Wing your way to The Goshawk, Mouldsworth

Feb 29 2008 Flintshire Chronicle

Plenty of pubs have made the move from old fashioned grub to haute cuisine but combining the two should suit all parties.

That’s one of the several themes developed by the Goshawk in Mouldsworth, tucked away between the flourishing overgrown villages of Frodsham, Kelsall and Tarvin, in the very heart of Cheshire at the corner of Delamere Forest.

Judging by the cheerful crowd gathered early on a cold Tuesday evening just recently, the programme has managed to please all parties, for the spreading rooms were packed by 7pm, with more enthusiastic people arriving all the time.

The staff were young, keen and local, but did have difficulty keeping up with demand, so that we loitered rather at the hard-pressed reception desk before being greeted as ‘Guys’ and shown to a nice corner table in one of the several cosy rooms, the walls all spread with pictures on every subject you could identify.

The atmosphere and company were cheerful and obviously relied on plenty of well satisfied regulars, although I could have done without the raucous and overloud background of pop music which didn’t suit the serious food and excellent wine.

A bright thought is the layout of the large menu on one side of a single sheet of glazed card, with the ambitious wine list on the back, which does away with the process of groping through several pages of children’s meals and light bites, with the wine list in another unwieldy booklet.

Another intelligent gimmick is the wide range of wines by the glass, which suits those who have a long drive home awaiting them, when too many pubs and restaurants restrict wine by the glass to a bare few, unnamed and unhappy bottles.

Also the wines arrived in mini carafes, so that you could fill your large glass in stages, with a large glass making a third of a bottle, and a smaller 175ml providing a conventional glass and a half.

Orders were taken in our case at the table. Promptly and efficiently, but with an unduly long 40 minutes before the arrival of the starters, and another five minutes for the wine, which could have come at once.

But let me add that a large jug of iced water arrived free and just before the belated wine.

I went for a very well rounded red Chilean, a large Merlot at £4.50, but Sue was disappointed by a smaller Chablis at £4.85, which wasn't nearly chilled enough, and neither was the subsequent Argentinean Viognie, although that was a much better wine at £3.40.

For our opening round, I opted for a duck stack, which was quite outstanding, a neat pile of thin slices of duck breast in the Chinese style, while Sue tried eggs benedict, satisfactory but not outstanding.

As a lamb enthusiast, I decided to follow with a shank, which was as rich and gravy backed as I've ever sampled, supported by a touch of potato dauphinois, also well up to standard.

It’s a dish I’ve enjoyed in rural France, where it goes under the delightful name of souris d’agneau, a mousse of lamb, which is a very apt description of the shape.

Sue went for monkfish, which was fresh and tasty, also sustained by a bed of dauphinois, and I should add that once the meal started, the service was prompt and obliging, with no lengthy gaps between courses, which some people like, but we don’t.

The menu fulfils the aim of combining pub grub with more elaborate food, with burgers, sausages, and steak and kidney pie, as well as the famous lobster thermidor, created during the French Revolution, for even then they had to keep inventing more recipes while turning their delightful country upside down.

For dessert, I tried a lemon tart, which was as delicate as one could wish, although the dollop of Chantilly cream could have been dropped with advantage, and I didn’t think the excellent blackcurrant sauce spoke quite the same language as the tart, but there we are, it was more rather than less.

Sue enjoyed a classic crème brulée, which is a dish that provides a stern test for any chef, but the Goshawk’s Paul Wright managed it perfectly, and without adding any of the odd extras that sometimes cloud this superb confection, all made with a blow lamp.

All in all, an excellent evening meal, and there’s plenty in hand at the Goshawk, with plans to spread outside for the summer, providing we get one.

Just one small final niggle.

There’s not much point putting a little candle on every table if you don’t actually light them.

The Goshawk was previously reviewed by The Chronicle in July, 2005.

Location: The Goshawk, Mouldsworth.

Lunch from noon, and evening meals from 6pm until 9 pm with a good Sunday roast.

Tel: 01928 740900.

Best Thing: Excellent food and a busy atmosphere.

Would suit: Anyone who enjoys good food.

Worst thing: Noisy and inappropriate background music.

Bill: Two lavish meals with three glasses of wine cost £63.05.