The Corner House

The girlfriend took me here for dinner on one of my first trips to Winchester, her home town. It’s her favourite restaurant in town and having dined there, I can see why
The Corner House is located away from the main retail and restaurant area in Winchester but still draws in a loyal crowd for breakfast, lunch, supper and dinner. The interior is wonderfully ecletic with each table containing unique details and bespoke chairs. My eye kept being drawn to new things throughout the evening
The menu offers 4 options in each section and you know you’re in a good restaurant when you struggle to decide between the delicious options, as I found here. The cuisine is classic British with a hint of luxury among the ingredients. Certainly good value at £21.50 for 2 courses and £25 for 3 courses
The best dish of the evening was the wood pigeon starter, which was served on a bed of lentils. Rich and gamey without being overly so — perfect British execution of a British classic
The only suggestion we could make to improve a dish was to have a punchier cheese with the poached pear starter
The girlfriend enjoyed her main of pork with black pudding while I had the excellent ballantine of guinea fowl with pistachio & orange stuffing, fondant potato, buttered kale & pomegranate jus’
We finished our meal with an exemplary oozy chocolate fondant
Service was attentive and the staff were clearly familiar with the menu, which really helps
An impressive start to my dining experiences in Winchester