Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2016 | Page 101

Food and drink

Bib bib hooray!
Last year The Restaurant at the Seaview
Hotel became the first venue on the Isle
of Wight to be awarded a Michelin Bib
Gourmand and is still the only venue on
the island to hold a Michelin award.
A year later they have retained the Bib and were
recently described by The Times as a ‘class act.’ The
man that has transformed the kitchen is Bruce
Theobald. Bruce started out life in starred kitchens
but rather than have his head in the clouds he’s
refreshingly down to earth, believing good food
shouldn’t break the bank.
“I began my career at the age of 13. It was tough,
disciplined and hot - in PR terms you would say
character building!’
There’s nothing pretentious about Bruce. He would
be the first to tell the Emperor he had no clothes
on. Nor does his cooking involve fancy gimmicks,
spheres, smoke or mirrors, it’s honest, accomplished
and above all delicious.
Dining in The Restaurant is a modern affair.
Refreshingly uncluttered, there are swathes of sail
cloth, images of the sea and even a model boat giving
a nautical feel that chimes with the hotel’s history and
seaside location. Contemporary mouth blown bud
vases by Glory Art Glass adorn the wooden tables.
The menu arrives in smart black embossed folder and
there’s an inventive surprise. How many times have

you wished you could have a starter as a main and
vice versa? Well now you can as the menu has been
designed so you can choose.
Out of the ten dishes, there is a focus on fish and
seafood with two vegetarian and three meat options.
To start, who could resist a luxurious lobster linguine?
Homemade ribbons of pasta dotted with vanilla
beans wrapped in a velvety bisque and throughout
sweet chunks of lobster just waiting to be discovered
like hidden treasure.
Also on offer is a zingy Parmesan gnocchi with salsa
verde, charred onions and salty samphire or a rich
pigeon salad with bitter chicory, fragrant truffle and
fried potatoes. The inventive menu includes a clever
monkfish curry with wild rice, crispy seaweed, charred
grapes and toasted almond and a gorgeous mullet
fillet with ratatouille and rich tomato sauce that
simply transports you to the Mediterranean.
Then finally desserts. There’s a varied choice from
the exotically tropical coconut mousse, chargrilled
pineapple and lemongrass granita to the lavish
black cherry panna cotta with an ambrosial
Amarreto ice cream and finished with plump fresh
cherries. The price for all this? Three courses average
at just £28 which means two can dine out with a
bottle of wine for £73.
For more information or booking, call the Seaview
Hotel on 01983 612711 or visit the website: www.
seaviewhotel.co.uk

www. visitilife.com

Aug/Sep 2016_MASTER .indd 101

101

16/08/2016 15:22