tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post6993992155514371556..comments2009-08-26T07:51:15.078+01:00Mat Follashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01283378128055963822[email protected]Blogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-32886613983242445032009-08-26T07:51:15.078+01:002009-08-26T07:51:15.078+01:00I haven&#39;t been keeping up with my blogging, so missed my blog rolls and consequently this! Congrats on the opening of your restaurant! It looks fabulous!Karinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16355347867145975690[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-10776086935940147982009-08-03T11:30:37.914+01:002009-08-03T11:30:37.914+01:00Mat, huge thanks to you and the team for a superb evening on Saturday 1st August. From the moment we walked in we felt like one of the family - you have a great team out front who radiate enthusiasm and a genuine excitement about what is on offer. We went for steamed cockles and clams - so fresh, simple and delicious, and the winkle and pea fritters, an original and tasty idea. We then fought over John&#39;s smoked mussel gratin - amazing - and my sole with caper sauce; again, simple, generous, beautifully cooked. Your salads are beautiful to look at and taste amazing. The lime tart was sharp, sweet and light as air. What you produce exudes the essence of what viewers may have come to understand you were all about on MC - nothing hidden under blankets of sauce or stacked up in precarious towers; just honest delivery of incredibly fresh-tasting food, creative but not over-engineered, with the elusive skill of letting the ingredients speak (or rather, sing!)for themselves. You were generous with your time and with your willingness to chat to your guests. We have nothing but praise and respect for what you have achieved and wish you all the very best for a delicious future. Thanks to all of you at The Wild Garlic, we had a perfect evening. Sophie &amp; John (still trapped in the Factory :)Anonymous[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-50997518816868633412009-07-26T19:22:16.693+01:002009-07-26T19:22:16.693+01:00Sorry to rain on your parade but I came for lunch on the 16th with 2 friends and we left under an umbrella of disappointment. We found the menu limited, and although it was a lunch time, as regular &#39;eat out foodies&#39; we had been hoping to have meal and not a snack! Would suggest more food on the plates or the option of vegetable/potato side orders on the menu but would agree that it was value for money for what we were given.<br />The 3 waiting staff were unattentive, not once were we asked how our meal was, if there anything else we required etc, infact we had to request cutlery for our main course. The waitress paid a great deal more attention to your wife and daughter when they arrived in the restaurant for their lunch! As did you when you came out into the restaurant. <br />I believe that once the &#39;novelty&#39; of being the 2009 Masterchef has worn off you will have to offer more!Karen[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-20122788648406444712009-07-26T17:09:46.050+01:002009-07-26T17:09:46.050+01:00Hi Matt, just wanted to say how much we enjoyed our meal with you on 9th July. You had a very busy night indeed including a large table of 12. My brother and Sister in law and husband thought everything was fab in particular the megrim to share, and the wortle berry sweet was knock out! it was wonderful! It was a very busy evening and at one point it seemed to be very loud and the chatter seemed to resonate, maybe one or two soft furnishing would lessen the pitch, perhaps some tapestries or arty rugs hanging on the walls. Other than that it was a fantastic night and lovely to have met you and you staff in person, well done to you all, we will be back. :-)Hilary GorsuchHilaryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15913944865693905509[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-7855292900335202402009-07-15T15:51:06.747+01:002009-07-15T15:51:06.747+01:00Hi Mat,<br />Yesterday had a lovely Birthday Lunch for my Husbands 40+ish. Wanted to say thank you, we will be back! My little boy has been on about the Crab ever since. Lovely food, lovely setting, lovely atmosphere. (and where did you get the cutlery from?) keep up the good work.Sarah Connolly[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-71391318697534555152009-07-14T17:13:31.493+01:002009-07-14T17:13:31.493+01:00Dear Mat,<br /><br />Many, many congratulations on your restaurant! Me and my girlfriend have been supporting you from overseas in the Masterchef competition. Ever since we have been hoping for you to succeed in opening your own restaurant, and now you have. Well done! Our next visit to Britain will definitely be to Dorset...<br /><br />All the best,<br />John (the Netherlands)John[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-46745172978905601212009-07-09T11:04:49.437+01:002009-07-09T11:04:49.437+01:00Hey Mat, <br />Sarah - Majik&#39;s other half - here. <br />One thing that we wanted to compliment, but completely forgot about, was the music. Can&#39;t tell you how annoying it is when in a place with overpowering music levels, but yours was perfect.Sarah Nicholsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03654839553429849985[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-39232120485875270812009-07-08T16:37:59.291+01:002009-07-08T16:37:59.291+01:00Thats more like it! &#39;Warts and All&#39; and it sounds like you&#39;ll have the scars to show for it! ;-) Hope wine fridge in by the time we come. See you at the end of the month!Matt Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594674649094622856[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-12046147138731859122009-07-07T16:06:30.444+01:002009-07-07T16:06:30.444+01:00Trust me Matt its not all plain sailing, warm wine fridges, inexperienced staff, covered in minor burns ... but on the whole its good ... and new fridges on the way ... staff are getting better, will be a great team soon ... and 30 covers no longer scares me so we can start squeezing a few more in ... look forward to you coming down ... hanest feedback plsMat Follashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01283378128055963822[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-32133742262112027982009-07-06T08:44:41.473+01:002009-07-06T08:44:41.473+01:00Mat, your dream seems to be moving into reality rather than a nightmare! I am amazed how quickly this all appears to be coming together. I freely confess I find this &#39;fly on the wall&#39; watching quite inspiring! Well done, MattMatt Harringtonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09594674649094622856[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-38710079249084450012009-07-05T20:15:55.809+01:002009-07-05T20:15:55.809+01:00Sounds like we were eating at the same time, Roadshow! Thanks for the chat at the end last night, Matt, it was a pleasure meeting you and (scarily, just like Roadshow) Sarah and I&#39;ll be back down in the August Bank Holiday, on the bikes as promised and expecting a ride out...<br /><br />The lamb dish was indeed incredible, especially the smokey mash accompanying it... I still maintain that you&#39;re spoiling the womenfolk with those two enormous brownies! :) I also don&#39;t think I mentioned how amazing the squid dish was (another slice of Lime next time though, I ran out).Majikhttp://www.majikal.co.uk[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-47738768518356300002009-07-05T14:43:25.198+01:002009-07-05T14:43:25.198+01:00Dear Mat,<br /><br />Really admire what you are doing! Us foodie bloggers just write about grub, what you are doing is a hell of a lot braver and ultimately more fulfilling I think. The skate dish sounds fantastic by the way, would love to see you post something about that.<br /><br />Anyway, good luck with it all. Gonna head down soon to try it out. <br /><br />All the best,<br /><br />LennieLennie Nashhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17366709486870706027[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-2576131256562479812009-07-05T14:31:42.611+01:002009-07-05T14:31:42.611+01:00sorry i missed you ... i do come out after the mains are done for a chat so you must have been early ... glad you enjoyed !Mat Follashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01283378128055963822[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-61234590080874606082009-07-05T14:20:59.128+01:002009-07-05T14:20:59.128+01:00We were in for dinner last night. We thought the lamb in particular was terrific. My wife was disappointed she didn&#39;t get to do the groupie thing, but I managed to persuade her that it might be best if you were allowed to do your job.<br />Between the five of us we tried most of the available options and were impressed with all. Definitely the nicest food we&#39;ve eaten since we we treated ourselves to dinner at Edinburgh&#39;s Witchery a couple of years ago. Certainly made our Sunday lunch seem a bit dull by comparison.<br />Thanks too for the ice cream recipe, that has been a big hit at home. The ladies would very much like your Brownie recipe too, they raved about that last night.<br />Anyway, congratulations on a great restaurant in a great spot. We&#39;re back again over August Bank Holiday.Roadshowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12489358405101957563[email protected]tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-591601338981287565.post-81387052776920868132009-07-05T13:30:50.290+01:002009-07-05T13:30:50.290+01:00Glad it&#39;s going well for you, keep up the good work.Debshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09048547253309861912[email protected]