It didn't take long and by 6pm I was showered, hair-washed and sitting downstairs with Sophie. Keith had gone to the pub but there was no wine night for us as I was going to The French Partridge in the village of Horton for a meal.
The French Partridge used to be the place to go to back in the 1980s when it was run by a quirky couple, David and Mary Partridge. We ate there several times and the food was French and very good indeed, but over the years it shut down, re-opened and shut again. It reopened in September 2023 and has now been taken over by what appears to be Lebanese management, as there was a range of dishes from the country to choose from as an alternative.
I decided to drive myself as it was a freezing cold night and I didn't want to drag Keith and Sophie out again. I picked up Lynda from her house in Cogenhoe on the way, and it was only a short drive to Horton. We arrived at the same time as Andrea and Fiona and hugged as we hadn't seen each other since our wine tasting back in September.
First impressions were good when we entered the dimly lit bar and took our seats. A very friendly girl from the bar took our orders and made me a delicious mocktail. The menu wasn't huge, but that's always a good sign that the food is freshly prepared. She did say that they were in the process of changing the menu and some of the dishes weren't available.
One of the staff came to take our order but we weren't ready so he disappeared, never to be seen again! Some time later we were shown through to the formal dining room where another couple were eating and seated by a window. Our orders were taken and I chose a French Malbec to go with the red meats we'd ordered.
There was another large party in an adjoining room so the restaurant wasn't busy. It took quite a while for our starters to appear and it was almost 9pm before they were brought out to us. I had chosen the wild mushrooms on toast and the others had all decided on scallops.
The wine was good and my starter was acceptable. I could see lots of scallops on the other plates so I wished I'd ordered them! The waiting staff consisted of one elderly Chinese man who I'm sure used to run The Sunrise in Northampton... he was lovely but I don't think that waiting at table was his strong point. He forgot to bring out knives for our steaks and had to go and get them. Fiona had the lamb shank, while Lynda, Andrea and I chose the ribeye steak. We had asked for fondant potatoes with the meat but we were given chips instead. Lynda asked for the potatoes and he said he'd bring them out free of charge as an accompaniment.
I have to say my steak was lovely. It was tender and tasty, but I was disappointed with the fondant potato and suspected it had been defrosted and quickly cooked in a pan. I also had a rock-hard tomato and another mushroom accompanied by watercress.
By now, we were the only diners in the restaurant and our waiter brought out the dessert menus. I chose the chocolate and salted caramel soufflé as I hardly ever eat soufflés, while the others chose the cheese board. This caused much confusion for our waiter who stared at the menu as if he'd never seen it before and then took it off to the kitchen with him. He shuffled back with it and said he didn't have grapes, which wasn't a problem, and both Fiona and Lynda asked for their cheese to be served without celery.
Of course, they both had a pile of celery on their plates, which they gave to Andrea! They had also asked for a glass of Port to go with the cheese and the waiter appeared with three tumblers saying that was all they had, so one glass would be on the house... He even offered me a coffee on the house as I was the driver! I didn't really want it, to be honest, but I gave in and made sure he knew it had to be decaffeinated!
By now, we were giggling with the comedy of it all, and the place reminded us all of Fawlty Towers! The real problems began, though, when we tried to pay the £200 bill. The three girls said they would pay more than me as they'd had G&Ts before the meal and the Port, so we told our waiter that we would be splitting it four ways. This really seemed to confuse him and he wandered off again! Andrea had paid cash so we just needed the card machine for our three payments.
Andrea had ordered a taxi and it was mere minutes away, so we got up from the table and went to find him. He emerged from the bar and we said that because the taxi was waiting Fiona would pay it all on her card and Lynda and I would transfer the money. That set him off again and he disappeared into the bar!
Andrea and Fiona had to go as the taxi was outside, so it was now down to just Lynda and me to settle up the bill. Lynda said she would pay for the three of them, and I would pay mine on the card machine separately. Unbelievably, this caused more confusion, so in the end, Lynda paid £200, minus the tip of £20 we were going to give and we fled! It was total madness! I honestly believe we could have walked out without paying or paid whatever we wanted! I can't see this place surviving, I'm afraid!
I took Lynda back and then drove home where I told the story to Keith and Sophie. By the time I'd finished, it was almost midnight... definitely time for bed!
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