When in Leicester, as I was last week, food choices are quite wide as long as they include curry. Lunch and supper were definitely curry and I swear the scrambled eggs and bacon at breakfast time smelt of curry.
Not so the evening meal. After a long day at a conference with my work colleague in a room full of people you would not want to spend New Year’s Eve with, out came the gadget of choice: iPad and the Michelin app.
A search for the closest restaurant by stars lead us to a choice of 3, one of which was full, the other had an incorrect number and the third sounded promising, if for no other reason that the village in which it was situated had the quaint name of Woodhouse Eaves. It conjured up thoughts of a wood fire on what was a stormy night of torrential rain. Google Earth confirmed it was in a side street of a tiny village in the middle of the countryside.
The Woodhouse in Woodhouse Eaves was a cosy, small restaurant with a décor a bit too far to the modern side for my liking but with what can only be described as a compact but very interesting menu. I could easily have chosen 3 or 4 of each of the items offered at each course. The service was impeccable yet on the right side of friendly.
A cauliflower and fennel soup was served as an amuse bouche. A bit salty but palatable. I had 3 small but delicious scallops served on a bed of watermelon for starters followed by a very tasty pork belly. My colleague had rabbit for starters followed by duck A pre-dessert sorbet was served followed by Apple Crumble for him and cheese for me (no I did not go for Leicestershire). Coffees, petit fours, half a bottle of Fleurie Domaine Gry-Sabon (OK, I was driving) and a bottle of water.
This was effectively a 5 course meal for two people with excellent food, reasonable wine (half a bottle) and fine service with a bill of £90. Not bad for a night out.
