SATISFIED CUSTOMER
TAKE a right after passing through Radcliffe-on-trent on the A52 and you arrive at what is now called Upper Saxondale. When in the hands of 1990s housing developers it was known as St James’s Park, no doubt to the puzzlement of Newcastle United supporters.
Before that that it was Saxondale Psychiatric Hospital, which in a less sensitive age was officially the Nottinghamshire County Lunatic Asylum. It was built, as Victorian and Edwardian mental health institutions often were, at the top of isolated hills.
The hospital history embraced everything from the treatment of shellshocked Great War squaddies to a teenage girl’s allegation of skirt-lifting against the late and unlamented Jimmy Savile.
In the 21st century it is a residential community, with the old ward buildings converted into townhouses, alongside unadventurous modern examples of what housebuilders love to call “executive” homes.
If there is a focal point to Upper Saxondale it is the restaurant and bar situated in the old hospital entrance and admissions block, a site that has proved challenging, in the years following the redevelopment, to a succession of catering ventures.
It now seems to have settled down as Venezia, which smarter readers will guess is an Italian restaurant. It is also a fish and seafood specialist, and a pretty good one, too.
Some bread would have been nice, the service is leisurely rather than carpet-scorching and some of the offerings are well beyond budget territory – we paid something adjacent to 20 guineas for our two starters. However presentation and flavours earn Venezia a well-above-average mark.
The dining room is agreeable, with statement floor-length curtains and Venice scenes on the walls. The only furnishings failing is the lack of carpet, the timber floor amplifying the yells of a well-spoken but shouty sixsome and the stentorian monologue of the chap lecturing his dining companions on the state of world trade.
Those starters may not have been cheap, but they were delicious and plentiful. Across the table my guest loved her scallop gratin dish – two large king scallops, corals attached, served in their shells in a garlicky cream sauce, with a heap of green salad.
My fish soup was more of a knife and fork job, for the red bisque-y broth was piled high with clams, mussels, squid and prawns, served with tasty croutons. On an undemanding day, this would have done me for luncheon.
My friend’s fillets of sea bass were perfectly done, and were served with enough carrots to guarantee nocturnal vision for life. My crab linguine was roundly satisfying, with plenty of crabmeat and cherry tomatoes, and some nicely-judged chilli heat. A large glass of robust, perfumed trebbiano helped ease things down.
The dessert list was unexciting, with yawners like crème brulee and tiramisu. Even so, my guest rated her chocolate fondant pudding with ice cream, and my trio of sorbets made an acceptable palate-cleanser, the raspberry element being particularly good.
I tend to take encouragement from shorter menus. What is remarkable about Venezia is that the kitchen team hits such a high standard with such an extensive menu. I’ll be going again.
■■ The Food Sleuth dines unannounced and pays his own bills