Baguette de Moet in Test Valley

Popped in for a lovely cold pint of Hawkstone,lovely place

Sometimes, all elements of a meal are excellent and come together to make a memorable occasion. My wife and I visited for lunch on a Tuesday. For a starter, we both ordered 6 escargots. These are served in a special dish with a separate well for each snail, bathed in butter, garlic and parsley. The snails were tasty and we had ordered a portion of chopped baguette, so that we could soak up the juice left in each well. The baguette was wonderfully fresh and delicious, as always. For the main course, I ordered a special, a salad of smoked duck, sliced avocado and smokey bacon. The duck was plentiful and thickly sliced. The avocado was in optimal condition. The bacon was not from a supermarket and must have been from some smokery. It was very tasty. My wife ordered a favourite dish of hers, onion tart, which she very much enjoyed. We both ordered a 175cl glass of Sancerre. This was well chilled, as I like it, and of very good quality. Not cheap at £13 a glass, but worth the money. We ended with two excellent coffees. The friendly service and the ambience of the restaurant, with its antique posters of the Cote D'Azur, were impeccable. We had enjoyed a perfect lunch.

Excellent food and service. The meal was freshly prepared and everything was tasty and plentiful. Nice bottle of wine and excellent desserts. Not out of the way pricewiise.