Forbury's

European Cuisine

Reading has grown over recent years, not only in terms of population, closely allied to the increase in the IT industry in the area. That very increase in people has created an increase in demand for the range of cuisines on offer within easy reach of the town centre. The initial stage of the development at Forbury Gardens, a popular and pleasant part of the town, has seen the recent arrival of a real gem in the Reading collection of jewels in the restaurant industry.

Forbury's had been open for barely a fortnight when I was recommended to visit this French/European restaurant, one of the first businesses to occupy this welcome addition to the area, and how please I was to be able to visit this attractive glass fronted building. Alison, my partner in crime for the evening, and I were escorted to the bar to enjoy the delights of a chilled glass of champagne before we savoured the delights, colours and style of the restaurant. I was particularly impressed with the pictures on the walls, all large size labels from some of the finest wines on offer worldwide, a fine indication of what was to come.

The restaurant is very light, with glass to the two outer walls, ensuring that diners can enjoy the changing view outside as well as the conversations within. The level of service on offer here is little short of excellent, under the guidance of the experienced Xavier Le Bellego, the waiting staff were charming, highly professional and with a personal charm that does a long to ensuring that the customer return, especially after their initial visit.

Alison found the menu a real eye opener, having declared that she seldom had the opportunity to visit restaurants latterly; she found five starters and three main courses within seconds of being handed the menu and spent the next ten minutes narrowing down her selection.

A small basket of freshly cooked bread arrived, together with a description of each slice, adding to the overall pleasure whilst ensuring that diners enjoyed all the little touches that you would expect from such a quality operation. Timing, presentation and style combined to ensure conversations would not interrupted, no lengthy periods between courses. Alix, one of our charming waiting staff, maintained a dialogue with us during the course of the evening, ensuring our awareness of the dishes as well as topping up our excellent Sancerre at regular intervals.

Alison's Trio of seafood including an attractively presented Shrimp Brulee and an Oyster served in a shot glass reinforced her selection. Many more restaurants are serving starters and desserts in this form, with scaled down versions of some of their favourite dishes, often two, three or four on one plate, to excite, please and delight the customer. More of that later!!

Alison delighted in her Trio of seafood, the imaginative and attractive dish of three differing fish alternatives giving her a high degree of satisfaction and the chef sufficient opportunity to display his talents and creativity. Her murmurs of approval were reminiscent of a well known scene from When Harry Met Sally, underlining her approval of the range and quality of the starter selected. I chose the Seared Queen scallops and black pudding, presented with a warm carrot salad and elderberry beurre blanc. This starter combined two of my current favourites, scallops and black pudding, the latter being a real 'northern favourite'. It is now becoming very popular throughout the land, having been transported from the breakfast menu to starters and many main courses as chefs grasp the opportunity to combine it with a wide selection of ingredients to create fascinating dishes to excite the palate.

I selected the Marinated chump of lamb with boudin noir, fondant and a tarragon jus, lamb just as it should be with touches of pink, moist and tender. I've had superb lamb dishes recently in three stunning restaurants, it is a busy lamb season fro farmers and chefs alike and I've become a big fan. Alison settled on a picturesque dish, Pan fried fillet of sea bass with a shellfish lasagne, vanilla and parsley foam. The artistic talents of the chef were very much to the fore with this dish, pretty as a picture with a taste to match. One of the great benefits of dining with close friends on evenings like this is the opportunity to taste each others dishes without attracting strangle glances from customers and staff alike.

The restaurant operated as an efficient team should, like a Swiss railway station. Arrivals and departures handled with care, efficiency and style, no fuss, just the natural manner of the real professional operation, all allied to a personal touch from Alix and the others on the staff. Professional service like this means an informed description of the dish as well as shared laughter!

Desserts were an absolute treat, with Alison drawn towards the Chestnut souffl

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