On Saturday night I had the pleasure of playing designated driver to mum, dad and friends and headed to Romsey for a birthday dinner at La Parisienne, a restaurant which locals from Southampton and the nearby areas have all heard of. It's a French restaurant which has been in the area for 15 years and, unlike many of its pretenders, actually has French staff. Hurrah!
The restaurant is a bit Frenchified inside with French posters/pictures framed on the walls and dark wood tables. There's a bar part with tables - you can eat there - and then a small restaurant in the back. It's actually a very small restaurant with about 10 tables but the staff work quickly and are charming and attentive to detail.
As there were 11 of us, this was particularly important and they didn't get anybody's order wrong - a bit mixed up at times but that was easily sorted out! I didn't get to taste everybody's meals but everything I did try was fantastic and the food was flavoured perfectly and delicately, something that can be difficult when you're dealing with tricky ingredients.
We began with bread and butter and then hot garlic snails. I don't like snails and never have done but I did eat one... I didn't change my opinion! However, they seemed to go down a treat with everybody else and they were soon gone.
Meal-wise it might just be easier to jot down what I tried as the menus aren't available online and I can't remember 22 meals. I had a galette of salmon, boursin cheese and sauteed potatoes which was delicious and came with a lovely side-salad. I also tried some fine onion tart - it was crumbled perfection - and saw that the fish cakes were also fantastic. My dad very much enjoyed his fish soup and the other starters went down a treat.
For main course, most people had steak, myself included. My fillet steak with gratin potatoes and pepper sauce was amazing and cooked just right. Don't have a bad thing to say about the meal and now I'm writing about it, I want it again! My dad's veal with an apple/Calvados sauce was delicious and a haddock risotto was also very very tasty.
Dessert was a big chocolate cake courtesy of the birthday boy's family who had brought it in to the restaurant. So you won't find it on the menu but a few options are lemon sorbet, creme brulee and several other desserts.
It was a great night and the staff really looked after us well. We were late arriving but they never complained, never made a fuss and made sure that Chris's birthday was as perfect as possible. All the guests enjoyed the meal and we had a great time.
Damage: I'm not sure as I never saw the bill but I'd guess for two courses + wine = £45 if you have a fillet steak
Vitals:
La Parisienne
21 Bell Street, Romsey, Hampshire SO51 8GY
Tel: 01794 512067
Website: http://www.la-parisienne.co.uk/index.shtml
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