Press Reviews
RESTAURANT REVIEW - NORTHAMPTON CHRONICLE - 1ST SEPTEMBER 2006
Travel 20 miles west of Northampton and urbanites would find themselves entering another world. There are single track roads, historic hamlets, village greens and farms aplenty on the Northamptonshire/Warwickshire border.
We drove out to Priors Hardwick, a village that dates back to 1375, to visit The Butchers Arms. This is a country pub restaurant that has an established reputation locally - it was obvious that many of the diners on this Thursday night were regulars.
Is it worth the trip from all corners of Northamptonshire to go to the restaurant where former England Manager Sven Goran Eriksson has been a frequent diner? Incidentally The Butchers Arms owners Lino and Augusta Pires are originally from Portugal. But let's not talk about the World Cup....
We were greeting by Lino himself, and his huge dog Figo (Sorry!) as if we were old friends. He escorted us into the bar, asking us if it was our first time here and where we had come from as he poured us a complimentary glass of pink bubbly. We were surprised by such a welcome - did he know we were reviewing his restaurant??? As we gratefully sipped our drink it became apparent that everyone gets this welcome.
The Butchers Arms is set in a 14th century village alehouse, where it is said soldeiers gathered to drink on the eve of the Battle of Edgehill in 1642. It is full of period features, nooks and crannies, alcoves, historical pieces and signed photographs of celebrity diners from the past 33 years.
The Butchers Arms' extensive menu is modern yet traditional, with a definite emphasis on fish, seafood, steak and mediterranean flavours. Vegetarians and meat eaters alike will have trouble deciding what to choose. Prices are certainly not low, with starters ranging from £5.00 for soup to £14.95 for fresh wild Scottish smoked salmon, and main courses from £12.00 for vegetarian dishes to £43.00 for roast saddle of venison for two people. I chose Tempura Prawns (£12.50) to start and got three beautifully battered and meaty langoustinhos, served with a dipping sauce and salad. Karen had the mushroom and stilton tart (£8.00) and got a huge tasty wedge of piping hot tart and salad that would have sufficed as a main course serving. She said it was delicious and feared she would never manage her Tournesdos Rossini - grilled fillet steak on a crouton topped with pate, mushrooms and Madeira sauce (£20.50). She said the huge chunk of steak was beautifully cooked and couldn't fault it, managing to devour most of it. I chose the Pittivier Argenteuil - broccoli, brie and almond filo pastry parcel with asparagus sauce (£12.00). Like all main courses it came with potatoes and vegetables that were silver-served at our table. It was very nice and the taste of almond was delicious when it occasionally came through. It was perhaps slightly too cheesy for me, but that is probably more my taste than fault of the dish.
The service from the largely Portuguese waiting staff, and Lino himself was impeccable, yet relaxed. Despite its upmarket menu and service, The Butchers Arms is friendly and almost informal. Our dining experience was made even better by all the little touches - fresh flowers on your table, the right amount of time between courses and free pink champagne from the owner.
The toilets were spotlessly clean, well-decorated and had the added welcome distraction of arty pictures of nude male models on the walls (For male readers Lino assured us that the walls of the gents were also adorned with tasteful photographs of the opposite sex)!! There are also disabled facilities.
Finally, unable to resist the sight of the dessert trolley in front of our eyes all evening, we shared a delicious strawberry cheesecake. The total bill which included mineral water, three glasses of wine and two coffees came to £77.90.
The Butchers Arms was well worth the trip and, for a special occasion or the guarantee of a lovely meal out if you can afford it, I can't imagine many would be disappointed.
Angela Pownall