Wolverhampton Victorian Christmas Programme Wolverhampton Victorian Christmas Programme 2018 | Page 13

There was a 3-course set menu to choose from with a good variety of dishes available. Paul instantly decided on the curried cauliflower soup whilst I toyed between the ham hock terrine and the goat’s cheese & red onion marmalade cheesecake, eventually deciding on the ham hock terrine. Our friendly waiter took our drinks order, and shortly after our beautiful starters arrived and looked fantastic. Paul’s soup smelt amazing! His creamy homemade soup topped with an onion bhaji and a drizzle of chilli oil, was certainly a clever idea and wonderful combination. The curried flavours were subtle but stunning, a truly delicious soup. My ham hock terrine came with pickled carrot, piccalilli, dressed leaves and crisp bread. The terrine was really meaty and seasoned with wholegrain mustard, all the flavours came together to create a delicious taste. Two beautiful starters. The first race took place and the room was filled with an electrifying roar of people cheering on the horses they had backed, hoping for a big win! Unfortunately, our horse was last but that didn’t stop us looking through the racecard again and putting another bet on. Plus, the restaurant was buzzing, our food was amazing and the drinks were flowing so I really didn’t mind! In-between the second and third race our main courses arrived, perfect timing after our starter. Paul had opted for the roasted rump of lamb, dauphinoise potato, parsnip puree, buttered savoy cabbage with a redcurrant jus. It was superbly presented looked amazing – I just had to have a taste! The lamb was so succulent and juicy, just a delicious tender and flavoursome meat and the dauphinoise potatoes were wonderful, and all the vegetable ingredients just added fabulous flavours. It was a truly mouth-watering dish. My choice of main was the pan-fried chicken breast, smoked bacon mash, charred baby leeks, carrot puree and a sage jus. Again, presented fantastically and a great portion size. The chicken was amazing and the smoked ham mash was simply divine, such a delightful and flavoursome dish. The combination of all ingredients again created a superb main course. We enjoyed the next couple of races and the view was simply incredible, we had the best seats in the house and the TV screen on our table allowed us to get a closer view of the horses. Enjoying quality, exciting racing and eating fabulous food and drink in such a stylish restaurant really made me feel like royalty. The icing on the cake was when Paul backed a winner on the fourth race! Even though I wasn’t so lucky it was very exciting cheering on the horses and watching them cross the finishing line. It was time to choose our desserts, and we both struggled to pick one each so decided to share. The first one we agreed on was the white chocolate bread & butter brioche pudding with vanilla custard. It was absolutely scrumptious and my personal favourite dish of the day. Our second choice was the chocolate delice which had a thin biscuit base, a chocolate sponge mousse and was topped with salted caramel, a pure chocolate fix. Once we’d enjoyed all three courses we decided to head outside into the grandstand enclosure and watch the action from outside – even the atmosphere here was amazing, everyone was enjoying themselves and it really did make me realise what I’d been missing out on all these years. It’s such a great day and evening out! Once the last race had finished we headed into the Ringside Restaurant for the evening entertainment, which on this occasion was live music from ‘Decade Explosion’. We joined other racegoers who, like us, were having a wonderful time and ending the night dancing to some old classics was a fabulous end to such a great evening. I definitely won’t be leaving it as long as I have done to return to Wolverhampton Racecourse, exhilarating racing, delicious food and drink, and even a win, the whole day and evening was just simply fabulous! Reviewed by Sarah & Paul Cole