REVIEW: Luscombes: The Golden Ball

This is my first food review I've done, and I had quite a choice of pubs/restaurants I could write about recently, so I thought I'd just choose my favourite, which was certainly The Golden Ball. 



We came here after a hard day's work for some late food, thinking we'd only have one course, two at a push, and all three of us ended up having three courses. We weren't swayed by the charm of the waiting staff if thats what you're thinking (although they were charming) but all the food on the menu was worth making space for. 
            The idyllic setting of this restaurant adds to the attraction, the beautiful rolling hills all around the area are perfect if you fancy a long walk and then cosy, but mouthwatering, meal. Not only is this lovely to look at, but of course, as its in the country, the food is seasonal and local. To set the scene of the inside I want to you imagine a typical country grandmother house, with slightly wonky ceilings and walls, with worn out beams and chipped tiles, the fire lit and a sense of security and ease. Then imagine the best food from the centre of London, all in this comfort, with much more attentive and intimate waiters and waitresses, who seem to be just as happy to serve you as you are to be eating there. Surely this is all anyone wants?! 
      Sometimes you go to eat somewhere and you get food envy. It happens to all of us, and its impossible to avoid, either from people sitting near you, or on your very own table. My mother had this exact problem the other day with me, the food I ordered was just better than hers! But at The Golden Ball this doesn't happen, you might have a little think about someone else's food, but as soon as you get your own plate anything like that entirely disappears. The proof is in three people's three sparkling clean plates at our table. 

        So to begin, we all had different starters, which I thoroughly enjoyed as I got to taste all of them! Luckily mine was my favourite. I had a local duck terrine with caramelised apple and toasted brioche. This dish really was delicious, and a great starter as it certainly left me wanting more. The terrine had cabbage around the outside to hold its shape, which added a nice colour -along with the curly leaf parsley- to the plate. The duck was beautifully pink, and the caramelised apple was sweet enough to have a different taste dimension to the duck, but still had crunch enough to taste like raw apple. Giving the dish a nice bite every now and then. The most pleasant surprise on the plate for me was the very delicate drizzle of truffle oil around the edge. Not every mouthful had a taste of truffle, so practically every time I got one it was fresh and new. The brioche was perfect; perfectly toasted (not too hard not too soft), perfect thickness and perfect sweetness with the apple and duck. There was not a single bite left. 
The other starters on our table were also fantastic, not only taste but also aesthetically. The picture to the left is cheese soufflé, it came with a celery salad in a thick cream, and baby salad leaves. I was most impressed with the appearance of this dish out of the starters as the soufflé was standing magnificently upright and grand. The celery was diced into well sized squares. The soufflé was very light, just as it should be, yet had a good sharp cheese taste. The next starter was simple, but very delicious, and once again the plate was clean. The picture to the right is is squid rings and tentacles in a potato batter with lemon juice and parsley, with a small bed of baby salad leaves. The squid had a thin covering of the potato batter, yet gas a sense of a substantial feel in the mouth. The lemon juice cut through this and made it just right to eat a decent sized plate of it. The rings were just the right size to have no fuss about eating them in one. A great selection of starters all round! 

     
   I opted for one of the specials, as the beer battered cod and chips wasn't available. My special was a tiger prawn and tomato spaghetti. The spaghetti was home made and had no faults, the texture was great and the portion size good. The prawns were of great quality and cooked to a T, however the tomatoes had a sweet taste to them, as though they had been flash fried in some sweet syrup. It was subtle, but each taste was slightly spicy and then oddly sweet. I personally would have preferred this dish without the sweet dimension, but it was still above average! My mother and Jim both ordered the same main and pudding, not that I can blame them as they had the fillet steak with blanched spinach and green beans with crispy potatoes. 

This is a real hearty dish and definitely warms from the inside out. The steak cut effortlessly, and was melt in the mouth pink on the inside. I really liked the way the steak was served, with a small and elegant portion of potatoes and some vegetables with a thick jus gravy. Its rare to find a steak that isn't surrounded by chips, with a token salad leaf. 

After this we had assumed we would go home as it was already quite late, and we were the last people left. But we were feeling too comfortable in our intimate surroundings we just couldn't leave! That, and we all have a sweet tooth. Again mummy and Jim ordered the same pudding, titled 'banana meringue' which sounds simple enough I thought, until this was bought to the table. A skyscraper of a dessert, presented with whipped cream, meringue, caramelised banana on the bottom with sweet hot caramel poured all over it. I didn't get to try much of this dish as I was very hypnotised by my chocolate, but by the look of the clean plates, it was not at all too sickening or sweet. And certainly magnificently presented.


 I, for one, can't ever resist a chocolate fondant, the warmth of the thick melted chocolate is just too just to turn down. My hot chocolate fondant was served with pistachio gelato, which went beautifully as the rich chocolate taste was slightly toned down by the smooth and fresh pistachio. I had to stop the conversation momentarily so I could make everyone try the chocolate, it was gone much too fast, and I probably could have eaten a whole new plate of it. Of course the little details are just as important; the little chocolate cigarillo was the best detail for me, again it was a pleasant and unexpected surprise, and it had an acidic taste to it, which I'm identifying as raspberry. 

All in all I can hardly fault this meal, the food was all superb and cleaned up nicely. The staff were friendly and held up conversation with smiles and laughter, while constantly being there to fill up water glasses before we'd even noticed they were empty. I will certainly be recommending and returning.