A Plateful of Yesteryear at La Fosse

When my wife Claire and I were invited to a retro supper club evening at La Fosse in Cranborne, we were looking forward to being transported back to the 60s and 70s

We were greeted by Emmanuelle Hartstone who, along with her husband Mark, own La Fosse. Emmanuelle showed us to the sumptuous seating area. A roaring wood-burner and leather sofas made us feel at home and we were treated to a glass of something from the retro drinks menu. It included old favourites from our teenage years: Tequila Sunrise, Manhattan and a good old classic Babycham, which I enjoyed whilst Claire sipped a Tequila Sunrise.

We sat in front of the fire and entertained ourselves with the music trivia quiz cards from that era until our table was ready.

Our waitress, Emily, showed us the wine list and we chose from old favourites like Mateus Rose and the classic Blue Nun.

The starter arrived – an array of mouthwatering delights that would not have been out of place on the table at ‘Abigail’s Party’, (for those old enough to remember that play). The sharing platter consisted of a cheese-and-pineapple hedgehog, chicken, grape and Brie vol au vents, cheese balls, stuffed celery sticks and, of course, a prawn cocktail – that iconic starter of the era. The platter tasted as good as it looked and each mouthful transported us firmly back in time.

The main course was beef bourguignon for me, and a superb piece of haddock with a cream, white wine reduction with caramelised onion sauce for Claire. Both were accompanied by creamed potatoes, red cabbage and carrots. The beef, which had been slow cooked, simply melted in the mouth and the fish was perfectly cooked and full of flavour.

To finish off we both had a slice of Black Forest gateau with cream and ice cream, once again reminiscent of our childhoods and quite delicious.

No dinner would be complete in the 60s and 70s without a coffee and the After Eight mint and we were not disappointed.

I had a chance to catch up with Mark after the meal to find out more about the Supper Club themed nights. He told us he wanted to offer something a little different from the normal A la Carte menu and came up with the Supper Club, which runs once a month.

“We have catered for the usual regional nights: French, Italian etc, and we wanted to give our customers something different. We have several more supper nights planned with the next being a Great Gatsby evening with a taste of the roaring 20s.”

Claire and I found the evening very evocative of our growing-up years, and thoroughly enjoyed being transported back to the dinner table of our youth.

Further dining experiences

La Fosse can be relied upon to tease your tastebuds on a daily basis with its A la carte menu from 7pm. Mark offers rustic-elegant food sourced locally, using only the finest seasonal ingredients. The menu changes frequently and can be adapted for most dietary requirements if notified at the time of booking.

Famed for his award-winning cheeseboard, Mark also creates a regular tasting-menu with six scrumptious courses designed to be enjoyed by the entire table. In the run up to Christmas a 6-course Tasting Festive menu as well as a Festive December menu, with a vegan and vegetarian option, are available until 22 December.

Not only that, there is a Scandinavian BBQ hut that can be hired for parties and for a different dining experience. Also, the house itself can be hired on an exclusive basis with menus tailored to your occasion and, with six en suite luxury B&B rooms, you can spoil yourself with a comfortable overnight stay. With various walks from Cranborne to enjoy the next day, it is clear that this village treasure is well-worth investigating.