June 2008 issue - View Magazines

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<strong>View</strong> vfood The <strong>View</strong> review 20 Annie Bullen catches up with the gossip at Carlton’s Carltons Restaurant • 24 Carlton Place • Southampton • 02380 232664 www.carltonsrestaurant.co.uk Iknew it was going to be a good evening when a dish of crispy ciabatta bread slices, olives and a bowl of good olive oil arrived, unbidden, at our bar table. I hadn’t seen my friend Lindsey for a while so a chance to sample the menu at Carltons while catching up with each others’ lives was a great opportunity. The restaurant, above the stylish Ninety Degrees bar in Southampton’s Carlton Place, is a well-kept secret, enjoyed by those in the know. I was just getting into the gossip about Lindsey’s recent trip to Edinburgh when our waiter, Lillo (he’s from Sicily), summoned us upstairs to the spacious restaurant. The whole place is modern and comfortable. Downstairs, where they serve an all-day tapas menu and a bar menu, you sink into bucket-style leather seats in the well-lit room with wooden floors, red and black furnishings with lots of mirrors and a long bar that obviously caters for the serious cocktail crowd. Aircraft-style lighting outlines each step on the way up to the restaurant; from our table by the window we looked out over Carlton Place and Bedford Place, livening up nicely as people came out in the warm summer evening to enjoy the night-life on offer. Lillo, who turned out to be a bit of a philosopher, talked us through the menu which featured light, fresh food. Lindsey, who doesn’t eat meat, found plenty to tempt her and eventually went for a vegetable cake with thyme on a pea and herb rice salad for her starter. She chose salmon fillet with fresh lime, with crab and saffron rice for her main course. Pasta features prominently on this fusionstyle menu and both my starter and main course were pasta-based, as Lillo kindly pointed out. But we agreed it’s jolly good for you in all sorts of ways and I was allowed to order king prawns on linguine coated with a light tomato and garlic sauce, with just enough chilli butter to give a spicy kick. Thick ribbons of pappardelle pasta with a thin coating of tomato, chunks of meaty Merguez sausage, shavings of parmesan and a covering of perfectly cooked broccoli florets looked good enough to photograph. So I did. We had the chance for a fair bit of gossip before the food arrived – it’s all freshly cooked and looked very good on the white plates. The portion sizes are perfect – not daunting but generous enough to be satisfying. Lindsey’s starter turned out to be a crispy savoury ‘cake’, filled with pureed vegetables. It was served on a risotto-like base which was creamy and lemony. Very good, she said. In the interests of accurate reporting, I tasted the saffron and crab rice timbale (rice was her thing that evening just as pasta was mine) which accompanied her salmon. The crab came through nicely, highlighted by the flavour of lime. Three grilled tomatoes on the vine were a nice touch. We could have had sea bass, lamb fillet, faggots or char-grilled chicken with bubble and squeak. They do an oriental-style duck, steak and pork belly, too. Puds include sticky toffee, chocolate and hazelnut fondue and cranberry and clementine crumble but I’m afraid that the pasta and rice spoiled us for another morsel. Next time perhaps. Sebastien, the manager of Carltons, came over to see how we were doing and revealed that the bar and restaurant were in the same ownership as Southampton’s ever-popular La Margherita restaurant, which explains the Italian touches and stylish surroundings. Cocktails, wines and beers are served with style. We were both driving, so limited ourselves to a glass of San Genovese each and finished with good espresso, made at the bar by Lillo. I liked the music which was not obtrusive but jolly and featured a variety of style from Spain, Italy and several other countries. The big black piano is for show only – look closely and you’ll see there’s no keyboard. The menu is not huge which is always a good sign, allowing the chef to do everything well. There’s plenty of variety and a lovely mix of flavours, plenty of fresh herbs and vegetables used imaginatively. Our 2-course meal, without wine, cost about £38. V
Rarely Beaten on Price Never beaten on Service A HUGE RANGE OF DOMESTIC APPLIANCES available including Miele and Siemens Washing Machines from £169 Fridges from £95 Dishwashers from £169 Weyhill Road, Weyhill, Andover Hampshire SP11 8EA Tel: 01264 773306 www.appliance-search.co.uk FOOD SERVED DAILY Sunday Lunch 12pm-9pm Lunch Tues-Sat 12pm-3pm Dinner Mon-Thur 6.30pm-9.30pm Fri & Sat 6.30pm-10pm Warm Granary Baps served Tues-Sun til 6pm Bar Menu Mon-Sat 6.30pm-10.30pm JUNE Live Music Sunday Evenings Outside Patio for Summer Drinking and Dining Walkers and Dogs Welcome THE ONLY MICHELIN GUIDE LISTED PUB IN ROMSEY. The Three Tuns, 58 Middlebridge Street, Romsey, Hampshire Tel: 01794 512639
Page 1 and 2: Hampshire THE COUNTY’S FREE INDEP
Page 3 and 4: View editor’s In today’s celebr
Page 5 and 6: vailable from Saturday, June 28 the
Page 7 and 8: oice with the soft-rock band Amey-G
Page 9 and 10: Castlegate WINDOWS
Page 11 and 12: the sun Jungle print skirt £19.99,
Page 13 and 14: Beautifully designed fashion handba
Page 15 and 16: Open 9.30-5.00pm Monday to Saturday
Page 17 and 18: Peel that is not wanted for cooking
Page 19: RESTAURANT 54 THE GEM OF AMPFIELD O
Page 23 and 24: Three mixed cases of wine to be won
Page 25 and 26: Barnard’s Restaurant Opening time
Page 27 and 28: View vschools Seasonal selection Ma
Page 29 and 30: ROOKWOOD SCHOOL Providing co-educat
Page 31 and 32: School celebrates a force of nature
Page 33 and 34: Canford Canfoo ord SSchool chool di
Page 35 and 36: � ��
Page 37 and 38: NEW SHOWROOM NOW OPEN 21st Century
Page 39 and 40: FREE LOCAL MEASURING SERVICE Made t
Page 41 and 42: NATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION A
Page 43 and 44: OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK The Wilton Shopp
Page 45 and 46: e garden stripes on there lawn this
Page 47 and 48: f Mottisfont by Annie Bullen David
Page 49 and 50: GARDEN MACHINERY For ALL your garde
Page 51 and 52: a family run business ANNUAL OPEN D
Page 53: Quality kitchens for modern living
Page 56 and 57: COSMETIC SURGERY IN A CLEAN, COMFOR
Page 58 and 59: View vbooks Enjoy a good read with
Page 60: “Part exchange is the best thing

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