Lakeside Park Hotel, Wootton Bridge
Uncategorised 6th November 2008 Matt and Cat 54
The heroes swaggered through the huge glass doors and entered the gleaming, modernist palace. Spectacular lamps – several feet long – hung over the polished bar.
Smartly dressed flunkies shimmered into view and escorted the reviewers to a table with views over the shallow lake, reflecting the twinkle from a multitude of lights. The chairs were comfortable, the carpet florid, a psychadelic shagpile swirling underfoot. The incomers listened to understated Latin sounds; Stan Getz, Astrid Gilberta. Taking their drinks they watched the hessian-covered wall at the rear of the bar slowly revolve to reveal a map of the world etched onto a vast sheet of acrylic with Pacific locations of secret missile launchpads flashing insistently… OK, so that last bit was made up, however, entering the Lakeside Park Hotel is like stepping onto a James Bond film set.
Cat felt quite at home in the 1970s Scandinavian-styled restaurant. Her glitter platforms, snake belt and Suzi Quattro feather cut, for once, did not look incongruous. Matt, dressed as usual in his Roger Moore safari suit, enjoyed an Ian Fleming moment as he imagined the roof rolling back to reveal stolen warheads coursing into the Wootton sky. Would the party finish the evening saying Nobody Does it Better, or would it be Dr No?
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Having taken their coats, the waiter proferred menus to Matt and Cat plus junior reviewer Bill. Bill was a guest at M & C’s table that evening to thank him for his idea of the Matt and Cat’s Isle of Wight Eating Out Guide poll. Top of the poll was Lakeside, with an impressive 40% of the vote. Thanks to all of those who voted. What puppet-masters you are – your reviewers will obediently go where you send them. There will be another poll in due course.
Meanwhile, back at Lakeside there was a good selection of meat on both the regular and set menus, but little for strict vegetarians, although for those ‘vegetarians’ that eat fish, there is plenty. Matt and Cat did not spend too long studying the main menu; the price of the set menu had caught their metaphorical and parsimonious eyes (these guys ain’t no Goldfinger…). A bargaintastic £11.50 for two courses and a further two quid for three. Although there were only three choices for each course, there was plenty to whet the appetite and orders were soon placed.
Whilst waiting for the starters to be delivered, a big log of heated and polished wood arrived, the medium for three small pieces of home-made focaccia bread and a little pot of chopped olives lubricated with a splash of balsamic vinegar and olive oil. The unexpected substrate theme continued throughout the meal as dishes were served on pieces of slate and what looked like vast glass ashtrays. The bread hardly touched the sides but, like any appetiser, took the edge off the hunger.
The starters soon appeared. A rabbit and shallot terrine – choice of both Matt and Cat – was beautifully presented; chunks of pale and tender leporidae sat in a ring of tiny leaves with some bits of walnut plus peppercorns for texture. Knowing that Hamilton’s, Wootton’s nearby butcher sold rabbit, Cat asked the waiter if the meat was local. He had to make an enquiry in the kitchen but when he returned it was with an impressively encyclopaedic answer: the bunny had grown fat in the meadows of France as Isle of Wight rabbits were, apparently, too blighted with mixymatosis to be served up at this establishment. It is not known whether William’s moules were locally harvested; the molluscs gaped from their tiny le Creuset-style crockpot, drenched in a delicately creamy but delightfully garlicky sauce. A shaft of focaccia bread became an excellent tool for soaking up the juices – a kind of Moule-raker, if you will.
Deftly manipulating the biggest tray in the world, the waiter carried all three main courses to the table. Cat and Bill both had the olive oil slow-poached salmon with cabbage and bacon. Matt, ignoring the lamb and beetroot stew, had chosen marinated local pigeon, horseradish mash with red wine shallots. The waiter had not seemed to struggle under the weight of his cargo, and it became apparent why – the dishes were roomy and the veg meagre; two little lengths of leek lay under a cheese sauce and a brace of beetroot parcels shyly peeped from under the lid of its little cast-iron pot home. Cat challenged the Isle of Wight’s education system by asking Bill how to divide three into two when he remarked that, as he didn’t like beetroot, the problem was resolved. So once the little leeks were frugally divvied out, the eating commenced.
The boneless salmon was very juicy, plumped up with the olive oil. Its bed of cabbage added welcome colour and the pear compote was a sweet but well-chosen complement to the delicate fish. Matt’s pigeon was really rich and tasty, and not dry. Two jaunty carrots lay across the breasts which were very well set-off by red wine sauce and a handful of truly stunning caramelised shallots. It’s not often a supporting actor takes centre stage, but these shallots were almost worthy of a dish to themselves: soft yet perfectly shaped, they were sticky with sweet juice and yet still had enough onion strength left in them to give the gamey meat a run for its money.
At this point, the James Bond mood set by quiet and mellow jazz was interrupted by the cacophonous wailings of Welsh songstress Duffy, disrupting the living daylights out of your reviewers. Less Shirley Bassey, more Garbage…
The final delivery arrived – pudding! All the desserts were presented in the most artful fashion, and for a moment the diners enjoyed looking at the handicraft before them. As Bill is only a lad, his arteries could readily tolerate the treacle tart with its generous dollop of melting clotted cream which he ate with expressions of delight. Matt and Cat both finished their meals the way they had started – with terrine. This time it was white chocolate terrine with kumquat and cranberry compote and lemon syrup. A tasty and surprisingly filling offering of fluffy sweet pâté.
Starter: 2 x rabbit and shallot terrine
Main: slow-poached salmon
Main: marinated local pigeon
Dessert: 2 x white chocolate terrine
Total 2 x three courses £27.00
2 x coffee £4.50
Tiger beer £3.40
Whilst supping coffee, the three reviewers considered their experiences of the Lakeside Park Hotel. The food got the thumbs up; interesting, well-presented and of excellent quality. The cavernous venue had undergone a sympathetic makeover, embracing its modern exterior. Despite its size, it still managed to retain some intimacy and it certainly made the best of the unusual shape of the building with its very strong design theme. Even the toilets were startlingly well-appointed – Bill was so taken with these facilities that he (unsuccessfully) suggested an entire new star-rating category just so he could award Lakeside a gold star for its infra-red urinals.
However, with a faint echo of The Boathouse at Springvale, newly-opened Lakeside’s awesome presentation was not quite matched by the the many staff. They were professional, immaculately turned out and maybe just a little too impersonally slick. There were a few minor niggles in delivery, such as the waiter having to be prompted to clean the table after he splashed a big dollop of salmon remnants on it. At the end of the meal, the bill was not offered but had to be chased. These small details would be overlooked at other places – especially at these prices – but in such a restaurant, one hopes for better.
Finally, attention has to be drawn once again to the cost of all this. Sitting in the comfortable brasserie, Matt, Cat and Bill looked across peaceful Wootton Creek where they could just spy the conspicuous signs of The Sloop, advertising carvery meals for £3.50. It seemed like a world away – but a moment’s calculation revealed the fact that, per course, Lakeside was only £1 more expensive than the bargain-basement Sloop. This truly does represent remarkably good value – the experience offered is one that would not be out of place in some of the most expensive dining-rooms on the Island.
The Lakeside was a very pleasant experience, and one that high-roller James Bond would probably have found to his liking. Matt and Cat are not only happy to recommend it, but intend to return. They’ll certainly Never Say Never Again…
Website: Lakeside Park Hotel, Wootton Bridge
Love it! Lakeside gave me the best meal I’ve had for ages -their crab salad was a delight, the care and trouble taken over the presentation was one of the best I’ve ever seen ….and enjoyed eating.
I’ve never had a bad meal here but that crab salad was superb.
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Thank you for your comments, I am pleased you have enjoyed your time with us and I hope to see you again soon
I recently joined the spa for a month here and sadly it has come to an end. I thoroughly enjoyed it, fantastic facilities and on two occasions found myself in the restuarant after an hour in the spa enjoying the fabulous food!
Will be repeating the experience later in the year.
Have been back there several time on business and finally private – were as usual very happy with the service (new service team)and were blown away by the value of their entire menu £12 for 2 courses and £15 for 3 – and this in the usual quality and almost size – this is pub money – they serve this until 7.30 (last orders not eaten) and went even so far as to wait a bit longer as we had booked for 7.30 8not in the know) to give us a chance to order from this menu.
Well done (again) the Lakeside
Also our business caterings went well
I had occasion to join my ex-colleagues for our Christmas dinner at Lakeside in mid-December. It was very busy, with a number of parties distributed between the bar and adjoining room – I commented to one member of staff that they were really busy (ok, obvious!) who said it had been busier the evening before.
I have not eaten at Lakeside from the normal menu and am sure that it is fine, but I could not advise anybody to go there for mass catering. The soup starter was OK, but the main course was tough and I like my veggies crunchy, but nearly uncooked greens and hard potatoes is a little too much for my stomach to cope with and I had indigestion. The pudding was excellent though.
Whilst it is difficult to assess a restaurant or hotel on the occasion of one visit, it is very much an advantage to be able to make comment, after using the establishment for three separate requirements on other occasions.
It happens that I had reason to make use of The Lakeside Hotel and Restaurant at Wooton Bridge this autumn, firstly to provide facilities for a buffet ‘wake’ following a bereavement, and then some weeks later to meet relatives for an evening dinner, which also suited me to sample the accommodation, since I had no wish to travel after the meal, in the current weather conditions.
For the ‘wake’ the hotel was so occupied in function rooms that we had the bar area above The Brasserie, virtually privatised at one end in order to provide appropriate seating and conversation areas. This was done with charming alacrity and sympathetic kindness, to accommodate the particular date.
Some 3 dozen people were handsomely served for the occasion; quality of both service and the imaginative finger-food could not be criticised; staff were quietly in attendance, observing the needs for food and drink as required.
To move on to the second visit and the evening dinner, reserved by myself in the very handsome ‘Oyster Room’ which carries the very deserved 2 rosette award. This was the restaurant of our choice since the occasion required more privacy than we thought the larger Brasserie could offer at the seasonal party time which is current.
Words cannot sufficiently describe the very special attention to detail evident in the food and service on offer here. Each item available on a well-ranging menu, surely to cover all tastes, is beautifully presented with style and indeed knowledge, including the wines; the content of every unusual starter or main meal down to the preparation and flavour.
The general approach is quiet and gradual with perfectly spaced servings, some unexpected small tastings between, and the whole experience spread over a sumptuous evening. Quite obviously this attention is priced to match its quality but not incomparable with similar high placed city dining houses.
Finally retiring to the rooms, you are totally comfortable in really stylish surroundings in warmth controlled rooms finished sensibly with comfort and every need. Wall-mounted television, private safe, bottled water, tea, coffee and chocolate drinks to hand.
My own habit has always been that if something is faulty or remiss I have approached management to point it out and complain. Equally I have always praised exceptional items or behaviour. On this occasion as I checked out (having chosen from the waiter-serviced breakfast menu, (not DIY, also with a choice of different meals)) I was unable to contact the general manager, who was deeply involved with staff preparing Christmas tables for the many lunched coming that day, a Friday. Sadly, I have not had the chance of congratulating this exceptional controller.
Just a little info from Lakeside Park Hotel.
Our excellent special menu priced at £12.00 for 2 courses, and £15.00 for 3 courses is now available for extended hours.
In addition to the usual times of
12 noon to 2.30pm Monday to Friday for Lunch, it is now available on Saturday Lunchtime also.
and the 6.30pm to 7.30pm Dinner menu, Monday to Thursday. Is now availble for the same times on Friday evening.
I hope you can join us.
We popped in for lunch this week. Best £12 we’ve spent on lunch in a long time. Black fillet of bream was perfect. Chicken was supreme. Our 3YO liked the ducks.
The place was empty though. Didn’t understand that, being a tourist and all. Do you Wighties have something against it?
Big Sim
Attended a friend’s birthday do at the Lakeside last weekend, which took place in the Oyster Room. They’d accommodated her request for a Greek-themed evening (her other half had even installed a statue of Zeus, complete with fig leaf) and laid on a vegetarian Greek buffet (she’s strictly veggie – no meat or fish). I don’t think carnivores missed the meat at all – it was very tasty fare.
In another function room a wedding reception was taking place. The brasserie was open as normal.
We stayed overnight at the hotel, which meant we could use the spa and steam rooms. A thoroughly relaxing stay, with a hearty breakfast the next morning. My friends ordered a cooked breakfast of veggie sausage with poached eggs, and I wished I’d done the same. The sausages appeared to be freshly made from veg and looked very appetising.
Couldn’t fault it as a venue for a big bash.
Mr Ballard, thank you for your comments regarding your afternoon tea. I am pleased that you enjoyed it and you felt it was value for money.
When guests join us for afternoon tea, we would usually serve the pot of Tea first while the Pastry Chef freshly prepares the rest of the afternoon/Cream tea. With each guest getting a pot of tea, it does usually last through the entire experience.
Following your comments, I have now made sure that the Brasserie team ask all afternoon tea guests whether they would like to wait for the scones / cake etc or would like to have the pot of tea straight away.
we are always happy to listen to comments and adapt accordingly
I had an excellent cream tea here this afternoon. Two warm scones (Osborne House please note: two, warm), excellent portion of thick cream; no butter (OH please note). But I had to ask for the scones etc having had the pot of tea served first. I was prepared to overlook this… until I read the comments here. Clearly Lakeside have problems getting this side of their act together. A pity. Really good value (OH please note).
As GM at Lakeside Park I thought I ought to mention that, guests can arrive for Breakfast until 10.30am, so it is likely that breakfast was still not finished.
Our cakes are homemade every morning by the Pastry Chef and at 11am would have just been put out for service, certainly we don’t use stale cake.
I am sorry you felt we didn’t live up to your expectations
Arrived at Lakeside Park for coffee at 11.00am. Tables from breakfast not cleared only one waitress had to go and find her. Waited about 20 mins for coffee and had very small state tasting cake. This cost around £10. Not professional have terouble getting away with such bad service on the mainland.
Just a quick plug from the team at Lakeside Park Hotel!!!
The Oyster Room is now open Lunchtimes from Wednesday to Saturday
2 course Lunch £18.95 inc a glass of house wine
3 course Lunch £24.95 inc a glass of house wine
Our Tiramisu Recipe again was brought to us from Italy.
Whats good enough for the Italians!!!!! so to speak
We were back there recently with a party of six to see how the Oyster Room copes with that and again we were not disappointed
Great plus that individual dishes on the tasting menue were changed for us as we had eaten there before, just to try something different – and we had the suggestion to order a table blanche when we come next just to get surprised by the chef
We had an excellent evening in good company and with excellent wine and when we settled the bill we all said what geat value for money it was – not cheap but worth every pound – especially compared to some of the other places on the island
Well done
Thank you for your response S.T. A lot more friendly than your usual… Anyhow, isn’t that a trading standard issue? If you order tiramisu you expect one. Please order it in Pavarotti’s in Shanklin. That is the best tiramisu you will ever taste. (Except Q Grills of course)
Appreciate the OR can offer a veggie option, we were dressed for it and was a bit let down to have to eat in the bistro bar with the jeans brigade.
Anyway, we never complain in-restaurant, my son is a chef! Why hassle the guys that are cooking to someone elses orders…
Just one other point as I have just noticed the comment.
If you say when you book The Oyster Room that you are vegetarian then The Head Chef produces a Full Vegetarian Menu personally for you.
A la Carte, 5 Course Taster Menu or 10 course Taster Menu can all be made totally vegetarian, you only need to make the request when booking.
Thank you everyone for your comments.
Just a couple of comments from us!!
I am sorry that twoveggies did not receive bread immediately, that was an oversite. I wouldn’t call them cupcakes, even as a description, what you actually get is home made focaccia bread which there is always plenty of and most of our guests ask for more because they like it so much. We traditionally don’t supply huge baskets of it straight away as it is home made, and is not made in a traditional bread making way, which is why we hate throwing it in the bin when diners don’t eat it.
We don’t provide butter with it, we serve Balsamic and Oil as it compliments it better. However if guests do require butter we will always supply it.
History shows us that our Tiramisu has been ‘THE MOST POPULAR’ dessert we have ever served. We know that it is not the Traditional version ( who wants to serve what everyone else is serving?) it is our interpretation of it, it contains No condensed milk and is Mascarpone foam on top. it also has a fabulous Chocolate Ganache hiding in the middle, which if you love chocolate is a great bonus.
Our Gnocchi may look like Ravioli because it is shaped like it, but it is not Pasta, it is made from a traditional Italian Potato Gnocchi recipe, the recipe brought to us by one of our Chefs who was in the team at Enoteca Pinchiorri in Italy which has 3 Michelin Stars.
We always strive to be better and individual with our food, as a 4 star hotel that currently has 2 AA Rosettes and working towards more we know that we are not going to be the cheapest and quickest place to dine and nor do we want to be.
We do however value all the support from our customers and their comments and understand that some people are just not going to like what we are doing.
But, I beleive its well worth trying
Thank you again for your comments
after re-reading it, Dave you may be right – they were missing the butter
However as far as Tiramisu (there are poss. as many lots orthographic variations as culinary adaptions)is concerned – there is no cream neither in the Italian original, nor in the typial 80s versions
However proper simple recepy (and right spelling as you normally seem to stress this a lot….) here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiramisu
I think that you’ll find, OC, that they were complaining about the lack of butter rather than the prescence of it. Balsamic and oil and no bread… then bread but no butter.
Tiramsu is traditionally made with mascarpone lightened by the addition of whipped cream and beaten egg whites. This dessert was popular about 15 years ago in America and one of the delights of making tiramsu is it’s versatility. There is no “end of”.
Never left hungry myself – but apart from that
A Tiramisu NEVER EVER contains/ comes with cream – end of – it is Mascarpone…., so please Lakeside carry on like that, the squirty sticky stuff is a Mascarpone foam, probaly a bit too modern for purists but all in all a nice interpretation
Now I understand the difference between Vegan, Vegetarian and hmmmm how do I call it politically correct – the meat eating majority but how can you eat cream and complain about butter when the only difference is the length of the churning process and the possibility of some added salt?????
As the O Room is not veggie friendly we ate in the Brasserie. WARNING-DO NOT arrive here if your starving hungry. Anyhow, we were not sure what you do with the dish of olive oil/balsamic placed on the table as no pre-dinner rolls were offered. You could dip your fingers in it I suppose. Starters are appetizers and because of the main portion size we asked for rolls anyway, and yes two little cup cake affairs turned up..tut…no butter. The stuffed Gnocci turned out to be filled PASTA tut tut and you must order sides or face hunger. These mains are deli size! I expected to get the pudding right but, unbelievably they served a Tiramasu (if you could call it that) without any freshly whipped cream, instead it was a glass of condensed milk topped with that sickly squirty stuff. Yuk. Still, the fresh, clean modern furniture made a nice change from 70’s tastic pubs. Bon appitite all and honestly we would rather pay more than have child size meals..
Bill 62.50.
We finally made it to the Oyster Room (we were always sort of curious what might happen beyond those doble doors- alas it was either closed or used for functions…)
I agree with the above poster that this may be the best food on the IW, certainly it is the best value for money (again I am not unfamiliar with starred establishements in the UK and elswere and I have been to the Hambrough)
What’s it about
In contrast to other local fine dining places this one really has a “personal Touch”, the decoration is depictively not English, a tad 70s (think Tantris in Munich rather than little chef, though) and it as one of the few has the amount of space you’d expect from such a venue – the tables are far enough apart, the lighting is perfect and the decoration is minimalist but genuine – not a lot of flowers but set into scene
The whole place exudes a tranquility which makes you relax and prepares you for the things to come
Again we were the only couple dining (as above), but I am conident that the atmosphere will be likewise when it is full due to the abundant space and seperation from the bar and brasserie aerea…
We went for the “small” 5 course tasting menue – turned out to be seven with all the giveaways thrown in – excellent value at 49.50
Selection of prestarters
Selection deconstructed well known Engish standards in amuse geule form
slow roasted pork belly
poached quail’s egg
fish’n chips
A Parmesan Polenta velute (one of the best dishes I ever ate)
Selection of homemade breads
slighty poaced oyster in its juice with an apple jelly – very interesting taste, obviously a hint to the venue’s name – possibly designed to make seafood more “palatable” to generation x (who would shudder if it was raw). Perfectly executed and interestingly spiced, still less would have been more for us…
Now coming on to what we paid for…
The most perfectly executed salmon starter I’ve had in a long time (yes salmon again fits the 70s theme as a starter), but this was PERFECT
with some fresh apple aroma and noth in the ususal thin slices but a big mouthfilling piece of fillet in a quality you have to triy to believe (where is it from???), very nicy complimented by the cucumber canneloni with sardine
Then a selection (ok assiete) from rabbit
Again perfectly executed different tranches from those very tasty little friends, different perparation style to suit each cut – I.e. mini cotelets which were battered and fried, the liver and kidneys sauteed …
The first main course was a fish dish, superb turbot cross fried on the skin, again one of my al time favourites, with a ravioly with crab filling and the all important fennel
Second main was a piece of venison, roasted to perfection with a very nice juice and betroot and a polenta slice
A predessert was a coconut sorbet with basil! foam and finally a shortbread millifeue
The whole meal was superbly presented, I like the use of glass and slate serving dishes (which they also do in the brasserie), in the oyster room this is stepped up by exquisite porcellaine and nice villeroy and boch cutlery
The service: I appreciate we were the only guests – so it may be different when the place is full, however Kelly made us almost feel like we were her personal guests- she was looking after us in a very friendly and personal way, serving at “our” speed always there in the background, but giving us enough space to not feel pressured – full marks here as well
The kitchen and the bar also showed some flexibility, as we are both not foie gras eaters (taste rather the pc reasons)- we were give a choice of the other starters from the a la carte menue to slot in (the rabitt), and we were given to glases of pudding wine despite only bottles beeing listed, to finish the meal nicely off, without beeing to drunk
Perfect
I hope the venue continues to hold this standard, by beeing part of a hotel with a “normal” restaurant as well there could be enough synergies to carry such an ambitious venue – all other islanders with an interest in good food – go there, trie it
Dear Foody Fan
I am sorry that a member of the team has behaved in a way that has stopped you from coming. we take all comments very seriously and I have already made the rest of the management team aware that this happened.
we hope that all of our guests leave the hotel having had a positive experience, so please be assured that every member of the Brasserie team will be spoken to about this and told to make every effort to give each and every guest what they ask for.
I used to love going to this place, the special deal they have on during the winter months has been a great idea.
However, there is one annoying waiter that was so rude to a couple sitting behind us, that it has put me off completely.
When they lady asked if she could have her beef well done, his response was ‘it won’t kill you to try it rare.’ Then when her husband asked for some seasoning for his soup, he was reminded that it had been seasoned to perfection, and HE wasn’t to be blamed if it became over-seasoned. This guy has been like a little mosquito buzzing around us for a tip ever since he’s been working there. I am giving it a miss for a while!
Simon, it is mispelled repeatedly on your wine menu. Most of your whites are described as “elegent”. I pointed it out to one of the Matthew Clark reps at your wine tasting last autumn in the Oyster Room and she promised to bring it to your attention.
Your food may not need flowery text but it could do with more seasoning in my opinion.
OYSTER ROOM awarded 2 AA Rosettes.
We are pleased to announce that the AA have awarded us 2 prestigious Rosettes for our standard of Food.
Thank you Comical for your comments, I am glad you enjoyed your meal in The Oyster Room.
A comment to Dave though, I have looked at all of our menus, they don’t include the words Elegant or Sophisticated spelt correctly or not. The menus are written with only the contents of the individual dish. Our Food speaks for itself, it doesn’t need flowery text to “big it up”
I hope you will come over and check it out sometime
Dave & co, please excuse the odd typo error , one the pitfuls of trying to do a quick review of somewhere I thought was good. I didn’t write the menu unfortunately and obviously didn’t see the error on the menus either. I just get a bit fed up with people thinking that good value means cheap and that waiters/waitresses are servants instead of servers. I know this last bit doesn’t excuse poor service but people being critical of a girls chest in a blouse? Most youngsters today wear ill fitting clothes because they’re trendy. It shouldn’t take away the enjoyment and actual taste of the food. The Oyster Room was good and I would reccommend it even though I think it may not last, as not enough people on the island will support it due to the price. But yet they’ll pay for the Hamborough because it has a Michelin star?
Is a petit fort just a larger, more fortified version of a petit fours?
I love how on the Oyster Room menu, they continually misspell the word Elegant as “Elegent” but it would have been more amusing if they had spelt sophisticated with a K.
Comical, you didn’t write the Oyster Room menu, did you?
Obhviously meant Amuse Bouche!! The dessert and petit fort were fantastic as well.
The Oyster Room at the Lakeside is the real place to try the best food on the island. The set 5 course taster menu @ £49.95 per head may seem expensive to some on the island but I beleive that you get what you pay for. This is exceptional value when you consider there wer 3 abuse bouche and 4 hors douvres ( all exceptional). The service was fine considering we were the only people eating in the Oyster room that night, so it was paced at the speed we were eating and drinking. Remember, it doesn’t have to be cheap to be good value. I have eaten at Le Manoir, Gordon Ransay and The Hamborough. I think this place beats the Hamborough hands down and isn’t far behind Le Manoir.
This is mthe first time on this site and what I can’t understand is how people can try and compare certain types of establishment to others. There are different types of product on offer for a reason, we all see things diferently and are prepared to pay for things we feel are value. If you are used to paying £3.50 for a carvery then the lakesides taseter menu in the Oyster room is going to seem expensive. If you can’t tell the difference in the two products then you shouldn’t be in one of them. I mlike a carvery by the way and judge on quality not price,as one will ultimately influence the other. Complaining about a member of staff showing off her chest is jealous and petty and I would ask if you spoke to the manager or phoned the day after to complain before you burioed someone’s daughter/girlfriend/wife on this website. Whinging over, go to the Oyster room and check it out for yourself. Say what you want and if service is not how you like it, then speak up. It won’t change unless you tell them.
Never in my life have i had such an atrocious meal as the one I encountered!
im a stickler for service and as soon as my friends suggested the Lakeside, I assumed a 4 star hotel must have something to boast about. Oh how wrong a presumption can be.
We arrived in the restaurant to have lunch, to find no visible staff, we waited and eventually a gentleman appeared. We were taken to the “lounge” area and given one menu between five people and six of the two/three course offer menus. im guessing we looked slightly too casual for their tastes as when i asked for more of their standard menu’s the man looked both shocked and confused!
after waiting again for a while we ordered drinks, and after finally asking if we could have a table an order the shocked waitress took us down the stairs to an almost empty restaurant.
i ordered the pan fried chicken, and amongst various other things one of my friends ordered a burger with stilton cheese.
Nearly FIFTY minutes later (yes there where four other people in the place and it took FIFTY minutes to cook a burger, a few small dishes and a piece of chicken) we finally were given our food. well i say our food, my side dishes where given to someone else so i had to chase them up. the chicken came pink in the middle- enough to put me off completely. On the appearance of our food also came the appearance of a chef to have a nosey into the restaurant- begging the question “if he is out here who is in the kitchen? Maybe that’s why it took fifty minutes to get our food!” from on of my friends. One of my accompanying friends knew the boy so spoke to him apparently the wait was induced by the Stilton cheese! Something so pathetic i could not believe!
The burger- eaten by an accomplished chef friend was barely edible (tolerated only by the hunger generated by the wait and perhaps one to many glasses of champagne the night before).
The bill was a situation on complete chaos- locating ALL the staff having a good chat at the bar the only option was to go up there and ask for it. Strangely the staff are unable to split things into more than on bill or indeed understand what a VAT receipt is! we finally left the Lakeside nearly two hours later, driving past the sloop with longing looks.
On a more personal note The male waiter was lovely and smiley and apologetic but perhaps the female waitress (bless her!) should invest in a bigger blouse as although my male friends enjoyed the view- i did not particularly enjoy my chicken with a bit to much breast on the side!
In response to David, thank you for your comments, but I would like to point out we do try to guage what our clientelle want, and for this Sunday i felt that most of them would be in Cowes, as you pointed out it was Cowes Week. Our Sunday Lunches are usually very propular.
The menu, although priced at £18.95pp doesn’t have to be taken in full, anyone just wanting a main course, or perhaps 2 courses can also have that
We’ve been to the Lakeside twice and the first time, we decided to give the chef a second chance. We found the food to be under-seasoned and mostly tasteless. It wasn’t long after they opened and we wanted to be fair.
We went last Sunday with another couple and we were not happy to find that they only were serving a three course Sunday lunch at £18.95 per person. How many people want to eat three courses at noon on a sunny Sunday afternoon? What’s the diagnosis for the rest of the day? A food induced coma?
The Lakeside is a hotel and restaurant. We would have expected more options and if the empty state of the restaurant was any indication on a sunny weekend in Cowes Week, then they aren’t gauging their clientele’s appetites all that well.
were back there several times, the winter menues were exceptional value for money
Alas the French (head?)waitress has left and the service is in need of an experienced senior hand- friendly as usual but not as swift and secure lately (may explain above billing probs…)
Agree on the a bit”railway station” like interior but i am looking forward to dining on the terace…
Meant to add, my son was mesmerised by the geometric mirror by the brasserie entrance. He also wished he could go and have a lie down in the spa rest area after because he was so full! (As we’d arrived at the restaurant a bit early we’d checked out the spa reception and been offered a quick tour of the spa and treatment rooms. That looked very restful!)
Also, forgot to mention desserts but the plum tart was just gorgeous.
Ate here for the first time this evening. The food was very good, but the surroundings felt a bit bland and “corporate” to me. Maybe it’s more atmospheric when it’s busier. We were the first in at 6.30 as we had our young son with us, and boy was it quiet!
Only real niggles were:
– A request for “fresh orange juice” didn’t result in fresh orange juice, just Britvic or some similar mixer.
– I’m not keen on using a slate tile for a plate. The metal cutlery on it makes a vile nails-on-blackboard type noise that set my teeth on edge. Not what you want when you’re eating. And because they’re flat they are quite simply hard to eat off without being sloppy!
– We asked for a small main course for my son, and got one, and it was flagged up as “small” on the bill… but still cost the full price, which seemed rather mean.
– Bill lag. Service was generally good – until the end of the meal when we had to make a point of tracking down a waitress to pay.
– Limited vegetarian choices. But having said that, I went for purely veggie options, and they were delicious: artichoke salad for starters, risotto for mains, both delicious, as was my son’s veggie soup.
– Lavender hand soap in the ladies was so strong it overpowered the food when I returned to the table.
All in all I liked the food, wasn’t so sold on the venue, but maybe would have to try it again at a busier time to be sure.
Reassuring to read as I’m getting spliced here in the summer. The ceremony & the reception/evening ‘do’ will all be taking place at The Lakeside. (Plus, we have booked the honeymoon suite, which probably has more floor space than my whole flat!)
Haven’t eaten a full meal here, but my future wife & I went on a ‘reconnaissance mission’ recently in order to test the wines. As the testing continued & the alcohol kicked in, we began to get hungry & ordered side orders of chips, potato wedges & salad in the bar area – all were fantastic. The chips were, I believe, homemade & were lightly sprinkled with that wonderful Maldon’s salt. A good chipped potato is always a good sign I think…
Oh, and I see what you mean about the toilets – wow!
Just treated Mum to a simply lovely afternoon tea. From where we sit we admire the sun and reflection on the water and the tranquility of our surroundings. We were served beautifully and delighted in the completely delicious tea.Just lovely.
We were back – as promised
Learnt from our last experience I booked the latest possible sitting 9 pm(they stop taking orders @ 9.30 pm) and we arrived a bit late at 9.10 or so and were pleasantly surprised that there was no intention to rush us at all. We were made comfortable at the bar, the menue appeared and we were soon sipping some nice wine and browsing the menue. Not to soon (but certainly not as late as some other people here experienced) we were asked to come to the table as food was ready to be served. I am not adding much to the presentation (M&Cs prosa is much better suited to describe this then my plain stile) which was very good. The food was amongst the best to have on the IW and would not be out of place anywere in Europe. The starter (local crab salad) was one of the best I ever had, a nice peace of asian/european fusion, with nice homemade bread and also my partner’ soup was very good. The mains (Sirloin and local bream) were also very good with slight advantage for the fish. Side dishes were very good and nicely presented with the slight downside that the staff forgot an additional side salad we orderd- never mind, as there was some unexpected (and free) veg. Desserts left us with a difficult joice as all sounded very delicious, we finally settled with apple tart and chocolate tart, here the apple tart was standing out as an exeptional dish
All in all very pleasant and value for money, can’t fault the staff either because the made us very comfortable and the minor niggles are hardly worth mentioning
Where tempted by the fabolous review, arrived there at 7.30 yesterday but alas were turned away without reservation (as stated before 20 tables looked empty, and the staff did not seem to know what was going to happen)- so have to try again
Went here http://www.eatatburrs.com/ instead another well reviewed one and were impressed indeed
Their current three course supper with wine for 2 @ 42 Quids must be the best value for money you can get on the island. Cannot remember the last time I had a similarly well cooked steak in a restaurant before. Well done
We had a wonderful evening at the Lakeside.
The staff were friendly, professional and yet not intusive.
The food was excellent. Nice size portions. I had shrimp in filo mmmmm my husband cod dijons equally as good.
We both had the sirloin steak cooked as requested. We were both quite full so sadly couldnot manage the sweet.
Would we come back…? most definitly..!!
I have been to Lakeside a couple of times and thought it was superb. The staff greeted us quickly and seated us with courteousness and flare. The food was to die for and I don’t think I have ever had such good quality cooking in a restaurant on the island. The combinations of textures, colours and tastes are clever and very successful and presentation is stunning. Each item is cooked to perfection and the portions are generous.
If you want your food in McDonald’s speed and to be in and out like a flash, then this is not your place, but if you enjoy taking your time and not feeling rushed between courses so that you can savour the tastes (and make space for the next course) then this is the place for you.
The restaurant and surrounding area are beautifully done, the views accross the creek are lovely and the service excellent. If they are doing the bread and butter pudding or the cheese board I highly recommend them. The sunday lunch deal is incredibly good for what you get.
All in all, a definate fan and will certainly return.
And if your out for a classy bit of supper opt for the fabulous cheeseboard. Mmm,mmm. Really rather good!
we visited this place a couple of weeks ago for sunday lunch arrived about 1.20 unbooked the place was only a third full but we had to wait whilst the waiter looked to see if we could be fitted in at that moment i nearly told him i could see 20 empty tables from where i was standing. we were soon seated and ordered staight away drinks arrive 15 mins later and our soups arrived at ten past 2 the service was slow as i had counted 8 waiters and 39 customers eventualy our starters were cleared and our beef arrived which was very good but not enough veg but again took so long to clear our plates we had a meeting at 4 so at 3.40 we left without our dessert a bit slow even for a relaxed sunday lunch. the waiter wasnt realy bothered about it and knocked nothing off the bill for no dessert so not a good experience wont bother again
Mmm, the food there was fantastic the service was fairly good, Immaculate toilets, I recommend them 🙂
Really loved it and if I can persaude mister Matt, hopefully we can go back, and comment on other foods that we didn’t have the pleasure of eating.
-The Billo-bob
We agree the food was amazing!! But once again the service on the island let us down.