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The Royal Exeter Hotel is home to three of Bournemouth’s social highlights! Its location is the envy of many a hostelry and its dining offering stakes a similar claim!
1812 gets better every year and this is down to factors including a core team that is constant - we don't expect the same faces every year in this business, but 1812 retains its team and therefore its quality. One can start in BarSo - less formal but equally as impressive as its sister 1812.
Our evening at 1812 is not a one-off as the Enjoy! clan are repeat offenders here. The bar offers the best cocktails in town and the bar staff are pretty handy with a mixer! Everything you would expect on the menu with a few surprises that impact the dinner menu. One is presented with the aperitif menu with the restaurant menu - a touch we really like. We vote for the Bicadar - martini with hints of apricot, cherry lemon and orange - a winner in the Bacardi Legacy competition and an 1812 winner! (But only one of over 100 to choose from!).
The restaurant is romantic and stylish in one, candlelight illuminates the proceedings and the service complements the ambiance, it's cool and calm.
Head chef Fran is a very, very interesting man indeed and has some proper ethos cards up his sleeve… trained in Berks and Bucks and now in Dorset with 10 years of sourcing local ingredients under his belt. His style is uncomplicated which doesn’t mean simple. It means that he has a true understanding of price married with quality alongside an enjoyment of making the dishes. He loves cooking! Using old-fashioned French techniques and an open mind, his classic menu impresses.
The restaurant seats 120 and we delighted over carpaccio of wild venison loin from Hamworthy (just the 5 miles away) and a Thai style smoked chicken and noodle salad finished with fresh coriander and toasted cashew nuts. We elected to go for wine by the glass and Amy who looked after us (we know her well) recommended the best wines to accompany. The mains tease with beef fillet and sirloin, and as is the general trend the vegetarian choices (isn't it time someone renamed these mouth-watering meat-free options?) were as appealing as everything else on the menu.
The shellfish choices include pan-seared scallops with broad beans, brown shrimp and dill risotto and fillets of sea bass - all delicious.
There is a good choice of sides here, which seems to be a dying trend - keep at it, as we all love a side of mash, spinach or a salad. The desserts keep us hanging on and sticky toffee pudding and butterscotch sauce rules - alongside the local (of course) cheese board and macaroon stack of orange blossom syllabub served with caramel fruit segments. Yummy.
There is jazz every Sunday, select Brasserie nights and any excuse for a party nights at 1812 - and in the summer months for a great lunch time treat enjoy the regular barbecues at BarSo - so much choice - so little time!
For more information, visit: www.eighteen-twelve.com
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