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The Bistro, Adlington
We've all been there. Skipped lunch and with surprising will power restricted myself to a mid-afternoon slice of toast and a banana in anticipation of sitting down to a sumptuous feast some time shortly after 7pm.
Hadn't bothered booking ... there's a recession on after all, and there would surely be room early on.
Tootling across town with the tummy rumbling gently, all seemed set fair but then another couple was spotted entering, and exiting with glum faces.
Shocking news! Full up! Sorry, but there could be no further bookings that long evening. Is it possible for an empty stomach to sink?
We made a cast iron booking for next week and set off on the search to keep starvation at bay.
And so we made the happy 'discovery' of what in any circumstances should be considered a little gem – The Bistro in Adlington.
It has been running for four years, but perhaps because of its location on a roundabout, a big imposing boarded up pub opposite, or its somewhat low key frontage, has been off our radar.
Inside is a busy modern interior with a huge mirror covering one wall and giving the smart dining area a sense of space.
As if sensing our urgent need, the necessary preliminaries were set about cheerily and with speed, nicely sectioned menu plus specials boards with starters and main courses prominently displayed.
It was from one of these that I appropriately plucked (nervous laughter) my main course – duck a la orange in Cointreau and orange sauce (15.95), and watched on with some satisfaction as a half full bottle was pulled down from the well stocked bar ... that should be enough.
As your reviewer's apprentice (and wife), pausing momentarily to hook the loin of cod for mains (13.95), regaled with tales of knocking back coffee and Cointreau at 8 in the morning on camping trips across France as a stripling, the meal's essential supplements were sorted out ... me continuing the French theme with a classic onion soup (4.25), the cod due to be preceded by a bruschetta (4.95).
Did they go down like the food of the Gods because of our near starvation experience, or because they were very good? I suspect both.
A bowl half full of al dente onions was submerged in a delicious tangy soup and topped with a cheese melting crouton, the bruschetta a splash of colour with tomato, flat leaf parsley and a balsamic marinade topping a ciabatta.
The cod was huge, but would the vivid orange pimentos, white wine, king prawn and cream sauce overwhelm the dish?
The fish turned out to be tasty, fragmenting into firm chunks, and the sauce was subtle.
Sure enough the chef had judged his shaking of the Cointreau bottle nicely, although he hadn't ladled quite enough sauce on to the plate to see me through the duck without some rationing later on, but there was a lot of tasty duck.
The veg were roasts, carrots and broccoli.
The cod fancier won the wine debate - the whole nicely aided down with a fresh, dry Sancerre at 18, the last few sips of which came into their own with desserts of brandy snaps with ice cream and summer berries, and more berries with vanilla ice cream cheesecake.
The Bistro is one of those restaurants where you shamelessly gaze at other people's meals as they are wafted by.
The food is good food cooked pretty quickly, the service swift and unfailingly friendly, the atmosphere very pleasing, and when we needed it most it came up trumps.
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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
