Mole & Chicken

Our reason for visiting Mole & Chicken was for my mum’s birthday. The location was decided by my brother and his girlfriend, who have recently bought a flat in the area, and I was swayed predominantly by the amusing name…
Sounding more like a pub than a restaurant, it was a pleasant surprise that it felt fairly high-​dining, though the pub atmosphere definitely was not lost. There are a number of rooms in the restaurant, so some of those lovely cozy corners you can only find in traditional pubs! We were seated on a large table in a corner and handed our menus and wine list.
I have to say, I wasn’t involved in the wine ordering (predominantly because I don’t really know about it!) but a bottle of red and a bottle of white soon found their way to the table. The white was very tasty — but the large spider attached to the bottom, thanks to it coming from the cellar, did give me a bit of a fright!
It took a while round the table for everyone to decide but we eventually got there. Some hummus, olives and bread were ordered as appetisers then our mains. Unfortunately we started to experience a few service delays around this point and were more than hungry when the food did eventually arrive! The bread was especially tasty however, warm, and I’d recommend dipping this into the oil with the olives. Very garlicky!
I decided to have the lamb for main, served with a herb crust and fondant potato. The lamb itself was delicious, very soft and moist, but the herb crust was a real let down for my taste. It was very soft and lacking in any punchy flavours, so the majority was left to one side. Although it came with a good helping of gravy, I think the plate could have been improved with a creamier potato side rather than the fondant, which felt very heavy. A dauphinoise would be my suggestion!
The other dishes around the table looked very good, especially the steak, which you choose your sides and sauce for.
We had an excellent evening as a group but don’t think this ultimately came down to the restaurant. I would recommend if you’re in the area, but don’t go out of your way to visit. And avoid any herb crusts…

Had tried to book into The Mole & Chicken for a weekend stay but wasn’t available for all the nights we wanted but decided to book in for a Saturday night diner.
Nice warm atmosphere and busy on entering, given the choice of a drink at the bar or go straight to the table, we chose the latter.
Nice table for two in the corner.
Nice choice of food on the menu plus some specials.
I went for a shredded confit duck salad on spicy Thai vegetables and cashew nuts, my wife chose a fried Cornish squid, garlic, white pepper and olive oil both delicious.
We went for a rare Chateaubriand for two with chips, different sauces and butters available I went blue cheese sauce and my wife shallot and tarragon butter. Added a tomato and red onion salad and hispy cabbage with bacon, heaven!
A British cheese board between us finished off the meal, Cashel Blue, Ragworth and Tunstone with some delicious oatcakes and quince jelly.
Meal washed down with good old tap water and a bottle of Chilean Pinot Noir