Yummy factor 10/10  for consistent excellence !

March 2006 We held our first ever LWL luncheon here & a great success it was!  Germain created a delicious menu for us which was thoroughly enjoyed by all.  A very big thank you to Germain, Glanis, Garth, Maranda & all the rest of the team for making it such a memorable occasion. Report & pictures here.

Revisited yet again June 2006  This time with my husband; he decided I had been neglecting him.  Our choices are pictured below. As usual everything was delicious & up to par but I particularly recommend the Crab Croquette, the vegetable terrine & of course the tartlets!  We sat in the gorgeous garden to enjoy the weather, it's very friendly out there, it was fun to chat to other diners and their dogs, a very relaxed atmosphere.  Germain was being the charming host, he always makes everyone so welcome, it was like visiting close friends!

October 2005    Big news!  CV is leaving us for sunnier climes for the Winter so we had to have a get together to wish her bon voyage.  We chose to come here yet again as it is our favourite restaurant.  It was a big surprise on this visit to see the newly painted exterior, it looks very smart!  We also noted that the garden & new gazebo will be lovely for al fresco dining weather permitting.

Once again we were absolutely delighted with the delicious food (the menus have changed for the Autumn, see links above).  As usual we chose from the Menu du Jour which for its quality is amazing value.  The fish soup was fabulous, I had a fresh artichoke served with a beurre blanc sauce, The moules were perfection, the fourth choice was a croquette of crab with an amoricaine sauce.  To follow two of us had the de-boned shoulder of lamb, braised so slowly it was like butter!  SM had sea bream grilled & served with a Noilly Prat & sorrel sauce, SA chose a casserole of rabbit, again very slowly cooked, in mustard & white wine sauce, she said it was delicious.  We finished with, & shared, a very yummy fig & nougatine ice cream & a savarin with fruits in season, gorgeous!!

Because of the consistently high standard of the food, always a warm welcome, the ambiance, value for money, excellent service, plus the fact that we only ever hear praise from site regulars we have decided to award Clos du Marquis our highest Yummy Factor 10/10!!!  Thank you to Germain, Glanis, Garth, Maranda & all the  members of staff. We will be back yet again!

Visited yet again May 2005, we love this place!

Our other starters were, Moules a la crème: Scottish mussels, mucadet wine, diced garlic, chopped parsley, cream, salt and pepper &, as usual, CV (our soup Queen) chose cream of celeriac: the celeriac is cooked with cream, liquidised and the soup is served with a chantilly of watercress and shallots.  The other main choice, Lamb casserole: new season lamb shoulder, diced, cooked with shallots, garlic and smoked pork bacon diced thin, white wine and tomato.  CV is the soup Queen, I am the pudding Queen & so was in heaven when I tasted Germain's Fig and Nougatine ice cream served with an espresso coffee custard!   The others let me try their, Cape date and brandy pudding & Marquise au chocolat; layers of riche chocolate mousse (70% pure coco) in a chocolate sponge biscuit.  Gorgeous!  We finished with coffees, a wonderful lunch, we will be back soon. So pleased to see the restaurant really busy, their reputation is quite rightly growing, you had better book quickly, foodie fans will soon be fighting for tables!  Germain, Glanis & Garth are all so friendly & take the time to chat to everyone.  Maranda is also very friendly but I don't think she manages to get time out of the kitchen very often! It was lovely to meet the latest member of the team, Cassoulet, a delightful Jack Russell pup, she is obviously the apple of Germain's eye. See below for Cost, Yummy factor, report etc.

Visited February 2005 & Re-visited April 2005, still  wonderful!

In Jan 2005 we received this email from the new owners of Clos du Marquis.  "We arrived in the UK in May, from Johannesburg in South Africa where I spent 35 years of my life, first as an hotel manager and then I opened one of the first French restaurants in Johannesburg which I ran for 22 years. My wife and myself were looking for a restaurant to take over. We were told about "Les Copains d'Abord', and we had a very good meal there in June, and thereafter we learned it was  closed down. We met the landlord due to the tenacity of my wife and took over the premises in October. We have renovated the kitchen and so on, and re-opened mid November as "Clos du Marquis".  Clos du Marquis means an enclosed garden belonging to the marquis, Marquis is my family name. It is as well the name of a very famous wine from Bordeaux!  We hope you will visit us soon"  We had had so many queries & GB entries about Clos du Marquis that we thought we had better make this a priority visit & boy were we pleased we did, the food is fabulous!

If you didn't know about this restaurant I think you would drive straight past the Leckford Hut, the exterior still needs some TLC & gives no hint of the attractive interior.  Warm & welcoming on a grey day, with roaring fires in both the bar & the restaurant.  We were ushered to the bar area (smoking is allowed here) & our drinks order taken whilst we were seated, a rare treat !  Canapés were served whilst making our choices from the Table d'Hote menu, 2 courses £15, & the maitre d' described all the specials which change weekly.  The A La Carte menu had some very interesting items but will save those for when we go for dinner.  The chef/patron Germain & his wife Glanis came to chat as they do to every customer.  He explained that he believes in only using fresh produce, sourced locally & vegetables that are in season. The menu can therefore change at short notice depending on what fish, for example, is available on the day.  We loved his unpretentious attitude, "If  diners want to add more salt/pepper or they want their steak well done then that is fine, they are eating it not me, I do not get upset about such things! We didn't need to add anything, even our salt queen SM was satisfied.  Vegetarian options on the menu, wheelchair friendly.

The restaurant was not very busy but even with only a few tables occupied it still has a warm atmosphere.  The service is attentive & efficient without being intrusive.  Everything we ate was delicious with beautiful presentation, love the glass plates!

	Our Starters L-R Hare Terrine, served with Quince Jelly & warm toast, Warm Salad of pickled Ox Tongue & New Potatoes Vegetable Tart of the Day, Wild Mushroom The other choice was  Soup of the day, Asparagus.
		To follow two chose the fish of the day, Grilled Red Snapper with Sage sauce, I had the Chef's Special, Beef Carbonard cooked in beer & served with a haricot puree & SA had the Game or Poultry of the day which was Confit of Duck with a Kumquat & Vanilla sauce.  There was also a delicious & unusual selection of roasted vegetables which included parsnips, sweet potato, courgette, beetroot & carrot.   We shared a Rich Chocolate layered Mousse cake & a Berry Mousse, the chocolate was just pure heaven!  On the menu they request that if you are going to order cheese you place your order in advance for it to reach its best flavour, a nice touch.
		Just seeing the pictures has set the taste buds flowing, lunch today was a mouth watering experience & we shall visit again very soon!  We urge you to try Germain's exceptional cuisine, you will enjoy.  And ladies you will also enjoy meeting him, he has a certain Gallic charm!

Cost £ £ £ £ £

Yummy factor 10/10  the first one on the site!!!!!!

Reports by CJ.