Tony Rowen just can’t keep a secret about a dining out option
DO you want to know a secret was a 1963 Lennon and McCartney song for The Beatles’ Please, Please Me album and sung by George Harrison. But the secret I want to share with you is of a culinary nature.
While Overstone Park Resort is best known for its golf and leisure facilities, the Terrace Restaurant is another jewel in the crown of the venue – and you don’t have to be a member to enjoy a fine dining experience. Just book a table by telephone on 01604 647666 option 5.
Apart from Overstone Park members, not a lot of people know about the delights of the Terrace Restaurant. Although I have played golf at Overstone Park on a number of occasions since the venue opened 27 years ago, and was once a gym member, I hadn’t eaten in the restaurant until my recent visit on a balmy July evening.
We were shown to our table, which, like many in the room, afforded a panoramic view of the golf course, which looked absolutely magnificent in the evening sunshine.
However, on this occasion it was food and drink that was the focus of attention with the view through the windows providing a stunning backdrop.
As this was our first visit, the menu, which features starters, main courses, fish, grilled steaks, burger bar and salads, demanded more than a casual glance, so we ordered drinks – a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for Pauline and a pint of Doombar for me – to help with our deliberations.
For starters, we chose baked large flat field mushroom with Stilton cheese, garlic, thyme and breadcrumbs laid on a toasted ciabatta bread slice topped with rocket salad; and deep fried crispy battered calamari served with garlic and lemon mayonnaise. The two attractively presented dishes were brought to our table by Lauren, who had demonstrated great patience with us as we deliberated for some time over our choices.
Our main choices were pan-fried sea bass fillets laid on a risotto of chorizo, red onion and courgette, cooked in tomato sauce and served with a spring onion; and grilled pork cutlet laid on wholegrain mustard potato mash accompanied by crackling, broccoli and dark jus.
Again, both dishes were attractively presented with Pauline’s sea bass perfectly cooked, with the flesh soft and full of taste; while my pork cutlet was succulent and the crackling was done to perfection with the wholegrain mustard potato mash giving the dish a bit of a bite. The dark jus came in its own little jug enabling me to pour just the right amount on to the plate – I hate food swimming in jus or gravy!
We passed on the desserts – sticky toffee pudding served with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream; banoffee meringue roulade; raspberry and pistachio franzipane or knickerbocker glory – tempting though they appeared but our starters and main courses had more than satisfied our appetites on a warm summer evening.
All the food served in the Terrace Restaurant is freshly prepared by the experienced team, led by Pascal Bachelier, and locally sourced, with the menu changing seasonally to make best use of the available produce.
This visit proves that Overstone Park Resort is not all about golf and gym workouts.
The food, service and surroundings are first class and the Terrace Restaurant is certainly a place I will add to my dining out options.
The venue also stages regular events and has three Christmas Party nights planned in December costing £19.95 per person, while it is also available for wedding, birthday, wedding anniversary and christening celebrations with a variety of room options for up to 200 people.
Now you know the secret of the Terrace Restaurant – it would have been unkind of me not to share it. The Northamptonshire food industry has blossomed in recent years with the choice of venues and food options ever more varied. The food, friendly and efficient service and the surroundings deserve a wider audience.
For further information contact Overstone Park Resort, Billing Lane, Overstone, Northampton, NN6 0AS on 01604 492471 or visit www.overstonepark.com