The Abbey Restaurant
Rushen Abbey, Ballasalla, Isle of Man
Once upon a time, towards the end of the last century, there was a restaurant in Ballasalla which was regarded by many as the best on the Island. Well, whisper it softly but it is just possible that, in time, there could be another contender for that title in the same village.
Already popular with a growing number of Southsiders, The Abbey Restaurant, appropriately situated adjoining the historic Rushen Abbey site, is the result of a high quality, tasteful renovation of the old public house by a young couple, new to the Island but with family connections here. From very good quality coffee and freshly baked scones in the morning, through a varied lunch menu and afternoon tea, to an imaginative dinner menu with locally sourced ingredients, this newcomer provides it all, and to a very high standard.
Deliberately informal and probably aiming at the “smart casual” market, the atmosphere at the time of our visit was lively and vibrant yet still with the hint of sophistication which you would expect from such a historic building. The welcome is warm and friendly, the dining room is high and well lit and the tables are sufficiently large and well distributed to provide a feeling of space.
But, most important of all, the food is very good.
In addition to the usual starter and main course menus, there is an interesting “In between” offering which consists of half a dozen dishes which may be taken as either a starter or a main course. There were four of us and we chose to begin with deep fried, breaded brie with grape chutney and toasted brioche, a lovely, creamy parsnip soup and a crisp green salad with pear, blue cheese and walnut. From the “in-betweens”, and out of deference to the monks who founded the Abbey, came perfectly cooked eggs benedict with a delicious, tangy hollandaise sauce. (well, OK., the monks were actually Cistercians but it’s a good story!)
From a list of ten main courses, we went for:-
1.Brill with buttered leeks, smoked bacon and parsley sauce with a side order of hand cut chips with aioli sauce. The typed single-sheet, café-style menu gave no hint as to how the fish was to be cooked or served and unfortunately the young man taking the order had no idea either. It was, however, perfectly cooked and presented but, at £27.50 including the chips, probably over-priced.
2.Veal saltimbocca with saute potatoes. In the main this dish was tasty and tender but the veal had not been evenly flattened, resulting in one end of it being slightly undercooked.
3.The rack of Manx lamb on a sweet potato puree with buttered spinach, which came not as a rack but as three cutlets but these were nicely pink and tender.
4.A medium rare, 250 g, 21 day aged sirloin steak with chips and a separate pot of excellent bearnaise sauce. Tender and succulent, it was cooked to perfection, although again, the menu gave no clue as to whether it was to be fried or grilled. A side order of green beans and shallots were also well cooked, still crunchy.
From the Puddings menu, we chose a chocolate pistachio tart with pistachio ice cream and the rhubarb cheesecake with cherry compote, both of which were attractively presented and delicious. The bowl of Rushen Abbey lavender scented rice pudding with lovely, soft meringue, to which we added a scoop of vanilla ice cream, was excellent and almost too much after a big meal.
The menu made no mention of coffee and, the pudding dishes having been cleared for 15 minutes without any offer, we needed to catch a passing waiter to order. Not difficult, but should probably not have been necessary.
The Abbey Restaurant has been trading for only a few months and, almost from the word go, has been very busy. The obvious danger is that it becomes the victim of its own success as the management struggles to keep up with demand, especially from a staffing perspective. Few customers bother to book at lunchtime and a sudden influx inevitably puts pressure on both the kitchen and front of house. This is not so in the evening and service is very well paced. The mainly young waiters and waitresses, however, would appear to be new to the job and training time is probably at a premium.
Delighted as they are to see a quality restaurant in Ballasalla again, after a gap of many years, customers will hopefully make allowances for some shortcomings for a reasonable period of time. The Abbey has, however, positioned itself price-wise amongst the top half-dozen restaurants on the island and if the small but important issues are not resolved within that time, it may be difficult to continue to justify that aggressive pricing structure.
There is nothing which a little time, patience and attention to detail cannot put right, and if this can be achieved soon then the White Monks will be able to look down on The Abbey content in the knowledge that it is still being put to very good use!
Sir Conny
September 2010
The Bill
Soup £4.50
Salad £5.25
Brie £5.25
Eggs Benedict £6.50
Brill £24.50
Veal £21.50
Lamb £18.50
Sirloin Steak £19.95
Chips £2.95
Green Beans £2.95
Choc and Pistachio £5.95
Cheescake £5.95
Rice pudding £5.95
Hot Drinks Var £6.10
Wine * 2 Bottle £45.45
Bottled Water £3.50
Total - £184.75