The Ropemaker, Emsworth

As I have surely said on this blog plenty of times over the years, I will never go to any holiday or short trip without at least one meal booked that stands a better than average chance of being decent. This is partly just for the sheer joy of eating out (how sad must your life be if you don't like eating out) but particularly in the case of European trips, there's a pretty good chance the weather will be awful (and don't think even Spain avoids this - it rained for days on end during recent trips to Seville and Girona) so I need an indoor activity to escape to.

And it's just as well the Ropemaker turned out to be as good as it did, because the weather last week in Emsworth was utterly biblical. I foolishly left the dry, comfortable hotel room with only an umbrella and by the time I'd got the 20 min or so down the road to what I'm going to call the Old Town (I'm not sure what locals call it) my jeans and shoes were absolutely soaked through due to horizontal driving rain. After sitting in the Blue Bell nursing a pint and a crab sandwich for as long as it took to stop dripping onto the floor beneath me, which was a surprisingly long time, I reluctantly headed out again into the squall and got soaked to the bone all over again. As I said, it really is just as well the Ropemaker turned out to be good.

This was apparently the first day of a new menu, and though I was slightly disappointed to see they'd taken off their "famous" (as much as anywhere can be famous for anything after only being open 2 months) Bouillabaisse, there was still plenty of things you'd want to eat. This is a cheese soufflé which held a great shape thanks to a gently firm crust, and was lovely and fluffy inside. The cheese sauce was good too - silky smooth and not too overwhelming or too underpowered.

Crab and sweetcorn bites had a great texture and plenty of good crab flavour. Perhaps if I was going to nitpick I'd say they probably didn't need all three of guacamole, apple and pear chutney AND brown crab mayonnaise (the mayo and the chutney would have been more than enough) but I mean, who doesn't like guacamole anyway.

I've had enough bad examples of duck over the years (mealy and dry, overcooked and tough, or cold and flabby) to know that despite appearances it's pretty bloody easy to get wrong. The bird here was fantastic - so tender you could cut it with a spoon but with a defined golden brown skin from careful rendering. The veg selection was all soaked in one of those lovely thick, dark Madeira sauces and carbs came in the form of a neat square of crisp and creamy Dauphinoise potato.

I never got to try the rump steak as it disappeared so quickly, but I assume that's a good sign. It certainly looked accurately rare, and the chips were good and crunchy (although, inevitably, I'd have preferred them peeled). One of the balancing acts somewhere like the Ropemaker has to pull off is keep their traditional local customer base happy but also have enough elsewhere going on to make the journey worthwhile for a curious visiting restaurant enthusiast. And judging by the fact every table in this huge restaurant (and more or less every spot in the huge bar) was taken on a cold, wet Wednesday night is proof that they've hit upon a formula that works. PS. Ignore the photo above, we ate early and this was taken when we first arrived

Desserts were equally accomplished. Bramley apple and cranberry crumble was easily enjoyable, not too sweet or sour, and with a nice buttery crumb. And Pistachio soufflé (the second soufflé on the menu) looked and tasted the part too. We didn't order the cheese, but the tasteful mix of English (Ogleshield,Shropshire Blue) and French (Coulommiers, Couronne Cendrée) names means someone at the Ropemaker knows their cheese.

So who cares about weather, if it just means more of an excuse to stay for longer holed up somewhere like the Ropemaker and get stuck in. As I said, it's already a wildly popular place despite the slightly out-of-town location, so they hardly need my help putting the word out, but I'm happy to report that my night's stay here was extremely lovely (the bed in particular was incredibly comfy, I slept like a log) and I'd recommend it to anyone. Rain or shine.

8/10

I was invited to the Ropemaker and didn't see a bill for dinner, though we paid for our drinks at the bar separately. Visit their website for prices.