Compleat-ly delicious

9:35am Tuesday 11th September 2007

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WE'VE all heard the expression "two heads are better than one" and at The Compleat Angler in Marlow it seems that two restaurants are better than one as well.

The elegant hotel nestling on the Thames next to the impressive suspension bridge changed its dining arrangements earlier this year.

Dean Timpson, then exective head chef, created his own exclusive restaurant "Dean Timpson at The Compleat Angler" and is aiming for the stars (Michelin, that is) with his stunning and oh so arty menu (see our review on the website www.lemagazine.co.uk).

Meanwhile the existing conservatory and half of the original Riverside restaurant has become Bowaters, named after a former owner of the property. Bowaters has already been awarded two AA rosettes and is far from being the little brother in the relationship.

It was to Bowaters I headed one wet and wild summer's evening last month. The view from the cosy restaurant is panoramic. The river in all its glory lay ahead of us.

This is now the hotel's main restaurant and it was doing a brisk trade on our mid-week visit.

The service was impeccable and we were shown to our table, offered drinks and bread rolls almost before I had a chance to soak up the charming new decor (traditionalists will be happy that most of the best features of the original restaurant have been kept, but the decor is slap-bang up to date).

The menu is varied, not too big, and offers something for every taste. Starters included the delicate smoked salmon, crab and cream cheese gateau (pictured on this month's cover) and an unusual goat's cheese and pepper spring roll. I was torn between the wild mushroom and onion tart and the duck ravioli but in the end my love for duck (and in particular confit) swung the balance. This exquisite little parcel of light pasta (pictured below), stuffed with the most tender duck breast sitting on a warm celeriac salad and decorated with roasted hazelnuts in a rich jus, shot up to the top of my "favourite starters" list. It was perfect.

Hubby Kim loves soup and had chosen the strange-sounding cream of onion and vanilla soup. Who knew these two flavours could marry so well? It was creamy, light, different - with the vanilla punching through the onions - and a delicious way to start the meal.

There were three fish and three meat courses on offer along with a vegetarian Welsh rarebit (with artichoke, wild mushrooms, spinach and a vine tomatoes salad). The roasted loin of Highland lamb with braised root vegetables and dumplings looked delicious (they were eating it on the next table) but I was hoping to make it to the desserts so I opted for the lighter poached fillets of lemon sole with wilted greens and a parsley butter sauce. These were delicate little rolls stuffed with a salmon mousse and were every bit as good as they sound. Delicious.

Kim chose the herb crusted Atlantic cod with roasted potato cake and red chard. He was very impressed with the portion of cod which was chunky in the extreme. It was perfectly cooked and flaked to the touch. The crust was tasty without being overpowering.

Happily I was able to manage a dessert. The warm chocolate tart with almond ice cream (pictured below) was an obvious choice for me (although the steamed toffee pudding and the ginger cheesecake would have done nicely too). The tart was wonderful. The pastry case was thin and hot chocolate sauce just oozed out when the pie was broken into. I was transported back to my childhood when I used to melt bars of chocolate in front of the fire and eat them with a spoon. Lovely.

I am so glad that Bowaters is this good.

For me it is a great improvement on the original restaurant which I thought sometimes was a little too formal for its own good and the food a little too way out. A setting like this deserves the best and, for me, Bowaters is certainly one of the best. Telephone 0870 400 8100.