the UK Dining Guide
the UK Dining Guide
If you're in the Southampton area I beg you to visit the Jubilee Sailing
Trust. There, in an enormous hanger, a massive piece of sheer magic is taking
shape. If you were ever in doubt that the late 20th century was short on
vision, then see for yourselves this miracle of design, engineering and a
manifest refusal to lie down and be defeated, no matter how
great the difficulties, or the cost. Forget the Millenium Dome, if you
want a monument to endeavour, challenge and aspiring youth here it is,
unfolding before your eyes. The ship is being constructed upside down, and
at the time of writing the ribs were all in place and the planking is
three quarters done. Standing underneath the vast upturned hull is like
being in the nave of a cathedral with a hammer beam roof soaring overhead.
That's quite enough, after all, this is supposed to be a restaurant magazine! But do at least visit The Jubilee Sailing Trust web site if you can't get there in person.
Afterwards, we went in a group of nine to The Olive Tree which
is in Oxford Street, an area that could be described as the Soho of
Southampton. I'd like to have had more time to explore some of the other
restaurants in this little oasis of gastronomy. The Olive Tree is very
modern and metropolitan, with vivid colours, sharp lines and clever use of
space. I particularly liked the central bar area under a circular ceiling,
with deep sofas for lounging around in while you sip cocktails or wait for
a table.
I'm not going to itemise everything that was eaten by our party. My wife, myself and one other were the only "foreigners" - the others had eaten there several times in the six months or so since the place opened. Our friends were very keen for us to try it; I think they wanted us to compare it to similar London restaurants, like Cafe Med or The River Cafe. In the event they were very critical, and unknown to me down at the far end of the table, they even went so far as to complain about one dish. Apparently an apology was swiftly forthcoming as was another bottle of wine by way of compensation.
I began with a mille foglie of buffalo mozarella and beef tomatoes £4.50, very expertly constructed with many layers - the whole thing was cut into square servings well presented with crisp continental leaves and a balsamic and basil dressing. The problem was that apart from the very nice dressing, there was virtually no flavour. I tried shutting my eyes, but I doubt if I would've had a clue what I was eating if I hadn't been told. Maybe this highlights the present difficulty of sourcing tomatoes and cheese with any real flavour. By contrast, my neighbour's tomato and parsly soup £3.40 was creamy and excellent. This illustrates my view that if you want to experience the taste of tomatoes these days, you must cook them - it really does kickstart the flavour. My other neighbour had a tarteletta £4.30, consisting of a generous sized ring of grilled goat's cheese on a pastry base with spinach. It was reliable and pleasant but unremarkable.
Main courses are very reasonably priced, all under a tenner except for the fillet steak. Pasta main dishes are all £6.40. The pasta dish of the day was tagliatelle with smoked salmon and pine nuts' This was the dish that was objected to on the grounds that it was a bit bland and watery. I had a mouthful and thought it tasted rather nice, even if the pasta was a bit too soft and over cooked. My problem with pasta is that every mouthful tastes and feels the same as the one before, so it does nothing for my attention deficiency syndrome or whatever that current designer pscycho-fad is called.
So I plumped for Anitra, £9.40 which was not one but two pieces of confit duck leg with a lovely crispy skin and meat that fell off the bone. The duck had loads of flavour, and the tarragon cream sauce was excellent. I also enjoyed a side order of linguine with rocket pesto and parmesan. It was a pity that no Parmesan cheese was offered en bloc, freshly grated at the table. My neighbour had Manzo, £10.90 - pan fried beef fillet on "a spaghetti of courgette" and wild mushroom and truffle sauce. I wasn't able to verify the ingredients myself, but he seemed to be enjoying it as he ate it with great enthusiasm.
The ciabbata breads, olive flavoured, garlic toasted and so on were particularly good as were the olives, home marinated by chef Cedric Laporte.
Puddings were interesting and well presented, and a bargain at £3.70 each. What a relief: no Tirimasu, Zabaglione or caramel oranges fron a "sweet trolley". Instead, amongst other things, there was a very nice terrine di cioccolata, and a tarteletta made from amaretti biscuits and baked chocolate.
We drank quite a lot of jolly chardonnay and also plenty of merlot, both at £9.80 a bottle. The bill came to £27.00 a head inclusive of wines, beer, mineral water, coffee and service. I thought that was pretty good going. Ooooh! - I nearly forgot the service, which was very charming, professional and friendly.
The Olive Tree, Oxford Street, Southampton. Tel: 023 80343333
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