The Waterford Restaurant at Elmer’s Court - Abbastanza bene!

Over the years, I have been to Spain's Costa Blanca many times; usually travelling to Alicante airport and then hiring a car to go to Javea where my parents used to have a holiday home. In the early days I used to drive past Benidorm which you could see from the motorway rising up from a beautiful beach in a mass of ugly concrete. Every time I'd thank my lucky stars I didn't have to stay there and vowed never to venture into a place I assumed would be full of drunken English and devoid of character and quality. As it happens, I latterly discovered some of the finest restaurants on that part of the Spanish coast are located in Benidorm and a few great hotels too. The Local Government has really gone to town to make the place more attractive and encourage a wider audience and as a result even the hard core tourists of old who used to spend most of their holidays paralytic; have responded to the improved facilities by toning down their antics and enjoying a holiday they may actually remember.

The Waterford Restaurant at Elmers Court does I'm sure suffer from the fact that like the above, people like me assume that because it is a timeshare resort primarily, the restaurant is either unavailable to the general public or even if it is, is probably pretty ropey. This couldn't be further from the truth as I similarly discovered the other day.

I've been a member of the Leisure Club at Elmers for some time and although in the past when we first joined it was a bit rough round the edges; the facilities have been upgraded and are now pretty good value especially for families with the two swimming pools, gym and all the classes you can think of. The proximity for Lymington and Forest residents is a huge upside although I do think more could be made of the bar/ bistro, which I wish was more geared to al fresco eating in the summer and perhaps a little lighter inside. Given what I'm about to tell you about the Waterford Restaurant then they obviously have the skills in the kitchen to deliver great food.

We were joined by Mark Bramley when we arrived and although my colleague had met Mark before, I hadn't and didn't know what to expect. Mark, who is the Marketing Director for MacDonald Hotels and also responsible for Botley Park led us through the quite elegant wood panelled lobby of what is a very attractive main building and through into the main restaurant. It felt a bit like stepping back in time and the building would be perfect for filming one of those films like The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe or one of the Enid Blyton novels. The smile on the Maitre D' was wide and welcoming, the chairs comfortable and the table decor immaculate.

It didn't take long before we relaxed into a very nice bottle and a fabulous evening with our new friend, (Mark's background at some of the world's most famous hotels has furnished him with quite a repetoire of stories and we were thoroughly entertained by them throughout the evening.)

The food was I confess a real surprise, because it way surpassed my expectations and not because we'd been shown any special treatment either, but because it was based on an admittedly straightforward menu which is delivered as well if not better than you'd expect. The quality of the ingredients was obvious and I think they've got this approach just right. They've catered for every taste without over complicating it or trying to be clever but have focused on presenting the food extremely well. I had a Platter of Loch Fyne Salmon Gravadlax, Prawns, Caperberries and a Grain Mustard Vinaigrette to start and Whole Baked Seabass, Tarragon Hollandaise, Minted Charlotte New Potatoes, both of which were fresh as a daisy and presented beautifully.

I am pretty confident that the quality we experienced will be consistent and I would recommend this place highly. It does feel a bit strange initially, as if you are venturing into someone else's home, but I kind of like that because it's like a little secret that hasn't got out yet. Somewhere you can sneak off to, bang on your doorstep where you can have a proper starched white table cloth meal away from the normal faces; either as a romantic escape or a great fun night out with friends.

Thank you to Mark and his team for our evening which was such fun and hopefully one of many we will share in the future and to view a menu example click HERE or to make a reservation please call 0870 194 2131. (www.macdonaldhotels.co.uk/elmerscourt)