The Coach House, Godstone - Continental food with style

Review by Julia Church

Continental food with style to me sums up the wonderful cuisine at The Coach House restaurant in Godstone.

Not only does the food look good, but it tastes superb as well, prepared in-house by a team of chefs led by Chef de Cuisine, Chris Southon.

When I arrived at the restaurant with my daughter Jenny we were warmly greeted by owner, Corinne Howe, who invited us to have aperitifs with a dish of olives in the lounge while we perused the menu, very relaxing!

Their Fixed Price Menu offers good value for such high quality food and plenty of choice, with two courses for £14.95 and three courses for £19.95. Jenny chose from the Fixed Price Menu and I selected vegetarian options from the A La Carte menu.

A little while later Corinne invited us through to our table in the restaurant.

For our starters, Jenny had chosen the Chicken Liver Paté, Grape and Tarragon Chutney and Warm Toast and I chose the Cantaloupe Melon, Cucumber Granita and Blue Cheese (£6.95).

Considering it was the hottest day of the year, my starter was the perfect choice - it was beautifully refreshing because the Cucumber Granita was a wonderful sorbet! When I described my starter as a ‘tantalising combination of flavours’ Jenny said that she was about to say exactly the same thing about her starter, with the Grape and Tarragon Chutney going very well with the paté. For our main courses Jenny chose the Pulled Braised Leg of Lamb, Crushed Potatoes, Broad Beans and Greens with Rosemary Jus and I chose the Wild Mushroom and Bitter Chocolate Risotto with Lemon Oil (£12.95). Since becoming vegetarian I am becoming quite a risotto connoisseur and this was certainly one of the best I have had. It was gorgeous and creamy and very filling.

Jenny described her lamb as ‘very tender and flavoursome’. The bottle of Pino Grigio Blush we ordered went very well with our meals.

For dessert Jenny chose the Green Apple Bavarois, Toffee Sauce and Walnut Crumble while I chose to have a lovely Irish coffee. However, I could not resist trying a couple of spoonfuls of Jenny’s amazinglooking dessert. The Apple Bavarois was like a blancmange in texture and it was a treat to experience another lovely culinary creation for the first time.

The service was faultless throughout the evening and the restaurant exudes Corinne’s French sense of style, making it a delightful place to dine.