By the husband (Gary Pearson)

If you are after a laidback evening and some decent food, then it’s worth giving the Regatta a whirl.

It’s one of the latest restaurants to open in the ever-improving Leigh Road, Leigh.

The staff are extremely friendly and informative, and the decor simple, but effective  – light pastel blues giving the  place the nautical feel it’s clearly coveting. The food choice is excellent.

It calls itself a modern British restaurant and offers many old favourites, steak and kidney pudding, for example, plus a varied, if not slightly pricey, selection of fish.

For starters, I went for the baby back pork ribs, which came up honey-glazed. They were a little too fatty for my liking, but theymade for a enjoyable start nonetheless. My wife Katy enjoyed her sample mind, and I was quite taken by the soup of the day she ordered, namely butternut squash – her favourite.

It had quite a chilli kick to it too, and Katy assured me it was up there with the better ones she had tasted.

So, for the mains. Now I do like a wing of  skate, and I was very impressed with this one. The firm fish was delicately steamed and served with black butter and copious amounts of capers. There was a choice of
potatoes and I went for sauteed and wasn’t disappointed.

I have to mention at this point the cauliflower cheese side order. It was exceptional.

One of the best (apart from Katy’s, of course…) I have tasted. It was perfectly crisp around the edges with a
glorious amount of cheese, and the sauce had a salty twang to die for. It was a real unexpected treat. And for £2,
you just can’t go wrong.

Katy went for pork escalopes, which came with apple and sage compote. Again, the portion was excellent, two escalopes lightly pan-fried and very juicy. Katy struggled to finish up, so I had to help out. Her dish also came
with a choice of potatoes – she went for sauteed too.

Needless to say, we were both a little on the full side come dessert time. But I just had to opt for one of my old
favourites, creme brulee. Up it came (with two spoons please) and soon it was gone. The pudding pot was deep
too, allowing for more than your average amount of rich custardy/vanilla base.

In all, the Regatta provided an easy-going and comforting evening. I’d say it was well worth pushing the boat out for…