We were staying in Chichester overnight and decided on tapas for dinner at El Castizo as we’d had a relatively substantial lunch. But having tramped up an interestingly named street called St. Pancras, we found it closed on Monday evenings. So it was back down St. Pancras into town to our second choice, “Woodies Bar and Brasserie”:http://www.woodiesbrasserie.com/. The restaurant has two entrances and we went through the front and found a large deserted dining room. As we ventured further in, we realised that all the diners were in a conservatory at the back with vines trailing atmospherically. The back door leads directly into a car park so is highly accessible. Our table, opposite the kitchen hatch, gave me a great view into how the dishes were plated up with drizzles and garnishes prior to being served.
The menu had around half a dozen choices for each course, but as I often find, I liked the starter dishes the most. However, I’m usually reluctant to order two starters as staff fail to understand that you want one as a main. But I was still fairly full after lunch, so took the plunge and ordered two starters; a gammon hock, harissa and leek terrine with apricot chutney and a tower of warm smoked salmon mousse served on a crisp ravioli disc in a lobster bisque. Roy too was not terribly hungry and chose a main of a braised breast of English lamb. I offered him some of my tasty, but large terrine and in return, helped myself to his dish of mixed, well cooked, vegetables. With a bottle of South African Chenin Blanc our bill without service came to just under £50.
Whilst it’s not the cheapest of places, I’d recommend it as the service is professional and friendly and the food good quality and beautifully presented. It’s also an independent restaurant which I like. For a Monday night in October it was relatively busy but I suspect it hots up at the weekend when there is a DJ.
