I must say I stumbled upon this restaurant by luck. I had been spending my summer with my boyfriend…read morein his hometown in Wickham (which is why my previous reviews are all in England). We were fortunate enough to come across a livingsocial deal for The Old House. He had heard great things about this restaurant from his family members, so with luck we purchased this voucher and wandered into a top end restaurant having paid fairly little money.
Let just say, England's bad food reputation is relatively true if you don't know where to look. There are plenty of small gems like these in little towns, though frankly you might have to pay an arm and a leg for this place. Most people reading this review probably won't even live in England but if you happen to be in the Hampshire area, near Winchester I urge you to try out The Old House Hotel & Restaurant. The setting, if you have good weather like we did, seems like something out of The Great Gatsby (without the infidelity and murder). I am under the assumption this place was once a residential home (hence the name) and been transformed into classy dining experience. The decorum in an American point of view, very old, classy, New England with the Fitzgerald's and the Kennedy's. There is a quiet garden out back with a few picnic tables where you can enjoy some champagne and a smoke and when you're ready to come in you go in.
In the end, the real winner of the night was the food. Most of the food I chose was the ones I thought were interesting. I started with a Tuna tartare, with an avocado sorbet, wasabi caviar, and a dark soy reduction. This was my most adventurous choice, and in the end I was mildly disappointed with my choice. It wasn't that the food wasn't good, it was just the combination was too weird for me. I, naively, was under the assumption that the avocado sorbet was going to be something more like a whipped avocado cream but it was actually an avocado flavored ice cream placed on top a bed of tuna tartare. The wasabi caviar was too bitter and really detracted from the natural flavor of the tuna. All in all, I think the right idea was behind on this dish but needed a bit more tweaking. The other hand, the plating was the most beautiful thing Id ever seen. As my main, I chose the Lobster with Crayfish (or Crawfish if you're American) garden pea and lemon risotto with a parmesan crisp and Thermidor Sauce. Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous, everything worked so well together, the lobster was cooked to sweet succulent seafood perfection. The risotto was creamy and with just a hint of the sour lemon taste to help bring out the flavor of the craw(cray)fish. I thought I couldn't eat another bite but then I saw the dessert menu and well... I'm a sucker for the sweets. The dessert, we had the "assiette of Old House desserts for two" which roughly translates to the best way to eat your way to heart disease and diabetes. The plate came with a dark chocolate brownie the length of a brick, summer pudding, toffee creme with a banana bread base, and peanut butter parfait (which is really just peanut butter ice cream). I ate until I thought I was going to burst and then picked more at the plate. The banana bread was served on the opposite side of the toffee delice but were meant to be eaten together and damn, they are the new Mac and Cheese. Barring from the fact, I love brownies I spent most of my time engulfing this amazing dessert.
All in all, if you can't tell from my long-winded review, you should probably eat at this place. It's really pricey so don't splurge as much if you don't have the money. Remember I lucked out because I got a voucher but this is definitely one of the best restaurants I've been to in England if not ever. So by all means, if you're here already spend a little, live a little. It's a great restaurant. They do require reservations, It does seem to get a bit busy and make sure you dress for the occasion. 1920's flapper girl dressy but with class of course. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
