The Aviator Brasserie sits inside the Aviator Hotel on the edge of Farnborough airport in Hampshire. The building is unique and the hotel worthy of its 5-stars. The brasserie had a lot to live up to.
The brasserie itself is a large, long, narrow room full of sumptuous wood and nice furniture. The staff floated around almost noiselessly serving customers without fanfare or fuss. This is to be applauded, as someone obviously trained them to be as helpful, but as unobtrusive, as possible.
We elected to try the taster menu at £95 per person. It was an extensive menu with some of our favourites on it, which was why we chose it.
It consisted of:
• Canapes
• Tian of Cornish crab with avocado and mango
• Terrine of chicken, ham hock and foie gras with truffle dressing,
• Roasted halibut with baby artichoke, baragole brown shrimp and buttered bok choi
• Chargrilled fillet of Dedham Vale beef with a cep ragu and buttered spring greens
• Assiette of desserts.
To complement the food, the wine tasting menu was just as compelling.
It included:
• Veuve Cliquot champagne
• Albarido 2009 terras gaudis
• Macon Village 2009, cavre de vire
• Little beauty sauvignon blanc,
• 2008 old vine zinfandel
• Chaume deomaine de forges from 2008
Each dish was immaculate. As tasting menus go, this was of a very high standard. The canapés were light, tasty and had our appetite whetted perfectly. The Cornish crab was fishy, but fragrant and had a lovely avocado aftertaste.
The terrine was moist, firm and succulent, the ideal mix. The truffle dressing was light but earthy and brought the chicken and the ham together nicely. The roasted fish was perfectly done, cooked but moist, tasty and lightly seasoned.
For me, the beef was the highlight. It was juicy, perfectly balanced, great on the palate and went down with a satisfying aftertaste. The buttered spring greens set it off nicely.
The wines were very well chosen. We drink Veuve whenever we get the opportunity, so we relished it when it arrived. The others were from France and the New World, and were a nice balance of fruit and dry which went well with each dish.
Overall the experience was overwhelmingly positive. We enjoyed our taster menu and would definitely go there again next time we’re in Hampshire.
The Bill: £67 per head
