Had a bit of a lie-in this morning after our night of festivities last night. Another lovely day again so we decided to go out for Sunday lunch.
On the way we called in at the Wild Duck to have a look at their Christmas craft fair and to drop off a bag of lemon and grapefruit to Heather who wanted to make marmalade. Wow very impressed with the stalls there. To be honest most Xmas craft fairs I’ve been to are full of hideous kitschery and tat. I never buy anything. well… I could have spent a lot of money at this one. Really nice and unusual things that would look great in anyone’s home, plus a great stall selling jams. We bought a Christmas cake made by Jacqui to take to Budapest where we are spending Christmas. It’s beautifully iced and feels heavy and full of fruit and brandy. Delighted with it.
We headed on west, up and around the big reservoir and stopped for the view. Then on to a tiny farming village which is home to Elfie’s Winery. I’d seen photos on Facebook of their Sunday lunch offering and it looked very much worth a try. The location is very rural, surrounded by fields and the vines of course. The restaurant bit is set on the big terrace of their house, so a bit unusual. They make 3 wines currently, all organic. A cabernet sauvignon, a shiraz and a rose. The chef is a lovely lady called Susan and she gave 3 tastings to decide which we wanted. We were going to have a bottle and share it but frankly it was so strong, Bob decided not to have a glass at all and I just went for one glass. God knows what the proof was. He opted for a beer as the less alcoholic option and when that came it was 8%!!!!!
Luckily the meal was very generous to soak it up. You choose roast lamb, beef, pork or half a chicken or you can have a mix. I ordered lamb and pork because I’m greedy like that and Bob had the pork. Wowzer – we’ve had some Yorkshire puddings in our time, but these were possibly the best we’ve ever had. Absolutely amazing. But every element of the plate was very very good and very thoughtfully prepared. The roast potatoes had a sprinkling of thyme, the carrots were buttery and slightly orange flavoured, the gravy was superb, greens just right. Oh and not to mention a fabulous little individual bowl of cauliflower cheese each!!!!
After that feast, she brought us out bowls of spiced apple crumble served with a jug of custard. The crumble was really good, it was made with oats and some crushed nuts. Finally, she gave us a glass of their homemade limoncello and that was really delicious. The best I’ve ever had. Very fresh and slightly sharp. You could taste the fresh lemons, nothing manufactured about it. With service the whole meal was about £20 each and a bargain for the quantity and quality. We’d certainly go again. It’s not the most picturesque ambience – you are eating on someone’s terrace – but the food is fantastic.
We detoured out to Horseshoe Bay on the way home to see what was happening to the restaurant site there that we loved so much. Well….. big developments around the whole cove is what’s happening and it’s all still fenced off. Looks like the old restaurant has been replaced by a bigger modern looking building – I think a restaurant – and there is a lot of other development going on there which is indeterminate at the moment. I hope we will be able to go there again when it is all finished and it’s not going to be private.
No need for any dinner tonight! Tomorrow we have to pack……