths, etc.

Starters were a lovely bowl of mussels in a pernod and cream sauce (delicious), and a rabbit meat scotch egg (also very tasty, but a bit small as it was only using a quails egg).

Mains were a lamb belly with champ, which went down very well on a cold winters day, and a Muntjac and Hazelnut burger. The burger was disappointing as muntjac is a very lean meat, and no extra fat was added to the burger mix, making it dry and crumbly. Still, the accompanying chips and mayo went down a treat.

For dessert we had the warm chocolate tart (perfectly done) with Guinness and blackcurrent ice-cream, which seemed like a bad idea at first, but in the end went extremely well with the chocolate.

Service was friendly, and prices not bad. I will certainly go back to try the fine dining side of it sometime. It's a bit out of the way, but worth a detour in my opinion.