The Titchfield Mill - Fareham

                                      A pleasant evening had by all at the Mill
This month the decision as to where to eat fell to Mike. He decided upon the Titchfield Mill in Fareham, a place where all the members had eaten before, but never as a Grubgang reviewer!!

Part of the vintage inn chain of pubs (we have visited many at Grubgang now see http://www.grubgang.com/2010/04/beachy-head.html for another review) So, to this pub.... an old water mill dating back to 1779, the building is beautiful and rustic, offering lots of little rooms where you can dine in style. In fact, the use of these little rooms allows diners to feel less crowded, even at the busiest of times.

We found the pub to be quite busy when we visited on the Wednesday night and with a lovely new menu for the winter season, you could see why. As well as offering the traditional pub food, there were plenty of delicious new ideas which you could try. The starters offered some different ideas with a few classics. Gemma opted for the crab and prawn cocktail, which was presented beautifully, but she did say how she missed a little slice of bread to accompany the dish, as one would expect with prawn cocktail. Mike had the baked brie (he seems to favour this starter of late!!) which again he found delicious, once he could get the bits stuck on the bottom of the dish!!
Clair had her favourite in the goats cheese starter which was served with a delicious red onion marmalade and walnut bread and Dean had something a little different.....braised pork belly! Again presented well and tasting fantastic.

The mains were just as tasty. If you are looking for a burger but watching the figure, Gemma would recommend the tuna burger. It was succulent tuna steak in a soft bun served with steak cut chips. The portion was perfect, so you don't end up filling yourself up with chips! Dean opted for the traditional burger, which was homemade with chargrilled steak and disappeared quite quickly, so must have been very tasty!

Mike chose the homemade haddock fishcakes which looked extremely tempting and Mike enjoyed very much. No complaints here! And then to Clair, who chose a dish from the specials board and opted for a venison and bacon pudding. The suet pudding was made with sage and onion and was melt in the mouth!

The desserts to finish........we all had to partake this month! Mike tucked into the banoffee cheesecake, which he felt was more like banoffee pie then cheesecake, Clair had the new addition to the menu in the Apple, Loganberry and blackberry crumble. She enjoyed it, but it was quite tart for her taste and she wasn't quite sure why she had ice cream AND custard?? Not a combination she was too sure about!! Dean had the sticky ginger pudding which was warming and perfect for a cold winters evening and Gemma had the light and fluffy raspberry sorbet.

The prices of the dishes mean it is possible to have three courses for £20 depending on your choices, but the drinks would be on top of that. We went over our budget with some of our decisions this evening, but it was worth it (Clair NEEDED that large rose wine!) The portions are just right leaving you full but not stuffed and everything is cooked wonderfully. The staff too are friendly and welcoming, letting you choose at your own pace and making sure you are enjoying your meal by apologising for interrupting first rather than barging in when you have a mouthful of food!!

Welldone Titchfield Mill, a very lovely evening was had by the Grubgang


Marks out of 10................................................................................. 9