Schpoons & Forx
Terrace Road, Bournemouth BH2 5EL
Telephone: 01202 200188
When I was a few years younger I spent quite a lot of time in Bournemouth for work, and so it was quite nostalgic for me when we entered the Triangle in the centre of Bournemouth having left London only a couple of hours beforehand. Bournemouth is so underated, as it is a vibrant and cosmopolitan town, boasting 7 miles of golden sand sandwiched between the dramatic Jurassic Dorset coast and the tranquillity of the New Forest, but when I was there years ago what it lacked to entertain its cosmopolitan residents was a quality restaurant or two, but that might have changed with the advent of the new Hilton Hotel and its partnership with Matt Tebbutt in creating Schpoons and Forx.
I am usually not a fan of a restaurant whose name advises me of what utensils to use whilst eating!, but in this case I will make an exception, as this is better than its name, but before picking up your “schpoon and forx” you really need to visit another of the new Hilton’s offerings, their stunning sky bar Level8ight, located on the top floor.
Level8ight is a sky bar with wall to wall stunning views of Bournemouth on one side, and on the other side the bay, and sandwiched between them is a centrepiece bar, chandelier style lighting and an eclectic mix of velvet and leather chairs. This, I suspect from the queues for the lift to take you up there, is the place to go in Bournemouth at the moment, and I can see why. The feel is of a smart London hotel (until you look out of the window) and as we were there on a Saturday night the place was packed and had the marvellous buzz that a place full of happy people has. Despite this, the service was swift and the waitress/waiter were helpful in suggesting drinks from the extensive cocktail menu, like a Samphire and Sea Lavender Martini (£8.95), blending the slightly salty samphire infused gin with the smooth egg whites or a Pine a Colada (£8.95) taking Koko Kanu, Havana Club 3 años, Coco Lopez, lime juice & pineapple juice and topping them off with a pine liqueur and sea air foam. What could be better than watching the sun set over Bournemouth bay whilst sipping your chosen tipple?
If you love Tapas then you can stay with the view, but I fancied something more substantial, so it was a trip back down in the lift to Schpoons & Forx (S&F). A mixture of tables, high benches and booths encircle a large open plan kitchen which allows the diner to not only taste the food but see how it is prepared, which is refreshing and shows you the care the chefs take in making your experience special. To start our meal we selected Bagna Cauda and Smoked Aubergine Puree and crackers (both £4) from the pre-starter section. The stand out dish for me was the Bagna Cauda, a speciality of Piedmont in Italy, which allowed us to scoop up the rich and warm dip perfectly flavoured with garlic and anchovies with a wide variety of fresh crunchy vegetables - a real treat to the taste buds, and unfortunately not a common offering at restaurants.
When menus are extensive I always find difficulty making a decision, as I choose something, and then as I read on I change my mind again and again as I see different dishes, and the same happened here with the starters. After a period of discussion with my wife we selected the Slow Cooked Pigs Cheeks in parsley, garlic, melted onions and green chilli (£9.50), and the Beer Battered Monkfish “Scampi”, smoked paprika and aioli (£8.90). My pigs cheeks were served in a small roasting dish nestling on a bed of soft polenta and were ‘melt in the mouth’ delicious, whereas the Monkfish Scampi combined the slightly sweet taste and dense texture of the Monkfish with a light batter perfectly. The difficulties in choosing continued into the mains where there was a dazzling choice of fish and meat dishes, many using the kitchen’s tandoor oven. My wife chose the Smoked Haddock Risotto, mascarpone and soft herbs (£16.90 for a main portion and £9.50 for a starter size), and I chose the 400g Tandoor Roasted Rib Steak with watercress and duck fat scraps (£33), as I wanted to see whether a steak cooked this way lost its flavour, and if it could be served medium rare as I love having it. The chunks of flaky haddock nestled contentedly in the rich and creamy rice and the beef answered all of my questions/concerns around cooking it in a Tandoor, as the intense heat had left the outside crispy whilst leaving the inside moist and slightly pink as it should be. Additional choices on the menu include duck with a puy lentils salad (£19.60) chicken breast with sated wild mushrooms (£15.50) and Cornish Hake with asparagus and wild garlic (£18), so as a person who can’t make a choice it was very difficult to choose!
After a break to allow us to savour our lovely Casa Albali Verdejo Sauvignon Blanc at a very reasonable £19 a bottle, we were able to turn our attention back to the desserts, and the third difficult decision of the meal. Desserts are all £7.50, and after flirting with a locally made “Chococo” Chocolate and “Liberty Fields” Apple Aperitif or a Banana Tart, we plumped for the Dorset Apple Cake, clotted cream ice cream, and the Fresh Pineapple, Passionfruit and Lime Pavlova with vanilla mascarpone. The Dorset Apple Cake was rich and packed with apple, well-seasoned with cinnamon, offset by the light ice cream. The pavlova was equally light, and the slivers of pineapple and passion fruit refreshing, and a perfect ending to the meal.
Bournemouth is so underrated as a place to visit, and not only has a fabulous beach and attractions, it also now has a great hotel, skybar and restaurant to visit. My advice is to look past the name and instead focus on the fact that this restaurant serves good food in a relaxed and welcoming environment, and is well worth a visit.