Something special about The Print Room (From Thisisdorset)

Restaurant review: The Print Room, Richmond Hill, Bournemouth

9:10am Friday 13th January 2012 in Leisure

ONE of my favourite places to dine for a special occasion is The Print Room which is conveniently located under the Echo office!

We’d just finished work for the Christmas break and thought it would be a good place to celebrate.

When we arrived shortly after 6pm it was rather quiet although it was buzzing within a few hours.

Service has been unreliable in the past but this time our waitress Justina was excellent.

My friend and I ordered a large glass of chilled Sauvignon Blanc each and a selection of homemade rustic rolls to share which were warmish and accompanied with butter and dipping dishes of olive oil and a good quality balsamic vinegar.

Our bottle of sparkling water was a bit flat but our starters were excellent.

I had seared Lyme Bay scallops with which were served whole on a yellow corn fritter drizzled with oil and a chorizo and parsley dressing with an artistic smear of curried cauliflower puree which was delicious.

My friend’s hand-picked Lyme Bay crab was nestling in a bed of ginger and flat parsley salad and dressed with a crispy bacon and blood orange sauce.

It was a good portion for the price and tasted fragrant and fresh although there was a tiny bit of shell.

When my main course of sea bass arrived I felt a little cheated at first as it looked like a starter portion and I had to pay extra for fries and vegetables which I always think is a bit mean.

But the pan-fried fish was delicious and was perched on a pile of buttery baby spinach leaves on top of a fish cake and served with an organic carrot butter sauce which sounds like an unusual combination of flavours but it was delectably sweet and worked really well.

My friend’s sirloin steak was a good portion, cooked medium well and served with a rich garlic and butter sauce, a large field mushroom, a grilled beef tomato and a generous portion of salad and fries.

For dessert my friend had Purbeck ice cream although they didn’t have a huge range of flavours so she opted for banana which was creamy with a real natural taste of banana.

I settled for a latte.

The Print Room can be quite expensive but I think it’s worth it for a special treat.

• This is an independent review by a reporter without the cooperation of the establishment.