Fox & Hounds, Funtington, West Sussex

My friend Loretta invited myself and another friend, Catia out for an evening meal to a popular country pub, the Fox & Hounds in Funtington, West Sussex. My husband and I had been there last summer and only had a dessert in the garden and we weren’t impressed by it and so have not been back since. Loretta had been there two or three times recently and assured me that it was very good food there, so I agreed to give it a try.

We were greeted warmly and shown to our table in the dining room which we had booked a few days earlier. The decor is fresh, clean and cosy, with pictures on the wall and softly lit by small wall lamps. There were a number of tables nicely spaced apart and also some boothes alongside one wall.

I really enjoyed my starter which was on the ‘specials’ board, smoked duck & pink grapefruit with a toasted walnut dressing, shredded carrot, peppers, onion, pumpkin and sunflower seeds – making it a little crunchy –  with a nice fresh babyleaf salad. Delicious!

My main meal was also from the ‘Specials’ board,  goats cheese & beetroot & red onion pie.

This was a fresh, light pastry based flan with cubed beetroot and onion and placed on top, a thick slice of goats cheese. Served with this were chunks of potato with a creamy leek sauce. It was divine!

For dessert I went for the hot chocolate fondant, which is rather popular in restaurants at the moment. This was served with a fresh sliced strawberry, a nice dollop of chocolate sauce and peanut butter ice cream.

The dessert didn’t disappoint! The pudding tasted fresh and firm and the middle of the pudding oozed lovely thick warm chocolate sauce onto the plate. The peanut butter ice cream was very nice with pieces of peanuts in it and that slightly ‘dry’ texture you get when eating peanut butter. We ended the evening with a coffee each, this unfortunately was not to either of my friend’s taste, but then again, they are both Italian so I suppose they know good coffee. Mine was fine.

I washed this all down with a very nice glass of organic Sauvignon Blanc, Urlar from New Zealand. Very fresh and fruity, much like a Marlborough which is a favourite of mine after being introduced to it a few months ago by co-blogger Helen and Sam. There is a good wine list at the Fox & Hounds of around twelve each of red and white wines, most served by the glass, a few rosé wines, sparkling wines and champagne.

Next door to the pub is their shop,  The Funtington Larder Village Shop which is open 7am – 7pm and 2pm on a Sunday. I haven’t been inside it yet but I’m presuming they sell local produce. One I know of and can recommend is bread from the Westbourne Bakery, East Street, Westbourne. Their bread is served and sold in one of my favourite tearooms in Compton and and it is always extremely fresh.

So, I was wrong with my first impression but it shows that they do count! If it hadn’t been for Loretta, I probably wouldn’t have returned whereas I’m hoping to go there in the very near future with my husband to enjoy another splendid meal and excellent wine in their restaurant.

Living life, loving cake

A x