By Sue Gilson
For a warm welcome, fine food and country house comfort, check into the Millstream Hotel and Restaurant in Bosham, writes Sue Gilson.
There's a reason why Bosham has become such a mecca for photographers and artists. With its bobbing boats, Saxon church and dramatic scenes in the sky and over the water as the seasons change and the tide ebbs and flows, this picturesque West Sussex village provides inspiration aplenty.
And nestled at the heart of all this picture postcard loveliness, and rich history - with Bosham featured famously in the Bayeux Tapestry -and very much part of the fabric of the community, is the Millstream Hotel and Restaurant.
This charming-looking former 18th century malthouse, situated on the road ambling down to the foreshore with sweeping views that scores of sailors and walkers have swooned over, has always been a place to head for for that special lunch or dinner.
With a reputation for reliability, comfort and fine food, this is somewhere that doesn't disappoint. And in a culinary world of clatter and cutting edge coolness that can often promise more than it serves up, it is a restful haven.
If it is comfort you are after, it offers that and more, with its decor of country house chic and three-roomed dining area featuring beams, a cheery fire, and finely-upholstered easy chairs clustered in the lounge, where apertifs and coffees are enjoyed. Dining tables are immaculately laid, with crisp white tablecloths. If it is a sense of occasion you need, you will feel that as soon as you walk through the door, given a guaranteed friendly welcome and looked after by attentive general manager Antony Wallace and his team.
Then, of course, there's the menu, with traditional favourites regulars go back for again and again, as well as an emphasis, increasingly important to diners, on good quality local and seasonal ingredients cooked simply and well.
This isn't to say new head chef Neil Hiskey, who has worked his way up from commis chef over nine years at this establishment he cares very much about and knows inside out, is unadventurous, far from it - he helped the Millstream win its two coveted AA Rosettes - but he understands the importance of not over-egging the pudding and letting the corn-fed chicken, the pan-fried skate and the seared fillet of beef sing, simply done, on the plate. The menu - with two courses priced at £22.50 and three courses £29 for dinner, and £18 and £23 for lunch - is well balanced and enticing, and not overly long which was good to see on our visit.
On a blustery November evening, my choice of Twice Baked Isle of Wight Blue Cheese Souffle, with cheese and spring onion sauce, recommended by Antony, was warming, tasty and substantial. My husband enjoyed Seared Scallops (£3 supplement) with foie gras sauce, pea puree and pancetta wafer. Other starters included Guinea Fowl and Ham Hock Terrine, with cheese scones and piccalilli, and Baby Goats Cheese with shallot tatin, beetroot and walnut dressing. Bread rolls are baked twice daily in-house, and the salmon is home-smoked.
My main course of Slowly Roasted Belly of Pork served with apple jus, celeriac and potato puree, and red cabbage was delicious, and just the right taste combination. There is usually an Asian dish on the menu, with Neil inspired by travels in Thailand, and my husband tucked into his Oriental Style Breast of Duck, with its very tangy lemon crust, and served with star anise reduction, sweet potatoes, bok choi and shiitake mushrooms. We were tempted too by the Winter Vegetable and Chestnut Pudding, with lentil cream, parsnip puree and curly kate, and the Seared Fillet of Cod with langoustine sauce, vanilla mash and spinach.
A glass or two of a smokey Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand, again recommended by Antony, went down well with our dishes. Wines specially selected for dinners and lunches feature on the menus along with the local food suppliers, a nice touch. Antony likes to pass on little anecdotes about the food too, explaining, for example, how the roe of the scallops are dried and made into a fine powder to dust onto the shellfish, intensifying the flavour.
Puddings such as Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Brownie, with hot chocolate foam, and white chocolate ice-cream, go down extremely well with diners, but we went for a fresh tasting, but wonderfully sweet and creamy, coconut pannacotta with glazed bananas and butterscotch sauce.
By this time we were blissfully relaxed and wanted to do little more than retire to the lounge for coffees and listen to the soothing playing of the pianist.
The Millstream Hotel and Restaurant, Bosham, tel 01243 573234. Visit www.millstream-hotel.co.uk Now taking bookings for Christmas lunch and dinners.
