To my pleasant surprise the meal started with canapés which were two crusades with smoked potato, parmesan and sage.  These were a very welcome sight and the combination were always going to be fine and held good parmesan flavour, but sadly the crusades themselves were not as crisp as can be and were thicker and more chewy than when at their best.

The menu also offers a range of snacks / nibbles for £6.50 each which is also another pleasant addition to have whilst awaiting the a la carte orders.  I chose the fish and chips option (a form of brandade with caviar on top) and mushroom parcel with chive as a toasted snack and were both enjoyable bites.   Another nice surprise was an amuse bouche of tomato consommé, crème fraiche sea herbs which was a light and refreshing introduction course.  Complimentary milk bread with herb butter was another nice touch. 

The starters chosen were salmon and spinach tortellini.  The Potted Loch Duart Salmon was from salt rivers and served with caper relish, lemon and fennel pollen and was well presented.  My spinach tortellini was showered in winter truffle shavings and served with walnut, ricotta and lemon.  The latter was very good, with nicely done pasta and an extremely powerful winter truffle from Italy that frankly blew the aroma off various truffles I have come across in some top restaurants, so I was delighted with how soon after being picked this one was.

The mains consisted of pork and cod.  The pork was braised pork collar, served with potato rosti, watercress and onion chutney and my dining companion reported tender pork with its supporting elements working with the pork well.  My Skrei Cod, was served with a parsley mash and English asparagus.  Whilst the asparagus may have been a touch early in the season and a tad bland as a result, the fish was cooked very well and the sauce was well judged to accompany.  The sides of chips came with a smoked rapeseed mayonnaise and I like the addition of onion fries on top of the creamed spinach and garlic.

Full stomachs at the end of a very full meal meant that dessert wasn’t necessary, but the white chocolate truffles and citrus jelly petit fours were just the ticket for something sweet to accompany the splendid Difference coffee that was on offer – and chosen (double espresso of the entry level Yellow Bourbon, which is still leagues ahead of most coffees for a slight increase of average consumer price).

I very much enjoyed this lunch in the charming, homely feel that it was, ably delivered by our restaurant manager host.  I would definitely recommend a visit in to here if you are headed to Beaconsfield and I predict that even the set menu here will be a fulsome lunch with good options to choose from, with very welcome add ons included for your time there.

Food Grade: 67%

The liver parfait had good liver flavour and held together well, but slightly course to what I was expecting and not quite the silky smooth liver parfait that can be seen at The Fordwich Arms or The Bridge Arms by Daniel Smith.  The Prawn cocktail had Marie Rose sauce that was a little too thin and watery for my preference and I do believe could have been heightened with some more imagination and perhaps better prawns as well.

The Pasta meatballs were flavoured well with good spice content, but the pasta arrived a little cold which was noticed by the younger diners who also gave a resounding thumbs up to the Chicken salad in its refreshingly different way to have in breadcrumb form with nicely, tender chicken and superb, freshly made sour dough croutons. Ultimately it was a good Caesar dish with restrained levels of the dressing.  The steak was a welcome dish, nice and tender and with a superb peppercorn sauce that was not too wildly peppery and watery as it can be at so many venues.

The dessert of Apple & Raspberry Crumble was ok, but sadly the crumble was quite dry and powdery and did not have the glory of the buttery, cooked crumble that is its whole point.  The filling was quite tart as well so personally I would try and soften that however possible, but all was aided by the vanilla ice cream melting in to it to assist with the filling. The custard was pleasing, but a little generic and ‘out of the packet’ perhaps.  The Ice creams were not the greatest in general, but the strawberry was reportedly very good.

Breakfast included a lovely sour dough, avocado, egg and bacon choice with lovely mustard dressing drizzle. The pancakes were also very good.  Continental offerings were provided to the other guests and presented outside their room in bags as the other option. I would strongly recommend dropping by and / or staying here if visiting Gusbourne Vineyard but also popping in if nearby even if not staying, at the very least for a drink on the marvellous terrace area outside.  If the kitchen had a little more polish on the areas mentioned above (which will be fairly straightforward to bolster), this will be one of the nicest gems in Kent.

Food Grade: 59%

The meal started with sweet and sour pickled summer vegetables to nibble on which arrived with the starters (it would have been better to chomp on whilst waiting), but made for good snacks. The first starter was house cured duck bresaola, with tempura oyster mushrooms, puffed glass noodles, gooseberry and ginger chutney which was a well-constructed dish and reportedly very good by my dining companion. I opted for the recommended pan roasted Norfolk pigeon with beetroot, braised buckwheat, salted blackberries, pear and walnuts.  Sadly the pigeon itself was overcooked, slightly tough and dry which was a shame as even in its overdone state it had inherent flavour, so served more pink I’m sure this would have been very good. I felt the dish would have also benefitted from slightly less buckwheat, but the pear and berries gave it the acidic relief it needed.

For my main I opted for the also recommended pan-roasted Pollock with saffron confit potatoes, smoked fennel, lemon feta, courgettes and herb sauce which was genuinely good. The feta worked very well with the butter sauce with good, natural seasoning for the wonderfully cooked pollock.  The other main opted for was the 80z Rump steak, Portobello mushroom shwarma. Greek herb salted beef dripping hand cut chips, rosemary and lemon aioli smoked cherry tomatoes which proved to be likewise pleasing in quality.

I would definitely recommend popping in to this pub if in north Norfolk as the setting inside and outside is a picturesque gem at the very least. I was pleasantly surprised at the menu and offerings as a relatively unknown area and pub location.

Food Grade: 66%

I had hoped to see how the prawn cocktail was but sadly this had sold out so I opted for the mushroom soup with ‘truffled’ creme fraiche.  I use inverted commas as I could not smell any truffle whether it was genuine truffle shavings or synthetic truffle oil that was used.  The mushroom soup itself had good flavour and umami in general, but I did think a little shame that Bread Street Kitchen have decided to not include a bread roll or anything breadlike to accompany the soup (something that I would say is as frankly synonymous as salt and pepper).  Chicken wings were also had at the table which were good but quite heavy with a thick coating of batter in addition to the very sticky marinade all over – one or the other I think would be better here personally.

My main was the roast beef with the shame being that it was actually one hour and forty minutes before this arrived at the table.  Apologies were given by the team and in the meantime, my Apple watch had notified me that the sound had reached 79dB which is nearly at the danger level of 80 for long-term exposure.  This will tend to happen if you are in a hard-lined setting such as a conservatory, but without a shadow of doubt one of the loudest proponents of the restaurant came from the staff conversing with the tables (one very friendly but very vocal lad in particular). I mention this as it can impede dining for those that struggle to hear, so my mistake on this occasion was to choose this environment for my group and if likewise, you are looking for a quieter setting, select the ‘Boat house’ area at the far end of the restaurant rather than the conservatory.  If you do decide the conservatory and all tables are taken, you need to prepare yourself whatever age you are for sometimes genuinely not being able to hear others at your table well.

Once the 1.4 hours had lapsed my roast Beef arrived, a little more cooked than the promised ‘pink’ that was offered when the order was taken, but very good nevertheless I’m delighted to confirm and there were certainly no issues with portion size.  The gravy and whipped horseradish were both extremely good in consistency and flavour.  A micro point is that the creamed horseradish was a tad in danger of being too creamy and could afford a little more ‘kick’ of horseradish perhaps.  An extremely good sauce bearnaise to back everything up was also enjoyed to see what this was like.  The roast potatoes, being a very important part of a traditional British roast were ok, but sadly lacked the utterly think crispiness and almost crumb-like texture of some roast potatoes that have been shaken and beaten more prior to cooking.  The Yorkshire pudding was huge to its credit but a bit too hard all over for my preference without any of the fluffy or slightly squidgier interior/inner parts that is so often the best bit and treat of opting for the beef in getting this within a Yorkshire ‘pud’.  I think even James Martin might be with me on this one even if Gordon would prefer to staple some Yorkshire puds on me with kitchen knives for saying so in this review.

The duck salad and pasta cannelloni that were also had by the table were reportedly fine and the dressing for the crispy aromatic duck (it appeared deep fried in its parts) was equally aromatic and pleasantly sweet as a dish.  The gigantic disappointment however, for the whole table was the macaroni cheese side which had absolutely no flavour whatsoever.  Salt and pepper were not on the table, as the restaurant had presumably decided there should be no need for them – usually this is  the case, but only when the dishes are actually seasoned.  I’m afraid it has been quite a long time since I have had something with such little and bland flavour (no hint of garlic crumbs either as outlined on the menu) and sodium chloride of ANY description was needed for this, which was duly provided when asked for.  When the question from the staff was asked “how is everything” as one normally hears, the polite response of the macaroni being a huge disappointment was dealt with well and we were informed it would be taken off the bill.  A short while later the bill was presented with the macaroni charge on – another area where I have spotted a trend with this venue (incorrect billing/charging) which is a very simply area to improve on.

However, a kind add-on touch from the staff was a birthday mini cake and candle from the kitchen to the table for the Birthday boy who kindly looked after the bill for this meal hence there being no photo of the receipt.  The a la carte menu is available here and what is good to see is actually the set menu at 2 courses for £19.5o and 3 courses for £24 on weekdays. The signature gem of Beef Wellington, proudly lauded has not yet been done and is quite punchy at £52 per person, so I can only hope and predict the portion size of this may be two slices than one each and if it is, there will frankly be no need for a starter and possibly dessert, so I will come back to try that one evening and report back.

In all seriousness, I’m not having a dig at this place just for being a ‘Rasmsay target’ – if it was absolutely superb, trust me, I would say so, loud and clear, but it simply does have several things to refine.  It is a beautiful spot and has been newly ‘decked out’ to the max and I do like the new, mini banquets and table furniture/feel of the place in general.  It is also a very nice option for popping in for a drink in the small bar area as well, but please be aware service charge is added to your drinks bill even if you go up to the bar and order yourself if the staff are too stretched – something I don’t agree with at all and is up to you whether you wish to keep on or ask to remove in these circumstances.  It is still in its first few months so I am hoping that by Spring this should be fully on top of things and that all food kinks are ironed out by then, because if they are, this would be a very good place.  This restaurant refurb did not make an episode of 24hrs or Hell’s Kitchen, but I presume Mr Ramsay will be keen to see how On The River is in six month’s time as well just like any other rebirthed venue.  I’ll be providing an update on here another time irrespective.

In short, worth a go, but based on my visits thus far, expectation management is required.

Food Grade: 62%