Celtic Manor, Newport. 01633 413000
The latest of Celtic Manor’s fine dining schemes sees Michelin star holder Richard Davies return to Wales to offer up a beautifully flavoured menu. In a typically classy affair, we were sat down in the new restaurant and treated to a cocktail and presented with a taster menu, accompanied with sommelier selected wines.
First up out of five courses was duck three ways, which may sound a little risqué, but was a Neapolitan mix of duck pate, duck breast, and what can only really be described as duck ham. Next up was turbot with pancetta in a brilliantly salty sauce, followed by the highlight of the night: Welsh lamb shoulder and loin with caramelised onion. The lamb shoulder was cooked to perfection, melting almost like butter, which when paired with a smoky South African red, a Morgenster Lourens River Valley, had an almost barbecued taste.
With the savouries out of the way, we were swiftly served up with a citrusy set yoghurt, served alongside a sweet Austrian desert wine. This was a perfect introduction into the final course, the mysteriously named ‘strawberries and cream’. Featuring neither strawberries nor cream, but rather a pleasant ice creamy desert with a crumbled biscuit base and white chocolate nibbles, this deconstructed cheesecake of sorts, along with a Chilean desert wine, was the perfect way to round off a meal.
With unparalleled service and harp renditions of everything from John Coltrane to Ray Charles, this is a promising addition to Newport’s food scene as they hope to attract a Michelin star themselves. Overall, the lamb, service and wine pairings turned this night into a triumph.
LUKE OWAIN BOULT