Pheasant 1 Anthurium 0; 31 Dec 09

Two of the restaurants that I’ve enjoyed recently have had contrasting fortunes. In Keyston the Pheasant was entered for the ‘best local British’ restaurant competition on Gordon Ramsey’s F word on channel 4. Click here for more info. It won! At the other extreme the Anthurium in Harston is  no more. It’s closed.

I had my doubts about the Anthurium when I visited it just over a year ago. Although the food was excellent and the decor elegant etc etc I thought that the place was too small to survive. Although it might be full at weekends it surely could not pack in enough diners then to compensate for the quiet weeknights. Maybe I’m right or maybe it’s feng shui because that’s the 3rd good restaurant on the spot which has closed. Or maybe it was the name.

And to add insult to injury it’s apparently to re-open as  a Thai restaurant. We don’t need another Thai restaurant, unless it’s really good that is. There are far too many mediocre Thai restaurants already. It seems that it’s considered easy to put on a Thai menu and the average diner on a budget won’t complain as long as the chicken is tender, the curry is hot and there’s a hint of lemon grass. A long way from the Anthurium.

Back to the Pheasant. I took the wife there for lunch today.

It must be half way decent because it’s way off the beaten track and yet it still seems to pack the punters in. The service is excellent and professional and the menu is ‘interesting. A long way from a formulaic Thai.

After our Xmas excesses we didn’t eat much. But the braised duck was smashing and the choccie mousse plenty to share. I washed it down with a glass of Pinot Noir. From Australia of all places and that perhaps is my only grouse. The selection of wines by the glass is miserly and unimaginative, unless you call an Aussie Pinot Noir imaginative.