The Glasshouse Restaurant,
Pikes Hill, Lyndhurst – Review
By Shelagh Davies
When we were invited
to attend the official launch of
The Glasshouse Restaurant in Lyndhurst
(our local New Forest Town) on behalf
of Dine-Online, we were happy to
accept, remarking upon the coincidence
that, rather ironically, we had already
dined there several weeks before
the launch.
It was an evening event, and the
weather was warm and calm. Greeted
by Fiona Johnson, Group Sales and
Marketing Manager of the four establishments
which make up the New Forest Hotels
group, we were invited to make our
way down to the cellar bar of the
Forest Lodge Hotel and in the process
were waylaid by Matt Magee, the Restaurant
Manager, generously brandishing a
large and glistening bottle of champagne.
We sipped, as more guests arrived
and ‘nibbles’ were offered
by young and cheerful waitresses.
Shortly afterwards we were summoned
upstairs and outside into the welcome
cool evening air. There we attached
labels bearing our names to colourful
balloons - these we released on the
count of ten and the guests watched
as they floated up into the clear
blue sky. The first balloon to be
discovered will earn the finder a
free meal at the restaurant, and
the person to whom the balloon was
assigned will, likewise, be awarded
a free meal.
Canapes were then circulated, some
of which we had sampled as starters
during our previous visit to the
restaurant. Seared scallops on
pumpkin puree with chilli salsa
was rather special. The sweetness
of the pumpkin combined with the
fresh flavour of the scallop was
given a wonderful zing by the accompanying
chilli salsa. Six different canapes
were offered, all in attractive
little white china dishes. Green
Thai fennel, courgette and sweet
potato curry was delicious, as
was the Ticklemore goat’s
cheese and spinach tortellini with
sage pine nut pesto. Two dessert
canapes followed and all the while
Matt Magee and his staff kept the
guests’ champagne flutes
filled.
A well-orchestrated launch and an
enjoyable occasion. No doubt the
best of the New Forest weather helped
and the guests all appeared to be
enjoying themselves. As locals, we
very much hope that the Glasshouse
Restaurant is a great success and
look forward to eating there in the
future.
But, we have one major grumble.
Both at the launch, and on the evening
when we – a party of eight – dined
there, we found the restaurant uncomfortably
hot, as was the cellar bar. Hopefully
the management will be able to mitigate
this, perhaps by installing air-conditioning.
It would be such a shame if this
isn’t dealt with. Since we
are approaching autumn, it is possible
that this may not be an issue until
next summer and we look forward to
eating at the Glasshouse Restaurant
again.
Shelagh Davies, September 2007
The Glasshouse, Pikes Hill, Lyndhurst,
New Forest SO43 7AS
Open 12:00 – 14:00pm and 19:00 – 21:30pm
Reservations: 023 8028 6129
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