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Amelie's, Coppull Moor
We are in a small and cosy reception room as canapes of salmon mousse and warm prunes in bacon tantalise the taste buds.
I flick through a thick and much- thumbed copy of the New Larousse Gastronomique, and fail to realise how handy it would be to guide us through the following couple of hours.
For it is not an option for your reviewer to simply eat and enjoy a meal. Oh no. He is obliged to think hard about what is placed on the plate before him, question its providence, discover whether its combinations succeed, ask searching questions as innocuously as possible, all to embellish the readers' experience. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.
Amelie's is the restaurant we failed to get into last week, so having booked for seven, it was no shock to discover the place full. It remained so throughout the evening.
With last orders taken as late as 10.30pm, you could be tucking in here as late as midnight.
The setting is charming. Olivier and Anna Maria took over in 2008 and put their daughter Amelie's name up in lights.
Their photos, and many classical paintings lit individually, add a warmth to the numerous small rooms where elaborate brass and silver decanters and intriguing objets d'art draw the eye. Mysteriously, a couple of top hats are placed on a coat rack in the corner.
The service is delivered with panache – maximum efficiency and minimum fuss, often enlivened with tales of family connections and in-depth explanations of the cooking. A lovely touch is individual glassware on each table.
The food is a delightful melange of continental styles, predominantly French with infusions of Italian, Spanish and English; the wine list extensive and stocked with unusual choices, one of which is our dry white Italian Gavi (19.50).
The fish soup has just the right amount of fishiness, and comes with a separate dish of cheese, croutons and saffron mayonnaise and warmed redcurrants (6.95).
Involtini, from the specials menu and served on a slate, is deep fried filo pastry parcels filled with various vegetables, herbs and parmesan, and accompanied with a wispy filo casing just about holding up a choice mix of salad and garlic mayonnaise. Unusual and elegant plates are a feature throughout.
'Medium', I suggested for my loin of lamb (17.50), knowing that a French medium is bluish, and so it proved with two deliciously tasty chunks encrusted in herbs and set aside a potato galette topping a little tower of mashed potato and crisps.
Half a dozen or so fillets of Dover sole (17.25) came in a butter, parsley and lemon sauce.
With the two main courses came an elaborate selection of vegetables served in butterfly dishes, red cabbage in little pots and two little boiled potatoes in mini frying pans, with roasts on offer.
The warm rhubarb and nectarine crumble was topped with vanilla ice cream. Its relative humble looks were balanced by a sculpture comprising cream, a wispy toffee biscuit and a chocolate clef, a cluster of summer berries and a stencil of chocolate powder. I've seen less imaginative Turner prize winners.
The meringue swan (11 for both desserts) swam in cream with summer berries, a jug of pouring cream included, and a toffee swirl. A delicious little taste bullet came from a 'tic' of minted liquorice in the cream ... that's what they were known as, apparently, back in the old days.
Half way through our meal, an old reporter friend I hadn't seen since his retirement 12 years ago came over to, as it were, compare notes: "Artistry," he said, and I recalled he'd been known for his accuracy then, and was clearly still on top form.
Factfile
Name: Amelie's
Address: 311 Preston Road, Coppull Moor, Chorley.
Tel: 0871 7149510 / 01257 792222.
Opening hours: Lunch – Wed to Sat: Noon to last order 2pm.
Dinner – Tues to Sat: 6.30pm to last order 10.30pm.
Sunday – noon to 8pm.
What's special: Evening set menu: 14.50 for two, 17.50 for three courses.
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Weather for Chorley
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 10 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
