Classic Colleys Review

Although avid Colleys fans, we had never tried the menu that had made them so famous initially - 'Classic Colleys'. So when invited, we jumped at the chance.

We gave ourselves a golden ticket from our January detox for this special treat, and visited Colleys Restaurant in Lechlade. And although being the first Friday in January we were not the only ones who fancied good food and a great experience as the restaurant was surprisingly busy!

We were immediatley greeted by friendly staff and then seated at a cosy table in the main restaurant. As we were waiving the detox for the evening, we ordered a lovely bottle of Argentinian Malbec. The starters arrived shortly afterwards which included three tasting plates of Fish Cakes, Falafel and Cream Cheese & Parma Ham tart. These were all delicious and fresh tasting which was ideal after all the heavy Christmas food we had consumed in December.

Our next course was a Cream of Macaroni soup and we're not exaggerating when we say it's the best soup we've ever had - how can soup taste so good!? We'll have to ask the Head Chef for his recipe!

The starters and soup although delicuous weren't too heavy so we still had plenty of room for the maincourse. The waiters brought round the choice of mains which included Pan Fried Pork Kiev, Slow Roasted Duck Breast, Poached Hake Fillet and Bubble & Squeek Suet Pudding. I went for the Duck while Liz although torn between the Duck & Hake eventually Liz chose the Hake.

The Duck was succulent and fell away from the bone, it was very well complimented by the mushroom sauce and bubble and squeek rosti on which it was sat. Duck can so often be dry so we asked he Head Chef what his secret was? Tuns out a lot of tlc went into this dish - the duck was slow cooked in stock for 7 hours and then roasted for a short amount of time at a high temperature to crispen the skin.

Meanwhile Liz was tucking into her Hake with a big grin on her face. Again, a nice change from all the meat consumed over Christmas! The Hake was drizzled with a luxurious butter sauce and accompanied with asparagus, prawns and ballotti beans.

After a brief respite we were shown the desserts - which were plentiful and all too tempting. The choice we were given included; Chocolate Tart, Chocolate & Coffee Mouse, Bread & Butter Pudding, Steamed Syrup Sponge and Cheese & Biscuits.

After an extremelly tough decision, we decided to share our puddings! My choice was the Bread & Butter Pudding (a famous Colleys dish which has been on the menu for over 20 years) and Liz decided the Chocolate & Coffee Mouse was the order of the day. The Bread & Butter Pudding had a hint of almonds & marzipan which was a welcome addition - so much so I was at pains to share my second half with Liz but I am glad I did so; the Chocolate & Coffee Mouse was extremelly light and flavoursome and topped with a brandy snap which Liz kindly left all to me.

We were then, asked to our amazement if we would like yet another pudding! Being torn between them all, I accepted straight away and this time decided on the Steamed Syrup Sponge. Liz was trying to at least be a little bit sensible and was happy to try 'a bite' but actually ended up having at least half! The sponge was soft and gooey - how it should be but with the Colleys 'edge'.

The great thing about Colleys is that you aren't rushed and you are made to feel extremelly welcome. It is always so apparent that the passion of the Owner & Head Chef spreads to all of the staff.  They all take great pride and enjoymemt from the quality of food and service they provide.

Well done yet again Colleys and thank you!