AS soon as we entered The Cruel Sea at Penn Hill in Poole we could tell this was the place to be.

The restaurant was positively buzzing with happy diners delving into various bowls of tasty-looking tapas.

Rustic-style wooden tables and chairs are dotted throughout the dining area with plenty of space around each table. A modern bar area runs the length of the restaurant and there was a warm welcome from staff, who looked like they were having as much fun as the diners.

A chalk menu board crammed with a selection of tapas options adorned the wall above our table and my girlfriends and I (there were four of us in our party), were tempted to order everything on offer – it all just sounded so good. Our first tapas order of bread and dips arrived on our table in minutes. Soft chunks of buttered herb bread, served with two types of incredibly yummy houmous, taziki and olives were devoured in seconds.

Garlic prawns were our next choice, so fresh they tasted like they had come straight from the sea, and the garlic butter so tasty that I just had to eat the shell end on my prawns to savour every drop.

Our selection of tapas then began to arrive; chicken curry, halloumi with roasted courgettes, moussaka, frittata, hake and sweet potatoes.

Delicious is the word we kept bouncing around between us as we dipped into each and every dish.

Each one was full of flavour, the chicken extremely tender and the hake cooked to perfection.

The portion sizes are not particularly generous; the hake and the chicken curry were just enough for a mouthful each, but the small feast in front of us was perfect for a girls’ night out.

Our wine was nicely-chilled and placed in an ice bucket near our table keeping it at the perfect temperature for us to enjoy.

A chocolate brownie to share was the perfect end to meal.

It was moist and fudge-like in consistency and our cappuccinos were a very generous size.

The Cruel Sea is anything but cruel – well, apart from maybe to our waistlines. We will definitely be returning again soon.

How The Cruel Sea Scored

LOCATION: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 5/5
VALUE FOR MONEY: 4/5
QUALITY OF FOOD: 5/5
SERVICE: 5/5
COMFORT: 4/5
FAMILY FRIENDLY: 3/5
MENU CHOICE: 5/5

 

THE BILL

Bread and Dips x2 :  £11.00
Hake:  £7.50
Garlic Prawns  £7.50
Sweet Potatoes  £5.50
Halloumi   £5.50
Chicken Curry  £7.50
Moussaka  £7.50
Frittata  £4.00
Extra Bread £3.00
Chocolate Brownie  £5.50
Cappuccino x2  £6.00
1 bottle of sauvignon blanc
£19.50

Total:  £90.00