» Food&Drink
Andrew Kay hits the road for a lunch at Baloos Restaurant and Bar in Woodmancote
The last time I walked through the door at Baloos it was a very different experience and many years ago, too. Back then it was a country roadside pub serving bar meals. Remember them? The age of chicken in a basket and the ploughman’s platter. It was a cold day back then, as it was on this occasion, and I clearly remember enjoying a bowl of hot soup, simply because it was Heinz tomato, so what could be wrong?
Things could not be more different now. No longer a pub, not even a gastro pub, Baloos is a country restaurant. After our short drive over Devil’s Dyke we were ready for a spot of lunch but had little idea of what to expect. Inside we found a roaring log burning stove and leather sofas, so we were immediately comfortable and warm.
“I don’t give stars – I leave that to Mr Winner, although he doesn’t give many – but I do highly recommend Baloos”
Baloos is spotlessly clean. I seldom comment on that, but this place sparkled, and coming from the kitchen were the aromas of real cooking: smells that cannot be generated by the whir, click and ping of banks of microwaves.
We started with a fruit juice – how restrained were we? – and looked at the menus. Mr R was happy with choices from the set lunch menu at £10 for two course and £13 for three. I decided to tackle the à la carte but was led off piste by a small board of specials. Not planning to drink a lot, we declined a bottle of wine and instead had glasses from the more than adequate selection sold by the glass.
When our food was ready we went through to the table in the conservatory. It was sunny and bright, and the room was pleasingly full for a cold Saturday. Mr R started with potted pork. Shredded and basking in melted butter, his pork was well seasoned and came with toasted bread that had been made in the kitchen. He loved it and the small morsel I managed to wrestle from his clutches proved his judgement. My salad of crayfish on pickled cucumber with minted yogurt certainly hit the spot and was so prettily plated. It was a light and delicate pickle too; a perfect dish to have before my next choice.
And why? Because the confit duck was a massive portion and really well made – again in the kitchen, and not the tinned stuff too many places serve. This was aromatic and savoury with crisp skin and succulent flesh. The sauté potatoes were golden and crisp and the French beans came wrapped in nice bacon. All in all, a first class plate of food.
Mr R was equally impressed by a salmon fillet in Cajun spices served with stir-fried noodles and vegetables – another generous dish from the bargain lunchtime menu.
For dessert, he was very quick to choose bread and butter pudding with home-made ice cream. Wow, that ice cream was good, as was the cherry and kirsch sorbet that came with my lemon tart. Sadly, the pastry was less refined, but given the exceptional quality of the rest of the meal I was ready to forgive them this one tiny flaw. I later discovered that the person normally in charge of pastry was absent and the chef, a self-confessed disaster in the pastry stakes, had weighed in.
We finished with coffee and I would have been happy to go back to the leather sofas and snooze whilst pretending to read a magazine; that was how relaxing the atmosphere is at Baloos.
Open Tuesday through to Sunday for lunch and dinner, and with a Sunday roast menu each week, Baloos deserves to be filled to the gunnels. And we were not the only ones to think so: all around us there were smiling faces.
Owners Amanda and Chris (who is also head chef) are doing a great job. Chris has real talent and a passion for local produce – even striking a deal with a local farmer where he grows some of the produce they use. His ice creams are top notch, and Baloos do not have a greedy wine list: Ridgeview sparkling is marked up sensibly to make it a delicious and affordable choice.
I don’t give stars – I leave that to Mr Winner, although he doesn’t give many – but I do highly recommend Baloos.
Baloos Restaurant and Bar, Wheatsheaf Road, Woodmancote, nr Henfield, West Sussex, BN5 9BD, 01273 492077, www.baloos.co.uk
