Cornucopia Bistro

The word cornucopia is Greek for 'horn of plenty' and conjures up (in my mind at least) images of flowing wine, amphitheatres and hot men in togas. Unfortunately on our visit to Cornucopia Bistro in Windsor there were no hot toga wrapped men, but the wine, good conversation and beautiful food were all flowing in abundance.

Cornucopia is the sort of place that doesn't need flashy advertisements or cut-out-and-keep flyers in the local paper to have an extensive and loyal clientele - its prime location and chic and eclectic vibe are enough to keep those in the know satisfied forever more. And for once, much to my delight, I was one of the chosen few in the know as 'the boyfriend' treated me to a visit to Windsor's secret gem, and with the excuse of work - I had the perfect reason for a three course meal.

Impressively, the bistro managed to be a hybrid of all things desirable in a restaurant, which was quite a shock and a welcome change - judging by the other restaurants on offer in 'Royal' Windsor. Pretension and formality are not what you will find at Cornucopia as it manages the impossible task of being lively and intimate at the same time - from the attentive and yet unobtrusive service to the chunky candles and the wonky, mismatched wooden chairs, funky coloured place mats and extra shiny cutlery littering our table.

The food on offer mirrored the rustic and understated atmosphere of the bistro with French, Mexican, Cajun and traditional English fare all fighting for attention on their extensive, yet unglamorously printed menu that would satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Take my warm salad of Ribeye steak with a peanut and pineapple dressing (£5.75), a beautiful glaze that managed to perfectly complement the deeply flavoursome juicy steak without overpowering it. The generous strips of beef were nestled on a small bed of salad leaves; tasty, stylish and unfussy, not to mention delicious. It was so delicious that I (barely) glanced at the boyfriend's generous salad of smoked chicken, bacon, asparagus and roasted pepper (priced at a more reasonable £4.95).

For mains we decided to go all out and be carnivorous for once. I plumped for a traditional beef a la bourguignon (£8.90) served on a bed of rice and green beans - which ticked every box a main meal should, being hearty, scrumptious, and tender all in one. The boyfriend even managed to satisfy his greedy gene by ordering the vast Chilli con Carne (£7.90) that satisfied even his humongous meat craving after months of only being allowed to eat chicken (low fat yes, after three months - boring).

As for pudding, with me being devout chocoholic I went for the classic chocolate brownie dessert (from £3.00) and must say I was slightly disappointed. Although the brownie was on the right side of baked (slightly crisp on the outside, deliciously gooey in the middle) the globule of clotted cream ice cream that accompanied it was rather stingy, meaning that my greedy gulps of brownie were rather dry and not as satisfactory as they would have been had there been a more generous dollop on offer.

However, once dessert was cleared and the coffees came around, all was forgiven as I sank into a welcome vat of Tia Maria laced caffeine which more than made up for my brief (read shameful) moment of pudding jealousy as I glared at the boyfriend's perfect crème brûlée. It also made up for the fact that there were no toga draped hotties in sight for me to feast my eyes upon. Almost.

Review by Sarah Summerfield

December 2006