The Mad Hatter's Kitchen

I visited today with a friend for the first time since last September, when I thought the service was poor as they appeared to have laid-off some of the waitresses. Thinking I would give it another try I took along my friend who was with me last year.This time the young boy was serving on his own with occasional help from his father. We were sat on a very small round table in the middle of the room getting knocked by other customers and the one waiter, there is another room which could have been used and given a more comfortable dining experience.Service was very slow and used plates from previous courses were slow to be removed even though the boy waiter was passing empty handed, he did not seem to be aware that this needed to be done.The one and 1/2 members of staff were so busy that bottles were getting knocked over on tables and cutlery was being dropped. Perhaps the tray being used to deliver drinks could have been used to remove the empty plates?The main course was good and my beef was cooked to my liking, it was warm and the veg that were fresh were nicely cooked. Sadly the desert was rock hard and I even thought that the gravy that had been left on the table could have softened it up, although I held back from doing that.The price of the meal is relatively reasonable but you need to buck up on the service. Sadly my visitor has said that he will not return.

Ordered for take-out: Wonton soup Lemon chicken with side order of steamed rice (recommended by staff when asked what their best chicken dish was) Special

Awesomeits all in chinese characters, so you have to bring a friend who can read in chinese.

Having recently moved full-time to the area, we were keen to check-out a local eatery and what better occasion than to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary. As a TripAdvisor recommend, but a few minutes drive up the road, Mad Hatter's Kitchen seemed an obvious choice and we couldn't have been more satisfied. Noting that the restaurant side of the business is not open every night of the week, we phoned to check availability for the forthcoming weekend. Informed that there would be a fixed price €19 3-course menu on the Friday evening, together with live music from two travelling musicians, Tim de Graaw and Paddy James, we decided to take the plunge. With reservation taken and excellent directions provided by Charlotte, we arrived on the day in a timely fashion to be warmly greeted by Glyn, who kindly served up some aperitifs to be enjoyed in the shade of the courtyard whilst observing the coming and going of the resident hen family. As you can probably guess, the venue is typically rustic French with a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere, pleasantly devoid of heirs and graces. The cold prepared starter was simple but full of tasty surprises, although I could certainly have demolished a second plateful, but then I am a gannet. We had 4 selections of main course to choose from, so being Friday I went with the battered haddock with my wife deciding upon the duck with fig sauce. The fish was perfectly cooked, the batter light and crisp, with the accompanying thrice-cooked chips being to die for. That said, my wife's generous duck leg immediately promoted 'plate envy' on arrival, which was made even worse with her oooohs and arrrrhs, such was the tastiness of the fig sauce. Four choices again for dessert, with this time taking no envy risks and both settling upon the sticky-toffee pudding. I'm no lover of sweets, happy to go savoury every time , but this offering was truly scrumptious and spent minimal time on my plate. The inclusive 1/4 of wine was more than acceptable and on any other non-driving evening would have seen me quaff much much more. We finished off the meal with a coffee each, with the final bill coming to an extremely reasonable €51 - if only all Anniversary dinners were going to cost me that much!!!With such wonderful fayre on offer, the provision of not just one, but two outstanding live music acts was really the icing on the cake. In fact, their impromptu duet set really made it 3 live acts. Non-stop, talent filled sets, that thankfully seemed never ending..........in a very good way! All in all Tim and Paddy contributed to an amazing atmosphere that was natural in every sense of the word. A top venue, which will certainly be revisited on many more future occasions.

The hosts were welcoming and the meals were excellent, the farmhouse is a delight and the atmosphere very homely and relaxed. Nothing was too much trouble.