| Ambiance: |  (2.5 / 5) |
| Service: | (4 / 5) |
| Value for money: | (3 / 5) |
| Toilets: | (3.5 / 5) |
Due to Theodore being based in Newbury, I’m now finding myself back in the ‘home of Vodafone’ on a weekly basis and when I was told about the opening of a new French restaurant in the town centre, I was keen to give it a go.
I went with an old Vodafone friend, Chris for lunch, with high expectations about what’s being talked about as ‘delicious freshly cooked French food’. On first impressions, despite liking the open plan décor and rustic feel, I wasn’t overly enamoured as it was empty. However, we figured we’d walked all that way (about 300m up the high street) and we should get the best possible service and food, as we were the only guests. We also agreed that we quite liked the music, so we chose a table by the window and were given a carafe of water.
The drinks menu was listed on a chalkboard at the front of the restaurant, which is something I personally quite liked. The lunch menu was very limited, with only 6 starters and 4 main courses – I did keep thinking, at least Gordon would be happy (when on Kitchen Nightmares he screams out for restaurants to have less options). Unfortunately Chris couldn’t eat any form of fish so this limited our options somewhat, but we eventually decided on sharing the guillotines and pea-shoot salad for starter. We were both intrigued to what a guillotine was, and were informed by our waiter, that it was essentially bread cut into the shape of a guillotine – and that was it, I was sold!
Considering how little we’d ordered, I was surprised at how long our starters took to arrive. Nearly half an hour later, with still no other customers, we were presented with a vibrant looking pea-shoot salad and the ‘guillotines’, which reminded me more of cheese on toast than anything else. I was really disappointed with the starters; firstly because the toast most definitely wasn’t in the shape of a guillotine and secondly because it already came with a pea-shoot salad, so we ended up with a gigantic overload of the stuff. Ah well, at least I saved myself the calories while Chris ate my disappointment!
I had half a Dorset lobster with duck fat fries for my main, while Chris enjoyed a steak (cooked to the chef’s liking aka medium rare). And wow did the lobster make up for the starter! It was perfectly cooked, had a lovely soft texture and actually tasted of fish! Before Brebis, I’d never understood the appeal of lobster as it’s always reminded me of fishy, tough steak but now I’m starting to get it. The steak was perfectly cooked but the tiny plate it was presented on made it look bigger than it actually was, so I think Chris left feeling a little under-satisfied. We were both happy with the fries but this may be my main, slightly uncouth, complaint. I understand restaurants should be proud of their food, but there’s always the customer to consider and yes, I was that awful person that asked for tomato ketchup, only to be told that ‘no, they don’t stock it there as food is produced that way for a reason’. I completely get this and I agree that restaurants should retain some standards, but the customer is always right, right?!
In summary, Chris and I agreed that we wouldn’t go back unless it was for a date. It was slightly too pricey for what you got and it didn’t have the most warming of atmospheres.
Recommendation
If you’re thinking of somewhere for a date or a romantic occasion, I’d recommend Brebis as the food is genuinely very good and it is a place where you’d impress.
Extra Information:
Address:16 Bartholomew St, Newbury, West Berkshire RG14 5LW
Phone: 01635 40527
Website: http://www.brebis.co.uk/
NTK: Despite it being empty when I went, make sure you book at the weekend as it apparently gets pretty busy. Oh, and don’t order pea-shoots as a side as everything gets served with them!
