The Montagu Arms Review - Quelle Surprise!

Montagu Arms - Idyllic setting and one of the world's best chef's! - Quelle Surprise!

*(Since this review, we are delighted to announce that The Montagu Arms has been voted Hampshire Restaurant of the Year 2007 by The Which? Good Food Guide 2007. Please CLICK HERE to read their comments.)

Leonardo da Vinci said once 'all our knowledge has its origins in our perceptions', and my recent visit to the Montagu Arms in Beaulieu did more than just get me thinking about that quotation, it also provided a much needed wake up call about getting a lot more out of life. You see all my perceptions or should I say pre-conceptions of this Hotel, Restaurant & Bar and flagship of the Greenclose empire have just been completely trashed.

Now for a start, I don't know why I had got it into my thick head that the parking was going to be a nightmare, but I had. Perhaps it's because Beaulieu does get crowded in the height of the season and I had stupidly associated this with a hotel that happens to be situated right in the middle of it. To arrive and discover that in fact a clearly marked sign guides you to ample parking at the rear of the hotel where a pathway leads you down through gorgeous gardens to the impressive building ended up epitomising what became a day full of revelations.

Gardens! Yes I had assumed there weren't any of those either............but of course there are, and not just any gardens, but really attractive ones festooned with scent filling arrays around a feature pond. High quality garden furniture abounds with the requisite Italian style canopy's and the tiered and paved areas creating a great sun trap and a tranquil escape from the hustle bustle only a few hundred yards away.

....and so it is here that I sit with my new friends Emmanuelle Bertin and Shaun Hill, the Hotel Manager and Director of Cooking respectively, sipping a Kir Royal and allow myself to relax and surrender to the mood. Within moments I am hit with yet another pleasant surprise; Shaun Hill was once the Chef at the Gidleigh Park, one of my favourite places in England and what's more; he's cooking our lunch. It was a long time since I had been there and I kicked myself for not putting two and two together sooner. The day was just getting better and better.

After chatting for a while with Emmanuelle and Shaun there in the garden, both whom would appear to have brought with them to The Montagu Arms a certain 'je ne sais quoi', as well as heaps of experience, flair and professionalism in their respective roles, I was taken around the hotel itself. By now of course I was expecting to re-write my impressions born from a few visits many years ago when the place seemed dark and un-loved and I was not disappointed. The impression of a tired and worn old english hotel which had seen better days gradually faded and was replaced with an image of a rather elegant country home, lovingly cared for with a wealth of those so important subtle touches which mark a place out. Fresh flowers everywhere, attentive but discreet service and above all a sense of history respected and the future embraced. Emmanuelle is straightforward and charming if somewhat unassuming, but I can tell you she is a also seriously good at what she does. If I were organising my wedding for example or a very important corporate event, it would only be someone like Emmanuelle I would want to run things. This reputation I have subsequently discovered is widely supported. No stone is unturned and what she says she is going to do just happens. That's it; no fuss, no grey, just voila! Brilliant.

Regretably I was not able to stay for a night, which one day I would very much like to do, and so I can't comment on the rooms. What I can say is that it is very apparent that what one gains in summer with the al fresco dining possibilities and the beauty of the gardens will be more than compensated for during winter with traditional log fires and concomitant golden hue.

As for the dining; well what can I say except that Shaun Hill to this place is like an oasis is to sand, or sun is to wine and music is to love. A chef of some standing and an awfully likeable man, Shaun has been one of the world's top chef's for decades. His positive influence on the kitchen of course one might say is inevitable, but he has gone even further and with the talented rising star Scott McKenzie Foy at the coalface as Head Chef  it's hardly surprising everyone is talking about the restaurant as a serious contender. Not content with a Michelin star and much acclaim at Merchant House in Ludlow, Shaun has clearly immersed himself with customary passion into Beaulieu and boy does it show.

My Partner and I chose from two seperate menus, one being the light luncheon menu and the other the proper a la carte from the Terrace Restaurant. In Monty's a clever mix of english favourites and mediterranean options will appeal to wide audiences and in the Terrace Restaurant the master really gets to show off. I had a fillet of beef poached in consomme which was so appropriate for the spirit of the day. Initially when it arrived it wasn't what I knew....it was different....changed...challenging my expectations. Like everything that day I was discovering something new and again albeit surprisingly on face value I loved it. We'd trusted the choice of a nice white wine to our affable waiter, who excelled of course and by the time I'd handed the car keys over the table in return for a promise to return very soon, I realised that what was meant to be a visit to a place I had been to long ago and discounted as pretty average, was now way up there with the best of them. (Please see below for links to some sample menus.)

Do I have a criticism...yes actually I do. The place wan't full enough. Now that, I have concluded, is as much my fault as anyones, because for so long I have passed it by, oblivious to the fact that it is now pretty darned good. Since my visit in fact, I have written a list of all the places I know of but haven't considered for a while for whatever reason and have resolved to work through them one by one in order to make sure I am doing them justice. In this case certainly any negative feelings were wholly misguided and I am both delighted to have been corrected and sorry that I wasn't there sooner.

If you've never been there then in my view you should. It's romantic and idyllic in setting and for a weekend away from London or elsewhere there are few better alternatives. Equally if you have like me been , but ages ago then you need to give it another try. Whether for lunch, dinner or maybe even one of the many events throughout the year, it is money very well spent indeed.

Thank you MA and sorry I doubted you!

JS

Sample Menus:

The Terrace Restaurant - Sunday Lunch, Luncheon, Wine

Monty's Bar & Brasserie - Lunch, Dinner

www.montaguarmshotel.co.uk - 01590 612324

Fin