"We will just pop in for a pint", she said. "Sounds good to me", he said. 2 hours later they both roll out of the Old Bridge Inn stuffed like pigs, having savoured 3 outstanding courses.
Having previously dabbled in blogging via wordpress and then managing to successfully lose all my material in a migration-to-blogger-gone-wrong, I have been pretty reluctant to get into it all again, and have been very lazy on the food scene of late. However, following tonight's meal I feel compelled to write about the courses I tried and recommend you all take a trip to try these, or others, for yourself.
Under previous ownership the Bridge Inn was nice, a tad cluttered, dusty and old fashioned but warm and welcoming nonetheless with hearty food being served in the evenings. Now, former employees of Gleneagles Hotel have transformed the Inn to feel and look fresher, more country chic with a modern yet timeless menu.
From the taste bud teasing array of choices I chose salmon to start; lamb as my main and an exquisite chocolate and espresso mouse to finish with - all that after only choosing to go in for a shandy! The flavours were clean, detectable and complimentary to one another. I'm not sure I could even pick my favourite course from them all.
With the salmon gravadlax I was transported to some harsh weather torn coastline, with coarse sea salt giving the tender salmon a bit of crunch yet the lemon juice, capers and horseradish creme fraiche turning this coastline into a sea side retreat! For someone who actively avoids lamb on a menu I surprised myself with my choice of second course and was glad I opted for this succulent loin. The taste was not over powering at all - as I have had previously- and this was complimented by broad beans, peas and mint as opposed to the traditional sauce. Finally, the mouse took me straight to the coffee fields of Columbia, filling my mouth and head with powerful yet gentle aromas of espresso and chocolate. I was in heaven.
Silence was present during that mouse between hubz2b and I. A moment of reflection in a petite cup, not only on my day, but on the menu we had just enjoyed. Our rating is evident by our plates at the end of each course - scrapped clear of every last drop with only etiquette telling us that using our tongues to clean was not an option!
5/5 for The Old Bridge Inn- go try!
