Address: Wantage Road (B4494), Chieveley, BerkshireRG20 8UE Its off Junction 13 on the M4 – head north when you come off the motor way and head for Chieveley, turn left  by the school in Chieveley. Go to the end and you are on the B4494.

Telephone number: 016350247550

Website: http://www.crabatchieveley.com/

Date of visit: 5 April 2010

Approximate cost per head: Set lunch: £15.90 for 2 courses, £19.9 for 3 courses. A la carte @ £30+ for 2 courses. Deserts start at £8

Comments on wine list/beer: Interesting list. Ranges from around £20 to £1250 for the 1982 Mouton Rothchild. Best value is the Mondavi 1995 Cabernet Sauvignon at £97.

Summary:

On the day before we went, AA Gill reviewed The Crab in The Sunday Times and gave it one star out of five. Please note that he also didn’t like The French Horn. I remembered that he liked The Fat duck.

The restaurant is divided into 3 connecting rooms. On the day we went, only one of the room was full. By the way, it’s also a hotel and they do a weekend package.

We ordered three set lunches and two went for the a la carte. For the a la carte, we had black pudding  as a starter followed by Breast of Duck and Fish and Chips. Both the main courses had fat chips cooked in goose fat. My daughter thought that the chips were fantastic but I felt that it was not crisp – soft chips. It came unsalted – good! Both the duck and the fish were well cooked and very tasty. I was also given an expresso cup of pea puree sweetened with sugar.

From the set menu, the others had mackerel to start with followed by lamb, sea bass and salmon. They were all given good marks. The meats were served with a heavily reduced sauce.

 All the above were washed down with a couple of bottles of Albarino (£30 per bottle) from the Galicia region. Albarino is a great grape with seafood. It’s light and fresh (similar to pinot grigio) but is far more fruity and comes with a citrus tang. In fact Spanish Wines are great value in most restaurants.

For desert, two of us had the assiette which gives you match box size of nearly everything on offer. It’s on the menu at £14 for 2 people and can easily feed 4. Deserts are a highlight in this place.

Also on the a la caret menu were, plateau du fruits de mer at £44.50 for 2 and lobster thermidor at £39.90 – yes they like £0.9 as a pricing strategy here.

I have been going to The Crab for a number of years and  :

a)      it’s the only seafood restaurant in this area. There were others but they have not survived.

b)      It’s a bit hit and miss but on the whole it’s pretty good.

c)      You need to order sides with your meal. The vegetable that comes with the meal is non existence.

d)      Service can be a bit slow. Always go for the maitre’d and not the bread and water carriers.

I like the place. To me it’s a 3 star (out of 5) place.

E

PS They offer a nice basket of bread complete with butter , aioli and oil/balsamic vinegar – no extra charge.