The Avenue

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Reviews

1. G O ★★★★★

   I am blown away at how good this meal was. I have been to the finest 3 Michelin star restaurants in the world, and this beats most of them. I’d highly recommend visiting. To the chef, please don’t change anything about this menu so I can come back and have it all again. The chef starts you out with three “snacks” all three are amazing the liver mousse being the star, and the salty ham and truffle bite was also incredible. Get the pigeon as a starter, is absolutely beautiful and tastes fantastic. The sauces are so deep flavorful, you just want to eat more and more. The bread course is by far the best bread I’ve had in a restaurant. The only complaint I have all night is, I would like 2 pieces instead of one, it’s just that good. The pre dessert was stunning, maybe the best pre dessert I’ve ever had. And the dessert was a show stopper. I had the coffee and chocolate mousse, with the banana ice cream it was a standout dish and one of the best desserts you will ever have. BUT the Mille-Feuille was even better. Honey Caramelized pastry crust, with sharp rhubarb and sweet orange zest. It was a top 3 dessert. I can’t wait to come back, if you are on the fence about visiting, trust me, come now before Chef gets 2 Michelin stars and the price goes up.

   almost 9 months ago
2. Andrew Harper ★★★★★

   I was treated to an amazing surprise meal at The Avenue, Lainston House for my birthday and would highly recommend it. Due to the size of our party we had a private dining room and this really enhanced the experience and made my family and I feel even more special. Chloe was assigned to us and ensured our glasses were full and we knew exactly what we were eating at each stage of the 8 coarse tasting menu. Each coarse was amazing and also pushed some of our boundaries, as new tastes were experienced. Each item on every plate was beautifully paired and had different textures and looked exquisite. From the pigeon, to sweetbread, to crab and lamb, all was devine and looked too good to eat. Dessert and the "Squeeze them in" were all so delicate and packed with flavour. The pastry on some the tartlets and accompaniments were so fine,it amazed how they held the filling. Despite the food looking like delicate art on a plate, we all left full and very satisfied. The evening was completed with an appearance by the very humble and talented, Professional Masterchef winner,Tom Hamblet himself. Tom has designed and executed an amazing menu that I am sure will be receiving at least one Michelin star very soon. If you like fine dining, The Avenue at Lainston House Hotel is a must.

   almost 11 months ago
3. Robert Thompson ★★★★★

   Wonderful food from Maestro Tom Hamblet, backed up by the attentiveness of all staff. A beautiful venue. It's a personal preference, but I wouldn't have had the selection of Muzak which included heavy rock! Not very relaxing! That doesn't affect the 5 star review, however, well deserved.

   1 year ago

1. Michael Thompson ★★★★★

   Had an amazing meal here with Masterchef: The Professionals winner from 2023, Tom Hamblet featuring as Head Chef! The food was beautifully presented and tasted delicious, while the service was top class.

   1 year ago
2. Ann Scott-Russell ★★★★☆

   Lovely indoor area for afternoon tea. Slightly overpriced and a bit crowded but otherwise nice experience. Excellent range of teas!

   almost 4 years ago
3. Farrukh Mirza ★★★☆☆

   Went to the Avenue for dinner. Excellent food sadly let down by achingly slow service. This is a great venue and I hope they are able to resolve whatever resourcing issue they have.

   almost 4 years ago

1. Cameron Davies ★★★★★

   This is by far the best restaurant I've visited for a long time - it's really up there. I enjoyed every minute of it and it really pushed the boundaries of what would seem like just a hotel restaurant. Just to make this clear from the off, this is a proper 3-course meal sit-down restaurant and it will be expensive, so if you'd prefer a more relaxed meal that's not like that and you're staying at the hotel, try the menu for the Cedar Bar and Lounge, where you can get burgers etc. for a lower price. I ate here on the Friday night so the menu was the ordinary 3 course a-la carte dining menu for dinners. We were acquainted with some drinks in the bar before ordering from the comfort of our own seats, and then escorted through. We had some light canapes but I didn't care for them, but others would have rated them: Canapes - 7/10 The first amuse-bouche was a Mushroom Cappuccino with pepper croutons accompanying it, it was very exquisitely presented, however the taste was slightly lacking flavour. Amuse Bouche - 4/5 The second amuse bouche we were served was a bread basket. As far as bread baskets go, I'm not rating it because although it was fantastic, all restaurants that provide them are not going to do them badly, so... The starter, that we ordered and was not set and I went for the Hand Dived Orkney Scallops with chicken in pastry and celeriac. I myself don't eat scallops, but the rest of the meal was fantastic, and I know that the other starters my family had were absolutely great as well, and the choice of starters was extremely good and imaginative compared to conventional ones. Starter - 10/10 We were soon with our chosen main course, which for me was venison as I am very partial as a meat-eater. They balanced the 4 choices so that you could have different types of fish or different types of meat, and therefore you had 4 different but similar choices at the same time. So choice in comparison with presentation and taste of the venison (which was cooked medium by default and seasoned with ragout and garlic) Main - 49/50 Between this course, we had a small passion fruit jelly with a sour creamy yogurt underneath and meringue on top. I thought it was very nice and not really much more to say about it. Third Amuse Bouche - 4/5 The final course was chosen to make it that we were being given a balance of a set menu and choosing but it was available as a six course tasting menu for an extra charge. I really loved my chocolate ganache but was too full to finish it but it was extremely well presented and made from the first impressions. But, the reason why I could not finish was because it was very rich, but then I guess they should be. Dessert - 18/20 Overall Score = 94/100 ***** A fantastic meal and would recommend it thoroughly. Just note that 3 courses are £62, 2 are £52, and drinks are not included. Also, children must be over 11 and there is no kid's menu although the portions could be smaller and certain extras or sauce could be changed slightly.

   almost 5 years ago
2. Tal Brener Haker ★★★★★

   Beautiful and delicious. They're using lots of vegetables from their own garden, the dishes are appealing and tasty. We went for the 3 dishes menu and it also came with more appatisers, bread and pre dessert. We came with our crawling baby and got a separate room that allowed him to freely play around us. Thanks for a lovely evening.

   more 6 years ago
3. Abby Hughes ★★★★★

   We had a fantastic dinner here. The quality of food is worthy of the price tag; it is not cheap so definitely recommend for a special occasion/weekend away. In addition to our three courses, we were given three different complimentary amuse bouche, as much warm sourdough bread as we wanted and a palate cleanser before dessert. All of these were delicately balanced and delicious. The meal itself was of an extremely high quality; the bounty bar was the best dessert I’ve ever had. As well as superb food, the service was excellent - professional, warm and the waiter was knowledgeable about each dish brought to the table. A memorable meal. Thank you!

   more 7 years ago

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