The Village Bistro, Charles Street, Hoole, Chester

Aug 24 2007 by Glynn Mon Hughes, Liverpool Daily Post

Hard-to-please Glynn Mon Hughes finds a place to savour

WE ARE turning into – no, we are – a couple of grumpy old men. We’ve got a circle of friends with whom we eat out but, increasingly, we’re finding that there’s something Not. Quite. Right.

It’s too spicy, or it’s too bland. There’s too many unruly children. The music’s too loud. It lacks atmosphere, or else it’s too quiet.

And so to Hoole where, praise be, we found somewhere where all the boxes are, potentially, ticked.

When we stumbled on The Village Bistro, we thought we’d made a major discovery – until we looked at the plate on the wall which said it was the Best Small Restaurant in the 2005 Chester Food and Wine Festival.

All right, so others pipped us to the post. But that doesn’t deflate the elation we felt at this discovery.

This is a small restaurant – 30 covers or so – in the delights of Hoole village, where there are real butchers, decent fishmongers, proper florists, unusual delicatessens, and not so many chain stores as you’d be bothered.

It’s got the atmosphere of a small town from 40 years ago, with cafés and bistros to match – except bistro was not a word you’d use in 1967: believe me, I know.

Booking by telephone was easy. They actually sounded like they wanted to see us. Once there, the waitress, Beth, was an example of how to run a place like this – ever-attentive but not overly pushy and always helpful.

And when the couple on the adjacent table asked if we came here often, it was not a vapid chat-up line.

They told us they came once a fortnight and we could see why.

The food is fresh and locally sourced and it appeared that, once an order went into the kitchen, the chefs did not scrabble around the freezer with one hand while setting the microwave with the other.

The Bistro has a small menu which changes on a monthly basis and it all appears well designed, appealing to everyone’s tastes: a goodly selection of fish and meats with vegetarians far from forgotten. And, before ordering, Beth was at pains to stress what was not available – which could be some- thing of a drawback. Read on . . .

I rather fancied the potted duck and pistachio terrine, served with rhubarb compote and orange syrup. It was off. So was the pan-fried sea bream fillet, with vegetable nage, pak choi, radish, fennel, mange tout and peas, which Mark had spotted.

But no worries. For starters, we could have fried vegetable consommé with cheese straws, goat’s cheese and celeriac roulade or scrambled eggs on toast – yes, honestly – but served with sautéed wild mushrooms and truffle oil. That, if anything, is far from my normal breakfast fare.

Mark ordered home-made herring rollmops with new potato and wholegrain mustard salad. “Quite wonderful,” he said. “Delicate and sweet but without that overpowering saccharin taste you get from the jars sold in some supermarkets.” I asked for Caesar salad, served with parmesan, garlic, anchovies, baby gem lettuce, a very light mayonnaise and a small poached egg.

It was excellent. Light and tempting, with anchovies which were not overly salty and devoid of a tanker-full of mayonnaise heaped on top.

We washed the meal down with a bottle of Cape Bay Chenin Blanc, another South African masterpiece. Wines here are reasonably priced: whites from £11.95 to £24.95 and reds from £11.95 to £21.50.

While the selection is not vast, it appears well chosen and there’s a house Cuvee Jean Paul at £11.95 for a litre carafe. All wines are also available by the glass.

Mark’s grilled rib-eye steak, fat chips, confit tomato and field mushrooms had him in near ecstasy. “The meat is perfect. Succulent, melt-in-the-mouth.” My calves livers were equally near perfection. Cooked just as I had asked and served with an extremely rich mashed potato and a wonderful jus which was almost abrasive, in a sweet way.

He also asked for a side order of new potatoes and market vegetables, served perfectly al-dente.

The side orders were impressive: ordinary stuff served in an imaginative way. As we took in what other diners had ordered, we saw excellently baked field mushrooms, a lightly dressed salad of rocket and parmesan.

And desserts? Yes, we succumbed. There was a selection of fine artisan cheeses, or an intriguing home-made concoction of Viennese fingers with whipped mocha milkshake.

I went for a tart Tatin of William pears served with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream – well worth the 20-minute cooking time. These were hot – but not incinerated – pears on a puff pastry base, a mysterious combination of tart and sweet, hot and cold – and quite wonderful.

But it was left to Mark for the last word. He asked for three scoops of ice cream. He ended up with chocolate and Cointreau, vanilla with pine nuts and the most exhilarating lemon sorbet ever known.

He’s still talking about it.

The Village Bistro, 11 Charles Street, Hoole, Chester, Tel: 01244 400400.

Opening times: Lunch: Noon-2pm; evenings: Mon-Thurs: 6-9pm, Friday, Saturday 6-9.30pm; early evening offers available; Sunday, noon-8pm.

Bill: £56.35 for two three-course table d’hote menus, one bottle of Chenin blanc and one bottle of water

Parking: Ample, on street, after 6pm. Difficult in the daytime.

Disabled access: Two steps up to restaurant. Toilets upstairs and then several steps

Service: Unhurried yet prompt, friendly and helpful.