The View Restaurant situated within the Harbour Heights Hotel, Poole is one of the best kept food lovers secrets in the area. The restaurant and terrace has panoramic views over Brownsea Island and Poole and the views on every plate are just as impressive. My only regret is the photos don't do the food justice, but that only means you will have to try it for yourselves.
We consider ourselves very lucky to of been invited to taste the food created by Chef Simon Brazkool and his team at the hotel - I have eaten his food and watched his cooking demonstrations on many occasions and I never fail to be impressed each time I taste his food.
We started the evening with a selection of breads, oil and balsamic, a couple of specially made butters, olives and shrimp filled tapioca crackers.
Second up was the white onion & parmesan soup with a truffle oil dressing, absolutely my favourite dish of the evening I could easily of eaten a bigger bowl but I knew chef had carefully thought out the portion sizes so we didn't peak to early.
Pigeon braised leg fillet, brocolli puree and pear a beautiful combination of flavours showcasing a buttery soft piece of pigeon.
Living so close to the sea means you can expect to see plenty of locally sourced seafood on the menu at any time of the year, our the next dish promotes local scallops, served with wild mushrooms, black garlic, chick weed, chicken broth. The broth was poured over the scallops at the table, it's the little touches that make the experience memorable.
Next up the rich and earthy venison saddle, accompanied by celeriac dauphinoise, onion marmalade, pickled pear, parsnip. Just look at that plate of food!
I love the fact that "The View' has an open kitchen so took the opportunity to watch this dish being plated. It is amazing how much work goes into getting that dish perfectly prepared and plated.
Moving on to desserts we were served warm carrot cake but in the true Chef Brazkool style it's not what we expected the ultra thin slices of carrots and candied nuts created a whole new level of texture.
Our final course was Matcha cheesecake, I loved the sorbet in this dish but I wasn't a big fan of the matcha topping hardly surprising as I don't like matcha.
Simon works with the seasons and will be changing his menu again in May when hopefully we can return and sample his culinary creations.
Something that is good to know - the restaurant, bar and terrace is open to hotel guests and to non-residents, so my personal recommendation for those summer views and a delicious meal - make the booking!
Harbour Heights Hotel
73 Haven Road
Poole
BH13 7LW
01202 707 272
I was invited by The View Restaurant to try their menu and was gifted the meal, photos and opinions are all my own.