TALK about being quick off the starting blocks. Only eight weeks after launching its new restaurant concept, the Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel has been awarded an AA Rosette.

In October its new Highcliff Grill was recognised as an excellent restaurant, standing out in the local area, with dishes prepared with care, understanding and skill, using good-quality ingredients'.

And as if a Michelin star wasn't enough in the trophy cabinet of its head chef, Eugene Cartwright, there are gold, silver, and bronze medals from the Culinary Olympics across Europe.

Eugene also beat 150 top chefs from around the country to win the Norwegian Seafood Challenge.

It's understandable, then, that the Highcliff Grill menu features plenty of seafood.

And its location perched on top of the town's West Cliff with panoramic sea views is a befitting one.

The hotel itself dates back to Victorian times and as such enjoys a regal splendour. It's had a £5.5 million refurbishment in recent months and its tasteful boutique style adds a warm contemporary elegance.

On a recent midweek visit, the restaurant was reassuringly full, with dress ranging from jeans to dinner jackets (and no-one looked out of place).

We were given a friendly welcome without feeling fawned over, and the food was of memorably good quality.

The menu is divided into sections including fish, mains, shellfish, grills and sides. Some dishes are available as starters or main courses which gives the customer even more choice.

To start, I went for the crab cakes (£6.50), fat and fluffy with a good proportion of crab, perfectly partnered with a dill crème fraiche.

This was a light but tasty starter.

My companion also loved her Highcliff prawn cocktail (£7.50) which came laden with plenty of large firm king prawns and crisp lettuce with a delicate Marie Rose sauce.

To follow she chose the pan-fried black bream (£15.50) from the specials menu.

This fish had a delicate, slightly sweet flavour and rested on a generous bed of crab risotto and a sauce vierge.

The main menu highlights a couple of the chef's signature dishes, one of them being a starter of fish soup, and another, a main course of fillet of gurnard (£14.50).

I was curious to sample the gurnard as it's enjoying something of a renaissance at the moment. Celebrity chefs such as Rick Stein, Tom Aikens and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall are all championing its cause, rightfully saying it has been under-rated for years.

Its firm white flesh was absolutely lovely, and given a hero's treatment with braised fennel and a fragrant shellfish sauce.

If someone had said this was the most expensive item on the menu, I would have believed them.

While seafood does feature prominently on the Highcliff Grill menu, other dishes deserve a mention, such as the spatchcock poussin or the West Country rump of lamb from an award-winning local breed.

Side dishes, priced £2.95 each, include wilted spinach, green salad, new potatoes, skin-on fries and French beans.

From the wine list we were recommended the pinot grigio (white for me and blush for my friend) to accompany our meals and these went down a treat.

As did the desserts. The chef's special of the day was a light apple jelly (£4.95) served in an elegant glass with apple cream and an apple crisp.

And who can resist home-made treacle tart with Devonshire clotted cream (£5.95) on a chilly winter night?

The whole evening was a real treat, and with its fine food, excellent service and convenient location there's really no excuse not to go back.

The Highcliff Grill also offers a three-course Sunday lunch, with aperitif and coffee, £19.95. Highcliff Grill, Bournemouth Highcliff Marriott Hotel, St. Michaels Road, West Cliff, Bournemouth, BH2 5DU.

Phone: 01202 200800; HighcliffGrill.co.uk

7:41am Monday 1st December 2008

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