Beauberry House

David T. ( Over 60, Male, United Kingdom )

Having originally booked for 4 people, we changed this to 6 a few hours before we were due to arrive. My wife said the telephone staff were fine.

We arrived a few minutes after 8pm on Thursday, to find the receptionist on the phone. My impression was that she was talking to a friend. My daughter said that the receptionist had mentioned the number of covers (35), so it is possible that she was reporting to her boss. Either way, we were kept waiting for several minutes while she finished her leisurely call.

We were then shown to our table.

My wife and I have been coming here infrequently ever since it opened as Belair House some years ago. The basic design concept of minimalist modern white in a fabulous Georgian house has remained the same, although the general standard, and probably expense, of the décor has gradually improved. Originally, as Belair House, it was ridiculously expensive for out of town and fairly average food, with the result that our visits were infrequent. My oldest daughter suggested that the place would benefit from a little dusting on the ledge behind the white banquette she was sitting at. Also, it was strange, on a warm June evening, to find a radiator slightly warm, as though it had only recently been turned off.

While the waitress handed out the menus, I was explaining to my family that the last time we came, and the reason we had not been for a long time, the menu was a weird and unpleasant attempt at a fusion of French and Japanese, but that, based on the Square Meal review, I believed they had given up this abomination. On opening my menu, I found a weird and unexciting attempt at a fusion of French and Japanese! The trouble was that I, and most of the family, found it difficult, on the basis of the menu, to find anything that we particularly wanted to eat. In the end, for the mains, 3 of us, myself included, settled for the least oriental, beef fillet with pepper sauce and dauphinoise potatoes (£5 supplement). Two others had fish and one daughter had the pork.

When we arrived, there was a large party of around 15 plus possibly 3 tables of 2. During the evening, the number of couples never exceeded 4, although a couple of tables were used twice. There seemed to be 4 front of house staff plus the receptionist.

We ordered still, sparkling and tap water and all of these turned up quickly. Shortly after, I ordered a bottle of Spy Valley Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand), which I remembered fondly from Origin (RIP), although they sold it for some £10 less than the £36 charged here. That, too, came quickly and was as good as, but no better than, I remembered it. Three of us had some and the bottle was placed in a chiller with bottles from 2 other tables, a practice I am never totally at ease with.

Whilst waiting, a nearby table had… More