Bistro popolari a Corsham

Food and service certainly above average, not the restaurant for non meat eaters.

Superb meal. Tasty but not too rich. Perfect quantities. A cut above other restaurants in every way as you’d expect from a French restaurant (having lived in France.). I would not have expected to pay £3 for extra bread. We were given 4 small cuts off a ficelle.

Having come up from a hick town in Sussex, my initial reaction was “ ooh this is a bit pricey “ but then I remembered that in fact I was in a very beautiful tourist location where the restaurant had to compete with numerous other top quality establishments. I chose the Popcorn Mussels with lemon alioli for my starter and was rewarded with a large ramekin full to the brim of perfectly juicy mussels that had been deep fried in a very thin beautifully seasoned coating and a lovely little dish of citrus touched alioli that proved to be more than enough for the amount of mussels. My main course choice was the venison suet pudding which was a good sized rustic parcel of just the right thickness suet pastry, packed full of amazingly moist melt in the mouth venison that had been cooked long and slow to take on all the flavours of the herbs and vegetables it had been cooked with, served with a very smooth and buttery mashed potato. For dessert I chose the most unusual thing on the menu, a parsnip creme brûlée and I have to say that it was one of the best brûlée’s that I have ever eaten. It was creamy and sweet with a lovely crunchy top but you were left with a mild taste of parsnip on your palate, which at first was a little confusing but as you work your way through the dish actually marries beautifully with the taste and texture of the creme and leaves you wanting more. Very different yet very tasty. It comes with a spiced macaron, possibly one of the fattest macarons I have ever seen thanks to the generous filling and definitely one of the most delicious. With very friendly servers that didn’t “hover” but knew how to play their role well, I have to say that this is a bistro that you should definitely check out if you are visiting the Cotswolds. My initial thoughts if you remember were that it was a bit pricey? No, it isn’t, it’s really good value for money as the food is first class.

WE enjoyed a wonderful lunch to celebrate our our anniversary from our wedding some 42 years. Everything was just perfect and a lovely touch with a free glass of prosecco for both of us. Thank you

On arrival we were met by a member of staff who showed us to our table. Quickly our drinks order was taken and we were told that we would be told when to go up to the carvery. We were not in any hurry and waited about 5-10 minutes which was fine. The food was very good and there was a good variety of vegetables. The meat was tasty and easy to cut. Overall very pleased with the meal and service.