Since "home" is in the middle of major renovations and a mess, I had to resort to booking Christmas lunch this year. I choose to book The Apple Tree in Gerrards Cross (Buckinghamshire, England). At a 15-minute drive from home and a restaurant that I had a good meal at for the first time three months ago, I decided to book at short notice for Christmas Day. The food was good, and I wasn't disappointed. This is probably not something that I will do again, but the main room, dining table, and kitchen are full of boxes, so I did not really have a choice.
The Apple Tree is located in Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire, England. This isn't too far from Beaconsfield or Denham about twenty miles to the west of London. (It's actually not too far from just outside the M25 road around London.)
I choose the option for the six-course Christmas Day meal. This included a glass of champagne to start and a plate of bread, olives, and a choice of butter and dip for the bread. The meal also included the Christmas crackers.
The starter was a choice between seven different options, and I had the apple and parsnip soup, which was delicious. It had slices of parsnip on top and came with bread and butter.
We also ordered a couple of cocktails; they have a great selection at The Apple Tree.
As a part of the meal, we also received amuse bouche, a little vegetarian taster prepared by the chef. It was something that neither of us would eat: pickled onion and beetroot. This arrived before the soup.
I had the turkey, which came with gravy and bread sauce and a delicious cranberry sauce pie. It also came with a lump of stuffing and a bacon wrapped in sausage (pigs in blankets). The bloke had the venision, and it came in a jus with blackberries and onions. Both meals included some roast potatoes. The vegetables to share were sprouts cooked with chestnuts and cubed carrots cooked with a bit of pepper. The food was delicious, but the turkey was a little too dry for me.
There were six options of main to have, and the others included fish, beef wellington, lamb, and a vegetarian bake.
I actually struggled to eat all of my food! And I still had two more courses to go. The last course, which we could choose, was the dessert, and we both had the brownie. Christmas pudding, mousse, creme brulee, plum tart, cheese board, and a cherry and chocolate pudding. The brownie came with ice cream and honeycomb pieces. It was delicious and not as heavy as it looks. It was light and tasty, and we both struggled to finish it.
The last course that we had included a cocktail of our choice between six options and two chocolate truffles. I had a cosmopolitan, and the bloke had a Bailey's cocktail.
Overall, the food was delicious but a bit too filling; we certainly did not leave hungry. I really enjoyed the visit, and the first meal that I had three months ago was also good, so I will return at some point in the new year.
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