A superb 5 course lunch with paired wines, for a birthday celebration.
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I had high hopes for this restaurant as it was ranked highly in the Michelin guides list of best restaurants in Lymington and the surrounding areas. Reviews of prior diners and the pictures of the food are and look great hence we decided to book into the Elderflower to hopefully experience too.We opted for the 5 course taster menu and all dishes were presented very intricately which we appreciated greatly. One can also tell that the ingredients used were of very high quality and was handled with care by the kitchen. It was our anniversary too and the team kindly signed a small card to highlight their appreciate which I thought was a very kind gesture.However, the reason for such a low rating is based on several fronts:Firstly, the service was extremely lack luster. We may have had a new joiner but she failed to explain the dishes correctly and clearly. I understand nerves may have been present but it made us feel uncomfortable due to the awkwardness of the interaction. Inability to pronounce ingredients and forgetting parts of the dish particularly stood out. We also ordered a bottle of wine but had to constantly ask the staff to refill our glasses as the bottle was put away from our table. The empty plate that the bread was served on was only taken away after being asked which was when the third course was served. Further, the breadcrumbs were only removed from the table just before the desert was brought to us. That being said, this area of improvement was not apparent in all staff. One waiter and waitress (seemed like the restaurant manager) were great with interaction and swapped desert dishes as they deemed it was not up to standard; this was very much appreciated.To preface my second point, myself and my partner have eaten at top restaurants in both in the UK and abroad with family on both sides being chef's. Photos look great online and our comments are not downplaying the opinions of other diners. We both do not think the taste of the food itself was up to the standard that we expected. This potentially may have been due to the changing menus but the dishes we were served were not memorable. For the price we paid we expected bolder flavours and is not worth the money. In particular the Venison Biltong and the Beetroot Rose dishes were average.I also think, after reading other reviews, that the staff act unprofessional when receiving negative opinions online. In my opinion I think this leaves a sour taste for the diners that are leaving areas of improvement for the restaurant. I do not think this behaviour truly reflects on the kindness of the waiting staff in the restaurant itself.We hope this feedback is reflected on as we believe this restaurant has a lot of potential.
Andy Knights
Cannot recommend highly enough. Am surprised that this restaurant doesn't have a Michelin star, I've been to many in the past and this restaurant is better than than some of those. The service was very friendly, knowledgeable and just the right amount of attention. Food was really well presented with excellent deep flavours with great combinations of ingredients. The tandoori cauliflower was stunning and the dessert on the tasting menu was as good (or better) than any Michelin starred restaurants I've visited. A must visit.
Graham Keeble
Returned after having visited many years previously and not disappointed. Food was right up there with the best restaurants we've been to - we took on the 7 course taster with our own choice of wine, every course was packed with exciting flavour that we worked our way through in a relaxed and unhurried atmosphere. Excellent evening and will be back again sooner than last time.
yellowpages2k8
Had the 7 course tasting menu. Wonderful food and service. Lovely touches with the chefs bringing out some of the courses. Great attention to detail with dishes and a wonderful combination of flavours. Tried things I wouldn’t usually! Service was fantastic also, very knowledgable with each dish (thanks Benjie)Forgot to take a picture of one of the mains as went straight in to it!
Marika Al-Khalili
Excellent food, great wine menu and 10/10 service. Reasonably priced too!
Jackie Simmons
We had a 7 course meal last night, which was absolutely superb..We were asked what was our favourite dish but as each one was presented, it just was as good as the last. Each course was so individual and memorable. We have never had a meal that delivered so many flavours and mouth watering experiences. Congratulations to the chef and his wonderful team for once again creating a truly wonderful menu. Thank you
Matthew Carrington
A fabulous place to eat with friendly service and excellent imaginative food.
Mandy Salt
Wow what an absolutely fabulous Christmas lunch we had here. 7 courses of utter delight!We are foodies and I can honestly say we were blown away by some of the dishes we had here! Perfection!The service was great, warm and welcoming.If you love good food and attention to detail...you will love it here.
Lesley Bennett
We've been wanting to eat at The Elderflower for ages so were delighted to be able to get a table and enjoy the Christmas themed tasting menu.Every dish we were served was sublime from the creativity in both construction and presentation to the balance of flavours and textures.The quality of food and wine was only surpassed by the quality of the service team - knowledgeable, welcoming, friendly.A truly joyous experience and we can't wait to return in the new year.Thoroughly recommend if you're looking for something different, something special!
Absolutely superb meal, outstanding food and ingredients sourced locally, what more can you ask for. Thank you to our lovely friends who treated us and the attentive and friendly serving staff.
Lesley B
The 4 course Christmas tasting menu was sublime. A clever nod to the 12 days theme without becoming a cliche. Every dish was superb from the creativity of construction and presentation to the balance of flavours and textures. The service team were excellent - warm, friendly, attentive without being over the top. We've been looking forward to dining at The Elderflower for ages and we weren't disappointed. A truly joyous evening and we can't wait to return.
Terry Lewis
There recently for the 12 days of Christmas menu, excellent, well thought out concept. Ignoring all the nods to the theme each plate was a delight and didn't feel like a slave to the theme. Beautiful food and the staff were very attentive.
Deljori
Absolutely brilliant food atmosphere service fantastic ,spoil yourselves at least once and experience this amazing restaurant
Paula1845
The Elderflower certainly deserves its rating of 3 Rosettes and cannot be far from even more prestigious awards in the future. Booking was simple, reception on arrival - friendly and attentive. Service throughout was impeccable - timely, attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. The food is outstanding. This is not one of those restaurants where one finds a triumph of presentation over quality and substance - nothing could be further from the truth. Andrew Du Bourg and his team create seasonal, innovative, accurately cooked and delicious dishes that are presented beautifully. It epitomises the notion that you eat with your eyes first and then your mouth. If looks are wonderful, then so is the taste of the dishes within the tasting menu and the team have fully mastered three further key concepts of this form of dining - the balance between dished, maintaining standards throughout the seven courses and the pace at which they are served - not too fast and not too slow. Very well done to the entire team - a bravura performance all round.
A superb 5 course lunch with paired wines, for a birthday celebration.
I had high hopes for this restaurant as it was ranked highly in the Michelin guides list of best restaurants in Lymington and the surrounding areas. Reviews of prior diners and the pictures of the food are and look great hence we decided to book into the Elderflower to hopefully experience too.We opted for the 5 course taster menu and all dishes were presented very intricately which we appreciated greatly. One can also tell that the ingredients used were of very high quality and was handled with care by the kitchen. It was our anniversary too and the team kindly signed a small card to highlight their appreciate which I thought was a very kind gesture.However, the reason for such a low rating is based on several fronts:Firstly, the service was extremely lack luster. We may have had a new joiner but she failed to explain the dishes correctly and clearly. I understand nerves may have been present but it made us feel uncomfortable due to the awkwardness of the interaction. Inability to pronounce ingredients and forgetting parts of the dish particularly stood out. We also ordered a bottle of wine but had to constantly ask the staff to refill our glasses as the bottle was put away from our table. The empty plate that the bread was served on was only taken away after being asked which was when the third course was served. Further, the breadcrumbs were only removed from the table just before the desert was brought to us. That being said, this area of improvement was not apparent in all staff. One waiter and waitress (seemed like the restaurant manager) were great with interaction and swapped desert dishes as they deemed it was not up to standard; this was very much appreciated.To preface my second point, myself and my partner have eaten at top restaurants in both in the UK and abroad with family on both sides being chef's. Photos look great online and our comments are not downplaying the opinions of other diners. We both do not think the taste of the food itself was up to the standard that we expected. This potentially may have been due to the changing menus but the dishes we were served were not memorable. For the price we paid we expected bolder flavours and is not worth the money. In particular the Venison Biltong and the Beetroot Rose dishes were average.I also think, after reading other reviews, that the staff act unprofessional when receiving negative opinions online. In my opinion I think this leaves a sour taste for the diners that are leaving areas of improvement for the restaurant. I do not think this behaviour truly reflects on the kindness of the waiting staff in the restaurant itself.We hope this feedback is reflected on as we believe this restaurant has a lot of potential.
Cannot recommend highly enough. Am surprised that this restaurant doesn't have a Michelin star, I've been to many in the past and this restaurant is better than than some of those. The service was very friendly, knowledgeable and just the right amount of attention. Food was really well presented with excellent deep flavours with great combinations of ingredients. The tandoori cauliflower was stunning and the dessert on the tasting menu was as good (or better) than any Michelin starred restaurants I've visited. A must visit.
Returned after having visited many years previously and not disappointed. Food was right up there with the best restaurants we've been to - we took on the 7 course taster with our own choice of wine, every course was packed with exciting flavour that we worked our way through in a relaxed and unhurried atmosphere. Excellent evening and will be back again sooner than last time.
Had the 7 course tasting menu. Wonderful food and service. Lovely touches with the chefs bringing out some of the courses. Great attention to detail with dishes and a wonderful combination of flavours. Tried things I wouldn’t usually! Service was fantastic also, very knowledgable with each dish (thanks Benjie)Forgot to take a picture of one of the mains as went straight in to it!
Excellent food, great wine menu and 10/10 service. Reasonably priced too!
We had a 7 course meal last night, which was absolutely superb..We were asked what was our favourite dish but as each one was presented, it just was as good as the last. Each course was so individual and memorable. We have never had a meal that delivered so many flavours and mouth watering experiences. Congratulations to the chef and his wonderful team for once again creating a truly wonderful menu. Thank you
A fabulous place to eat with friendly service and excellent imaginative food.
Wow what an absolutely fabulous Christmas lunch we had here. 7 courses of utter delight!We are foodies and I can honestly say we were blown away by some of the dishes we had here! Perfection!The service was great, warm and welcoming.If you love good food and attention to detail...you will love it here.
We've been wanting to eat at The Elderflower for ages so were delighted to be able to get a table and enjoy the Christmas themed tasting menu.Every dish we were served was sublime from the creativity in both construction and presentation to the balance of flavours and textures.The quality of food and wine was only surpassed by the quality of the service team - knowledgeable, welcoming, friendly.A truly joyous experience and we can't wait to return in the new year.Thoroughly recommend if you're looking for something different, something special!
Restaurantji Recommends
Absolutely superb meal, outstanding food and ingredients sourced locally, what more can you ask for. Thank you to our lovely friends who treated us and the attentive and friendly serving staff.
The 4 course Christmas tasting menu was sublime. A clever nod to the 12 days theme without becoming a cliche. Every dish was superb from the creativity of construction and presentation to the balance of flavours and textures. The service team were excellent - warm, friendly, attentive without being over the top. We've been looking forward to dining at The Elderflower for ages and we weren't disappointed. A truly joyous evening and we can't wait to return.
There recently for the 12 days of Christmas menu, excellent, well thought out concept. Ignoring all the nods to the theme each plate was a delight and didn't feel like a slave to the theme. Beautiful food and the staff were very attentive.
Absolutely brilliant food atmosphere service fantastic ,spoil yourselves at least once and experience this amazing restaurant
The Elderflower certainly deserves its rating of 3 Rosettes and cannot be far from even more prestigious awards in the future. Booking was simple, reception on arrival - friendly and attentive. Service throughout was impeccable - timely, attentive, knowledgeable and friendly. The food is outstanding. This is not one of those restaurants where one finds a triumph of presentation over quality and substance - nothing could be further from the truth. Andrew Du Bourg and his team create seasonal, innovative, accurately cooked and delicious dishes that are presented beautifully. It epitomises the notion that you eat with your eyes first and then your mouth. If looks are wonderful, then so is the taste of the dishes within the tasting menu and the team have fully mastered three further key concepts of this form of dining - the balance between dished, maintaining standards throughout the seven courses and the pace at which they are served - not too fast and not too slow. Very well done to the entire team - a bravura performance all round.