LEADING food critic Jay Rayner has given a new Summertown restaurant a very positive review, saying a visit would be worth ‘saving up for’.
The highs and lows of food critics in Oxfordshire
He called in at Pompette in South Parade and tucked in to a whole globe artichoke, a deep bowl of fish soup, a snowy piece of hake with Umbrian lentils and thick-cut lamb chops, which had been given a ‘proper seeing to by the grill’.
READ AGAIN: Pompette Summertown: European restaurant with rotating menu opens
He stayed for dessert, ‘an impeccable disc of meringue, filled with whipped cream and piled with candy pink rhubarb and bright green pistachio nuts’.
Mr Rayner praised the work of chef Pascal Wiedemann and and said: “Starters meander around the £10 mark with mains at a little more than double that. The bill will mount up if you go for it.
“Then again a place like this is worth saving up for.”
READ MORE: Why Pompette is the new place to go
The Observer critic concluded: “There’s a strong choice of wines by the glass and half-litre carafe, starting at a reasonable £19 a bottle. Put that together with their three-course fixed price lunch menu at £20 and Pompette can be good value, though there’s no pretending: the main menu pricing is robust."
In October Mr Rayner savaged The Parsonage Grill in Banbury Road, claiming his meal there was ‘utterly unmemorable’.
READ AGAIN: Parsonage Grill review: readers react
He conceded that the presentation of the food was ‘nice enough’ . The restaurant is listed as the second best venue for ‘fine dining’ in Oxford on TripAdvisor.
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