We were staying the weekend at The Cottonwood Boutique Hotel. The hotel has a restaurant underneath named The Garden Restaurant. In the dining area upstairs of the hotel, near the bar there was entertainment on the Friday night. We viewed the menu & asked if it was possible to eat the restaurant food upstairs so we could listen to the solo guitarist (Paul) who was very good. They kindly said yes. The menu offered 2 courses for £14.95, add a 3rd for just £3.50, with the offer you were also given a glass of house wine, an excellent deal. I had Smoked haddock risotto, Chargrilled minute steak & Sticky toffee pudding for £18.45. My partner had Buffalo mozzarella & Sautéed wild mushrooms for £14.95 in all £33.40! We had been told at reception when checking in that the food was very good. It was late so we'd decided not to venture too far & give it a go. It was the greatest decision as our meal was absolutely fantastic, we were amazed with every mouthful. I've not added each of the dishes descriptions, however they were exactly what they promised & more. The bar waitress Gemma was also outstanding as her service to us was first class with a warm friendly attitude. So this was night one & we could have gone anywhere in Bournemouth on our 2nd night although we decided to eat at the hotel restaurant again. This time we went for the A La Carte Menu. 2 courses for £19.95 or 3 for £23.95. I had Ballotine of chicken and oyster mushrooms wrapped in Parma ham, Roast fillet pork & Baked New York cheesecake. My partner had Cod cakes & Braised lamb shank. This time we were honestly blown away with the outstanding presentation & exquisite flavours. We both agreed it was one of the best meals we'd ever had the pleasure of eating. Let me just add that the restaurant had allowed us to eat upstairs again where a woman was singing songs to suit the mood. After the meal we felt compelled to find out who was the creator of such fine food. We boldly went downstairs & marched into the kitchen where we found an entire team of well dressed chefs. They were in a huddle observing paperwork for what I presume were details of future meals? We asked who was responsible for the food? A man proudly stepped forward, I apologised for storming into his kitchen & explained why. He introduced himself as Gary, thanked us for our compliments & told us that all food is prepared from scratch in the kitchen. The other men were cleaning as we spoke, this kitchen was large & immaculate. Gary then kindly gave us 4 of his special hotel cookies, oh my god, the amazement continued, the cookies were devine, this man is very talented. I seriously wouldn't bother writing this if I wasn't genuinely impressed. We live near Romsey & will be driving down to Bournemouth sometime in the near future to experience the taste sensations again. I will also check beforehand if Gary is still there delivering his mastery. I highly recommend visiting The Garden Restaurant in The Cottenwood Boutique Hotel, you will not be disappointed, this is not an opinion, it's a gaurentee.
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