In town not long after 5pm on a Saturday, we decided to try a couple of restaurants for an early dinner. Our first stop was The Square, where there was no problem getting a table for two – it was empty and remained so until we left just before 7pm! Fortunately we were seated round a corner from the bar so didn’t have that “being watched by the staff” feeling. We ordered from the early evening menu; in fact this was the only menu we were given. I had the soup of the day, spicy butternut squash with mango and coconut, which came in a large bowl with a small basket of bread. The soup was good, just a tiny bit too spicy for my tastes, and there was certainly plenty of it. The bread was a bit disappointing though, slices of baguette reminiscent of the part-baked type you get in the supermarket. My partner had the chicken liver parfait, another generous portion, wrapped in bacon and served with oatcakes and chutney. For my main course I tried the salmon and chive fishcakes, served with French fries and salad. The fishcakes, while tasty enough, seemed to have been deep-fried, which I didn’t expect. There wasn’t much salad, it was more of a garnish than anything, so together with the chips this made rather a heavy meal which I didn’t finish. Unfortunately I have to report that I was sick later on that same night, and although I can't be sure that it was the fishcakes, I can't think what else it might have been. My partner, meanwhile, had the pork and apple sausages with spring onion mash and red wine gravy; four big sausages on a pile of mush surrounded by gravy, this was another heavy (but enjoyable!) meal. Neither of us was up for pudding, so we had tea and coffee, both of which came with little Lotus caramelised biscuits. At £15.95 for two courses, or £18.95 for three (tea or coffee included), the early evening menu is a good bet – and getting a table is easy!
http://www.1thesquare.com/
Visited Saturday 9 January 2010.
