La Trompette

A delightful birthday dinner at La Trompette. This one Michelin-starred restaurant has a fixed price set menu. We started with some beautifully dressed Colchester rock oysters. I had the cured sea bass starter which was stunning, and the better of the two starters we had (the other was the crab and scallop raviolo). While the roasted cod with razor clams I had was good, it was the Yorkshire grouse that really stood out and was perfectly cooked and paired with crushed root vegetables, celeriac purée, port roasted figs and crispy pancetta. The desserts were good (banana soufflé and roasted pear financier) but we weren't wowed in the same way the cured sea bass and grouse wowed us. The service was great, they even brought out a second dessert (brownie) for my partner's birthday.

I attended as a guest of a wine society for a 64 head luncheon, comprising 4 courses. The restaurant coped with all the dietary requirements with good grace and precision. The food was simply delightful with their regular menu tweaked to allow us to taste the various wines that we had brought with us. I will be coming back again as I had a great meal and a good time.

The setting outside is lovely with a great ambience. The staff were nice. The restaurant had nice decor. The food was very good and all 3 course were very filling. We loved everything - the lamb and duck with foi gras were particularly good, we did prefer the lamb slightly over the beef (although the dauphinoise potatoes were great). However the soufflé was definitely the star of the show. And it's a very generous portion! (The custard and cherry dessert wasn't our favourite.) And they had a good selection of dessert wines. The salted caramel chocolate truffles at the end were a delicious treat, too!

We had lunch here on Good Friday and loved the spring menu. I had an aromatic wild garlic veloute for starters followed by succulent lamb loin with crispy belly main course. Then a lovely light and fluffy banana soufflé for dessert served with a sharp passion fruit ice cream. Beautiful food and surroundings with a friendly service!

Enjoyed the visit. I would rate this restaurant as casual fine dining. Between a bib and a star. The food is to the point and well cooked. Enjoyed all dishes from start to finish. The bread is well-made, and the set menu is delicious and offers plenty of variation. Wine list is nice and has the usual UK prices :D. Glasware could be more elevated. The evening was very nice and enjoyed all aspects as well as some of the wine pairings. Sommelier was friendly as well as the service. As the evening progressed, the standard went down. At the end had to flag the service staff multiple times for the wine list, to order, ask for the sommelier to advise. In the end, we did not order more wine and asked for the bill. Wish they would bring this up to the standard of a fine dining restaurant. The dining room is large and might need more staff. All in all a very nice restaurant, good solid hearty cooking with a little bit "clunky" service moments.