This time last year, nobody was thinking of spending a romantic evening out at a restaurant - lockdown well and truly put a stop to that - but this year, thankfully it's a different story.

And Will Hickton, chef at The Club House in West Bexington, has been waiting all year to showcase his Valentine's menu and pull out all the stops to make it a special one.

"I wanted to do something different to normal," said Will, "not cliched, just good, classic French cooking. With lots of butter and using good local produce."

And that's just what he has done. With a couple of starter choices including compressed belly pork with port jus, Bramley apple compote and pickled red cabbage, or sun-blushed tomato and chilli arancini with basil mayonnaise and pea shoots.

For the main event there's oven roasted wild pollock fillet with a nutty romesco sauce, buttered spring greens and Cornish new potatoes, finished with lilliput caper and confit garlic butter. There are three other main menu choices, including a vegetarian option, then of course onto everyone's favourite - dessert. From a rich chocolate mousse to salted caramel tart, there's quite a choice to tempt the tastebuds.

Taking inspiration from the menu, The Club House front of house manager and mixologist, Ferenc Kovaks, has created a brand-new cocktail called 'Romeo' to pair with 'Juliet'. And if they don't take your fancy, Ferenc has 400 more cocktail recipes up his sleeve, including a new non-alcoholic romantic tipple, 'Be My Valentine'.

The Valentine's cocktails are available from Thursday, with Will's Valentine's menu just on February 14. Two courses are £29.50 and three courses is £34.95.

So, what better way to spend a romantic evening - away from the hustle and bustle, down by the sea, with your valentine?

To avoid disappointment, book a table by calling The Club House on 01308 898302 or visit theclubhousewestbexington.co.uk, where you can also see the full Valentine's menu. The last sitting will be at 8.30pm.

The Club House is open Monday and Thursday, 12noon to 5pm, Friday and Saturday, 12noon to 3pm and 5.30pm to 8.30pm, and 11.45am to 4pm on Sunday.

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