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PENDOYLAN
The Red Lion
We were lucky enough to review The New Red Lion gastro pub in Pendoylan early last year and when owner and Head Chef Kami Soroush invited us again this year, we were intrigued to sample his new menu to see if our last visit could be equalled. We didn’t expect to be blown away by what was on offer... that just came as a matter of course.
For those of you who didn’t read the review or haven’t visited the restaurant, it can be found in the pretty little village of Pendoylan in the heart of the Vale. Kami and his wife Azi bought the pub in 2005 which they refurbished to a very high standard, using Azi’s creative interior design skills. Kami uses only the finest, locally sourced ingredients which was evident during our visit as was his extensive knowledge of fine wines.
We began our evening with a drink in the bar area before going through to the dining room on the ground floor. The atmosphere was laid back with attentive, but not obtrusive, staff. Having perused the well thought out menu, we decided on prawn and avocado timbale and spicy oriental duck salad to start. The avocado and prawn dish was full of flavour with good chunks of avocado and just the right amount of prawns in a rich, creamy sauce.
The duck, again full of flavour and plentiful, was perfectly cooked and embedded in a tasteful mountain of interesting, well seasoned salad. Both starters were the perfect appetisers for our main courses of breast of chicken with a mushroom and marsalla sauce served with basmati rice and white truffle oil and venison casserole with port and orange served with stuffed courgettes and duchess potatoes. During our starter, Kami brought to our table a bottle of Chateau Caronne Ste Gemme, Haut Medoc 2002 and assured us that it would be perfect for both the chicken and the casserole main course. Kami certainly knows his wines... neither of us would normally choose a red, often sticking to white wines, but we were very pleasantly surprised.
When our main courses came, both dishes were beautifully presented and burgeoning with a whole host of flavours which had us both picking at each other’s plates on a dish sampling frenzy. I don’t know whether it’s good eqituette to do this but frankly we didn’t care. As much as I was delighted with my choice of casserole, the mushroom and marsalla sauce on my partner’s chicken dish was tempting me to keep going back for more and I’ve never been good with temptation!
We both agreed that it’s not often that we can both be wowed by both choice of dishes but they were truly orgasmic!
We gave ourselves a little time to fully appreciate our mains before casting our eyes over the dessert menu. Having both been ‘blessed’ with a sweet tooth, it was a difficult choice for us to make as there were too many temptations. Finally, we opted for the sticky toffee pudding and chocolate rum torte. Again, both plates were attractively presented, so much so that my partner was loath to disturb the intricate chocolate decoration placed on top of the torte. The toffee pudding was just as your gran used to make and the torte was rich, decadent and extremely chocolatey.
Coffees and truffles finished off our meal and we both agreed that without sounding sycophantic, we are definitely fans of the charismatic and skilled Kami... and we don’t mind who knows it!
The Red Lion Gastro Pub
Pendoylan Vale of Glamorgan CF71 7UJ
01446 760332
www.newredlion.com |
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