The Sportsman @ Seasalter

Ok Ok I know it's been a while since I've last blogged. It has been a combination of work, travel, and some computer problems I've had, but I'm back and I hope to be updating this more often. The Sportsman is a place I've been wanting to go to for a while now. It's location (about 1.5 hours from London) and it's constantly being fully booked though are the reason I have not gone here sooner. Well this time I made it. After the long drive, this is the view you get a few steps from the parking lot..

The place itself is a Pub, nothing really that fancy...

But go there without a reservation any days of the week, and this is what you will see:

Anyway, we did have a reservation although failed to remind them that we wanted the degustation menu, which has to be pre-ordered. So we settled for the menu of what they had fresh that day, which was an excellent choice.

First, some bread served with olives and home made butter. Once I tasted this, I knew this was going to be a great meal.

After second orders of bread and a couple of beers, we proceeded with the starters.

Rye Bay Scallops, Black Pudding and Green Apple. As you can see, this was perfectly cooked. Sublime. That's all I can say...

Mushroom Carpaccio and Chicken Liver Pate. Another near perfect dish. As you can see very simple names and dishes but perfectly done. The pate was very light, like an Ice cream practically in texture.

The last of our appetizers, Poached Rock Oysters, Pickled Cucumber and Avruga Caviar. These are native oyster grown very near the restaurant I think. Very fresh. Fantastic.

For main, I had Roast Leg of Mokshill Farm Lamb with Mint Sauce. Very tender lam, sliced and served quite rare. I normally don't like my lamb rare but this was perfectly done. It had some Potatoes and crispy skin under, which was highly appreciated. Mint sauce was home made.

We also had: Braised Brill Fillet with a Crab Bisque Sauce. I just got to try a bite of this one, but the Brill was fresh and cooked just right. The Lobster bisque was very powerful in taste, which was a perfect match to this type of fish.

And for Dessert, Warm Chocolate Mousse, Salted Caramel and Mik Sorbet. Slight warm Chocolate with salt flakes at the bottom. Nice contrast with the sweet/bitter flavors of the Chocolate. This could easily be one of my favorite restaurants in London. Location is an issue but I am always willing to go the extra mile for good food. Next time, I will have the degustation menu. They serve a home made Jamon Serrano and that I have to try.