Send to a friend

Print

del.icio.us this

Digg this

Manly Pavilion

At Manly Pavilion, more is more. A large, beautifully restored room in a pre-war building right on the water, views for miles, no shortage of waiters and plenty of interesting wine, and, to top it all off, a menu rich in alluring choices. Best of all, Jonathan Barthelmess is too much of a natural in the kitchen to confuse excess and generosity. So little ravioli-like parcels of cavolo nero and chilli, with fine sheets of pickled celeriac in place of pasta, linger only long enough to impress, and then they’re gone. Elegantly handled pasta is allowed to be the star, even with its rich pork and fennel sausage accompaniment, cut with chicory, while onions and horseradish custard flatter milk-fed Suffolk lamb without getting in the way. Desserts feel like updated classics rather than big statements in themselves, as with the rice cream, walnuts and a gelato flavoured with toasted grain. A tour de force.