The Millstone Restaurant Review March 2020
This month we visited an award winning restaurant, the Millstone which is situated in Penyffordd, the imposing large red brick building can’t be missed with its prominent position and it is in easy access from Chester as well as Flintshire and Wrexham. The inviting building certainly does not disappoint when entering it is extremely modern but still offers a warm homely atmosphere. There is a carpeted area as well as a bar area which has sumptuous leather armchairs, dark wood tables and gastro fixture and fittings with no expense spared. You can sample the culinary delights as you relax and enjoy the ambiance with a drink from the extensive bar, maybe a Waffle and blueberry stout, pineapple express IPA or maybe a cherry gin sling.
The philosophy of the Millstone is that food should be simple and fresh. They work tirelessly to source the finest local ingredients this includes all their beef and pork being sourced from Celtic pride and all the poultry is direct from the farm of renowned producers J & S Gosnargh.
They promise to offer innovative dishes, mixing distinct flavours and textures that work in harmony as well as offering home-comfort favourites so we really could not wait to see if the Millstone would live up to this!
The waitress that showed us to our table was polite and efficient. After taking our drink order she explained the soup of the day and also gave us a separate menu with specials on , this was much better than having it on a board as it is often not in view for all tables to see.
My dining partner chose Pan fried king prawns, squid & chorizo with baby tomatoes and grilled flatbread. This was extremely Mediterranean and reminded us of food cooked in clay dishes, all the flavours worked together and caramelised with onions and spices creating a lovely base to the dish to mop up with the flatbread. The Prawns and squid were fresh and cooked to perfection.
I chose my starter from the special sheet; it was brought out promptly and the first thing we noticed was the superb presentation. I ordered Crispy Salt & Pepper Fried chicken strips with watermelon, pomegranates, basil & fresh mint, It was very different. I had never had such tasty salty flavours mixed with fresh, light zingy tastes from the watermelon, pomegranates, basil and mint but a taste bud sensation.
For the main meal we ordered Rump of Welsh Lamb with garlic mash, roasted Jerusalem artichokes, chargrilled red onion relish, olives, mint served with red wine jus and a Lemon and Harissa spiced chicken breast burger in a toasted rosemary focaccia with sour cream and baby gem lettuce.
The Chicken burger came out first this was served on a platter with a dish of triple cooked chips which were amazingly crispy and then accompanied by homemade creamy coleslaw, salsa and pickles. The lemon and harissa spiced chicken burger did not disappoint and was delicious. But the Rump of Welsh Lamb was really something else, it was cooked pink as ordered and literally melted in your mouth it was simply stunning. The pot of red wine jus complemented it enormously and the Jerusalem artichokes were surprisingly tasty and being the first time I had tasted these I was surprised at how the savoury taste worked well with the wild flavours of the lamb and caramelised sweetness of the red onion relish.
We decided to share a cheeseboard to finish our superb meal and it was a good choice, the board came served with grapes ,celery , homemade chutney and biscuits. The cheeses they served were Appleby’s Cheshire which is a clean and zingy Cheshire cheese,Perl Las Blue which is a Caws Cenarth organic soft blue cheese and last but not least Perl Wen Brie an organic creamy brie style cheese. Our favourite was Perl las blue,Caws Cenarth which not surprisingly is an international Cheese awards winner made in Nantwich.
We certainly enjoyed the innovative distinct flavours that the Millstone offered the dishes they prepare and serve certainly live up to there ethos of working in harmony together and also using fresh ,local produce where available but they also go the extra mile with the presentation of the food , we will definitely being returning to sample some more of the first class cuisine!
