I'm not normally one for writing reviews and in some ways this is no exception. Think of this note as more of a warning. Suffice to say it was the WORST restaurant experience of the year and given it's December, that's going some. Starter of confit rabbit with onions and mustard was exactly that. No garnish, no flair just some mustard, some onions and a disgusting piece of rabbit that was so tough as I had to have a good gnaw on it. My understanding is confit should fall off the bone. Clearly The Compass have other ideas. I'd say something about the main course of Scottish Brill apart from the fact that after one mouthful I spat it out and returned to the kitchen as it was hardly cooked and partly frozen. My brother started with scallops and bacon and, like the confit, it came exactly as that - scallops and bacon. Myself, I like to make my dressings with something other than bacon fat but Chef here seems to think that grease on its own is good enough. Bro then had pork belly with parsnips which tasted fine other than it had more fat than meat. We all love a bit of pork belly and its fat, Bro just wouldve preferred more meat than fat though. We didn't bother with puds as we couldn't see what the point was. I'd give this place a zero if I could but there wasn't that option on here. Do yourselves a favour and avoid.

We were really excited about The Compass, particularly given the good reviews it had, but when we visited on Tuesday night not only was it empty but the meal was disappointing. Actually, the watercress soup I ordered wins my award for the most disgusting dish I'd had this year. Warned by the waitress when I ordered it that it was thin and someone else had previously complained, when it arrived it was simply awful - tasting like what I'd imagine dishwater mixed with a little mud would taste of. We didn't rate the menu much as well. I'm all for simplicity when the raw ingredients are good, but there's a fine line between that and thinking you could cook everything just as easily at home. We weren't inspired. The good points were the bar snacks - the duck scotch egg and brown sauce is a fine accompaniment to any drink - and the staff who were universally lovely, friendly and helpful and quick to offer a free glass of wine when they could see I couldn't eat more than a spoonful of the soup. I'd go back here to drink - we spotted Al Murray propping up the bar - but not to eat again.