The Mulberry Tree revisited, 18th October Cheriton Bishop. Just off A30   Tel 01647 24227

   

Sam the owner manager gave me a ring following the review that I wrote about The Mulberry at Cheriton Bishop in August (see Eating out page)
Like any good patron he was keen that I see his restaurant in a more favourable light, and assuring me that the staff we had heard discussing their mouth ulcers had had a talking to, he suggested that I ring him on his mobile to arrange a meal on the house to 'have another try'. That was a nice gesture, but any food reviewer worth his or her salt, does not announce their arrival, giving the staff chance to put on a special show.  So I asked my daughter to book us in under her name, and we treated her and her husband to an evening meal on a cool Wednesday evening in October.
                                                                   
Read on ..........      

This place certainly shows itself off to best advantage in the evenings. Excellent lighting makes the contemporary furnishings look
warm and sexy. What the young blonde waitress lacked in table etiquette, ("No my dear, the starters cutlery goes outside the
mains knife and fork") she more than made up for with her puppy like eagerness to please.
 
We launched into delicious crab cakes £6.50, good chicken liver pate £5.95 and plum tomato £5.95 starters.
Clean plates all round; then on to 2 fish dishes off the blackboard and 2 off the table d' hote.
My sea bass , pricey at £18.95, looked for all the world like a brown trout on the plate, but when I opened it up the flesh was white and
firm and utterly delicious. Quite definitely a lovely fresh sea bass that had been cooked to perfection.
Our son in law chose the bream, also pricey at £18.95 and it too was well up to standard.  Rob enthused over his rump steak £14.95, that had
not gone past the 'medium' he'd requested.  Jennifer didn't rave about her chicken breast, £14.95 but did say that she thought that
next time she came (and that's a good sign...) she would also choose the fresh fish. The menu stated that the vegetables were local. 

Understandably for a Wednesday evening in October the restaurant was not chock-a-block with diners, but a quick head count came
up with 16 of us, and the adjacent bar was busy giving the place a lively feel.
Foodies will enjoy what the chef does with fresh fish.  I'll try the scallops next time.

    
           Bream                                                Sea bass before                                        ... and after                           

The bill which included one round of drinks, no wine, no puds came to £96.65 and on closer inspection the following day, we had been charged
only £15.95 for the bream and £16.95 for the sea bass -  not as shown on the blackboard ...see top of page.

Will we go again ?  ....yes.