There’s something so special about a lunchtime spent at the delightful Lime Wood Hotel.
As you join the congenial hubbub at the central bar and enjoy a spot of people watching as you sip your libation, you can actually feel your shoulders start to drop a notch or two as the Lime Wood effect fully kicks in.
After a busy few days with the team in Leeds at UKREiiF promoting all that is great about the Central South UK region, knowing a chance to review the new Equinox lunch menu was on the cards was definitely a highlight to look forward to.
When Lime Wood first opened in 2009 I can recall a former Business Editor at the Daily Echo cooing with praise for the attention to detail and high quality finish achieved under the watchful eye of hotelier extraordinaire Robin Hutson.
All that is still the case 15 years on and if anything the charm has increased as she has become a little more lived in and clearly cherished.
Lunch in the restaurant towards the rear of the hotel is always an occasion. There’s the enticing bar where you long to sit on a cherry red leather bar stool and while away the afternoon. And the Metcalfe meat slicer used for precision cutting the wafer thin hams is a thing of industrial beauty.
Creamy white wisteria entwined on the pergolas to the side of the fish ponds was a distracting view from the window – and a post-lunch wander in the grounds is highly recommended.
Antipasti of delicate kohlrabi carpaccio with cashew cream, pickled cucumber, radish and dill was the perfect starter. Simple but utterly delicious and my guest thoroughly enjoyed smoked cods’ roe with charred focaccia, Florentine fennel and chives.
Poached lemon was the absolute star in my main course offering of gnocchi con parmigiano with pea pesto and basil. The citrus flavour cut through any richness and seemed to cleanse the palate while fully satisfying the taste buds.
Across the table, steamed Cornish plaice with a delectable butter sauce was savoured and enjoyed. (A side dish of jewel-like Jersey potatoes cooked to perfection and finished with mint was the perfect accompaniment and I just had to sample one or two or maybe four).
Not wishing to appear rude, we felt it only right to sample the delights of the puddings on offer (purely for your benefit you understand and in the spirit of discovery).
Island Estate chocolate cremeux, with pistachio and raspberry tasted as good as it sounds, while my colleague’s buttermilk pannacotta with New Forest strawberries was delectable.
What makes the Equinox lunch menu sing is the flavours so ably captured by chefs Angela Hartnett, Luke Holder and their team in the kitchen. Quality ingredients are allowed the space on the plate to truly tantalise (I still can’t get over the new potatoes and will doubtless be blathering on about them for some time).
The Equinox menu celebrates the season at HH&Co, which is all about vibrant colours and abundance, so you can expect to see on the menu the likes of purple sprouting broccoli, wild garlic and even locally grown New Forest asparagus.
Set Lunch Menu:
2 courses from £39.50
3 courses from £45.00
Available Monday to Friday lunchtimes from June 3rd until June 27th, excluding Bank Holidays, for tables up to 8 people. Link to book and use the code EQUINOXJUNE when booking and you and your guests can enjoy complimentary arancini courtesy of Lime Wood.
