Black Pool Mill, Canaston Woods, Narberth, restaurant review

The last time I went here was with my granny, who lived in nearby Minwear Woods, when I was a very young child.

I remember a museum with lots of taxidermy and butterflies pinned to boards but not much else.

These days the Grade II listed mill has been transformed, following a £3million investment by Bluestone.

On the evening we arrive the interior is tastefully festooned with Christmas greenery and candles. We are told that the décor is done by the same team responsible for Bluestone’s explosion of glitz and colour.

This however, is a much more tasteful affair with the greenery complementing the mill’s original features.

There is a little confusion about whether we are ordering from the festive menu or the normal menu, the staff are super-accommodating and bring us both and, as there is no turkey tonight, we go for the regular.

To start I have the roasted baby beetroot. This is a tasty tricolour of different beets, one golden, one purple and one pink with a sweet beety puree, pine nuts and Miller’s bread.

I have to ask for some butter to go with the two large slices of artisan bread but otherwise this is a superb starter. Packed with flavour, not too filling and good for you to boot.

My companion goes for the smoked salmon pesto. This is really good smoky salmon, with a taste of wood fires. It is served with prawns, the menu says king but they are a bit dinky, and a salad of good firm tomatoes and micro greens with a light zesty dressing complementing the smoky taste.

For mains I have the Landsker 8oz sirloin, there is a 10oz rib eye also available, supplied by a local butcher.

This is cooked exactly as I asked for and comes with balsamic onions, fondant potatoes and green beans. The balsamic onions look very pretty and balance the steak beautifully. The beans are cooked on the right side of crunchy and the fondant potato just the right size and texture. The dish also came with a bearnaise sauce. I didn’t use this as the flavours and textures were working so well together, they didn’t need sauce adding.

My companion, being of a smaller appetite asked if she could have the pan-fried scallops, usually a starter, as a main course.

This came with spinach, chestnut mushroom sauce and Pembrokeshire potatoes, to go with this she ordered a side of the enigmatically named charred cabbage.

The chestnut mushroom sauce was more like a mousse and had a truffle-like flavour. This might have gone well with a dark meat but she found that it overwhelmed the scallops. I think she was hoping for a main sized serving of scallops and would have happily ditched the sauce.

We washed these down with a very decent glass of house red and another good glass of Shiraz.

Dessert saved the day for my dining companion. She ordered the clementine cheesecake and I ordered the dark chocolate mousse.

Visually our desserts were disguised as each other. The cheesecake was a deconstructed affair with scoops of chocolate mousse and Chantilly cream on a crumbled chocolate biscuit base with chunks of honeycomb.

The chocolate mousse came in a slice with a scoop of orange and cranberry curd topped with Chantilly cream.

After she had got over the visual confusion, my companion declared hers ‘the best dessert ever’. Mine was also very good with the tanginess of the fruit curd setting off the rich chocolate ganache a treat.

So how would I sum up my dining experience at Black Pool Mill?

The atmosphere was warm and pleasant, the staff welcoming and quick to put right small oversights such as the missing butter or a tonic without a slice of lemon.

Our waitress at the end of the meal even gave is a quick tour of the restaurant’s two private rooms and the newly renovated upstairs room.

The food was in whole delicious with well-balanced flavours and textures. The scallop dish wasn’t well received but was redeemed by ‘the best ever’ dessert.

I will definitely go again. Next time maybe for lunch, followed by a romp down the lane of childhood memories to granny’s cottage in the woods.