By Suzy Talbot
Guido's, Amersham.
I HAVE fond memories of being taken for family meals to Guido's by my grandad – it's a place I always associate with him and many fun times.
In fact I think it is the place where my passion for all things Amaretto began.
I have only been back there twice in the last decade and I was keen to see if my childhood memories were as good as I think they are.
One of the things I loved about the restaurant was the attentiveness and friendliness of the staff and I was pleased to say that many years on this still remains.
We comfortably settled down in the reception area with a pre-dinner drink to pick our meal. There's quite a selection to choose from as well as daily specials although there are few vegetarian options. This didn't bother me as I was planning to have a juicy, medium rare steak for my dinner.
But obviously first was starters. I toyed with the idea of a small serving of pasta but decided it would probably be too filling and I wanted to be able to enjoy a full three course meal.
So I opted for scallops in a cheese and white wine sauce which came with mushrooms and mashed potato on the top.
The scallops were big and plentiful and the sauce covered them well.
Despite my intentions for a less filling starter, this was an enormous portion and I found myself slowing down as I got to the end of it. Surely I wouldn't be defeated when I had barely started?
My partner had creamy leek and cabbage soup which was probably a much more sensible, lighter option.
For mains I was relishing the thought of my tornedo rossini – steak on a large cruton, with pate on the top in a demiglaze sauce. I wasn't disappointed – the steak was cooked to perfection, seared on the outside and pink and juicy on the inside.
The pate was smooth and creamy and complemented the texture of the steak.
The ingredients were perfectly balanced so I didn't run out of pate, cruton or sauce before steak.
But I don't think it has ever taken me so long to eat a main meal; I had to keep pausing for breath but I was determined to finish it all. And I did.
My partner again went for a seemingly lighter option of wallet of salmon stuffed with prawns and spinich with a lobster sauce. But even he struggled to finish it as the salmon was bursting at the seams