The Willoughton Wanderer

"Eating my way through life one bite at a time!"

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Eating my way through life one bite at a time! My Willoughton Wanderer blog tells the story of my various visits to eateries, pubs and restaurants, both good and bad, on my travels together with the occasional recipe thrown in for good measure.

  • Etto Brasserie, Lakeside Outlet Centre, Doncaster

    We normally have a great experience at Etto in Doncaster’s Lakeside Outlet Centre but on this occasion it fell short of our expectations.

    It was a hot sunny Friday when we arrived and the tables outside were moderately occupied. Inside it was near empty so we had no trouble finding a table.

    One thing we immediately noted was that all of the staff that we usually see there were absent so we assumed they had all decided to take the Friday off at the same time (or been let go?). When I went to the counter to order it became apparent that the manager was the only member of staff allowed to take orders and operate the till.

    Two baristas were diligently working away making the long line of orders of coffees and teas but unfortunately the people ahead of me in the queue wanted ice cream. I say unfortunately because this took the manager away to the front of the cafe leaving the queue waiting. The baristas were clearly unable to take orders. So I waited.

    On her return there was no “Sorry to keep you waiting” from the manager which didn’t sit well. I ordered our meals and teas and took my number plaque. Judging the speed of the baristas I didn’t hold out much hope of the drinks arriving quickly but I was actually wrong and they were swiftly delivered.

    Now there was another problem, my teacup had what looked like lipstick on it. I returned to the counter and asked the manager for a fresh, clean cup. There was no apology just a perfunctory “Thank you” when I handed her the soiled cup. Again not good customer service.

    Normally the service at Etto is good but there was an overwhelming feeling of stress coming from the manager (normally there are two but seemingly just the one this time). It was a disappointing experience but we will no doubt visit again to see if things pick up. Hopefully it was just an off day.

    https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g187067-d26227177-r902154055-Etto-Doncaster_South_Yorkshire_England.html#

  • The Old Gate Inn, Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire

    Hebden Bridge is a lovely stone built town in the Upper Calder Valley of West Yorkshire best known these days perhaps for its starring role in the BBC series Happy Valley.

    I can’t vouch that any particular landmark, street or building was prominent in the series as we never watched it but I can vouch for the Old Gate Inn which we had reccied online prior to our visit.

    The building sits at the side of the busy main road through the town and is fronted by a lovely sun-drenched beer garden set behind a low stone wall. It was a bright sunny day and as you can imagine more punters were occupying the outside tables than inside.

    We chose to sit inside the cavernous bar with its stone flag floor. The stone built bar itself is a long copper clad topped affair with a typical brass kick-bar along the bottom. You have the choice of eating in the bar area or climbing the stairs to the restaurant above. We chose the bar.

    We had the choice of table, varying from large round four seaters to long wooden picnic style tables with bench seats.

    Menus were quickly brought and we had the choice of what we had previously seen on the main menu online or the Seafood Festival menu which was an unexpected, but pleasant, surprise.

    Mrs Wanderer went for her favourite dish, Caesar salad with chicken, anchovies and croutons. I chose the Moules Frites from the Festival menu. The waitress took our orders but queried my choice, “Is that the Mools Fritz?” she asked. Bless, this is Yorkshire I suppose!

    After a short wait of perhaps fifteen minutes the meals arrived. Mrs W commented that Caesar salad’s tend to be deceptively large on arrival and she was not wrong in this instance. My Moules Frites arrived in a black enamel dish with a similar lid for the shells. The frites were pre-salted and were just right: light and crispy.

    I quickly dove into the mussels which were in a superb white wine, onion and cream sauce which I was unable to finish due to its richness. The meal was delightful and I made quick work of the shellfish. Two of the mussels unfortunately hadn’t opened during cooking and were discarded. It would perhaps be better not to serve those in the first place but that’s just being picky.

    This wasn’t a particularly cheap meal and the total including my flat white and Mrs Wanderer’s Shiraz came to a little over £40. None-the-less it was a meal of high quality and we would definitely return again when we next visit.

    Thoroughly recommended!

  • Tom Yum Steak, Lentil Fritter and Wilted Spinach

    This recipe is for a lovely fillet of steak marinated in a Tom Yum sauce accompanied by a pan-fried lentil fritter and some lovely spinach wilted in butter. The bonus of the lentil fritters is the ‘scraps’ that they leave behind in the frying pan after cooking, yum! Chef’s perks!

    Ingredients: Serves 2

    1 fillet of steak

    1 teaspoon of Tom Yum paste

    Olive oil

    1 small bag of fresh spinach (or other salad leaves if you prefer)

    Half a tin of green lentils

    Half a shallot, diced

    40g fine polenta flour

    1 teaspoon garlic powder

    Half a dozen small cubes of butter

    Salt to taste

    Recipe:

    In a small bowl mix the Tom Yum paste with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add a few twists of sea salt. Smother the steak fillet with the marinade and leave for about an hour to unctuate.

    Put the drained lentils into a jug or some-such, add the diced shallots, garlic powder and the polenta flour and mix thoroughly until evenly combined. Add some of the lentil’s can liquor until you achieve a droppable consistency.

    Start wilting the spinach in a saucepan by melting the butter in some olive oil and adding the leaves and again mixing through thoroughly. Put the pan lid on and leave to wilt on a gentle heat stirring occasionally.

    Meanwhile heat a good quantity of olive oil (about 3mm deep) in a largish frying pan to fry the fritters. Drop a small amount of the mix into the oil to test the heat then, when hot enough to sizzle the mix, add two good dollops of the fritter mixture, flattening them out with a fish slice. Fry on a highish heat for a few minutes each side until crisp and golden. Flipping the fritter onto the other side is tricky as they can easily break up so use two fish slices to turn them. Some of the lentil mix can make a run for it during the frying process but all’s well and good as these make the lovely crispy ‘scraps’!

    Heat another frying pan (I know, I use a lot of pans) to fry off the steak fillet. No extra oil is needed as there’s enough in the marinade. Fry for a couple of minutes on each side leaving the fillet pinkish in the middle. Once cooked set aside for a couple of minutes and then slice into equal slices.

    Place a fritter on each plate and decorate with the wilted spinach. Add the slices of steak on top and voila! You’re all done!

    Enjoy as always.

  • Korean Prawns with a Broad Bean and Tomato Salsa

    This is a simple, easy and delicious lunch and takes no time at all to make (aside from the initial marinating).

    Enjoy!

    Ingredients: Serves 1

    3 large raw king prawns

    1 shallot, chopped

    1 large tomato coarsely chopped

    1 large handful of freshly picked broad beans

    1 teaspoon tomato puree

    Half a teaspoon garlic puree

    1 teaspoon Gochujang Korean sauce

    3 tablespoons olive oil

    A small amount of cubed salted butter

    Salt to season

    Recipe:

    In a small bowl mix the Gochujang sauce with one tablespoon of olive oil, add the prawns and marinate in advance for an hour.

    In a medium sized saucepan gently sweat down the shallots for five minutes in one tablespoon of olive oil until soft. Add the garlic puree and cook off for a further two minutes. Slake down the tomato puree in 25 ml of hot water.

    Add the chopped tomatoes and broad beans and cook down for a further few minutes before adding the tomato puree water. Add salt to taste.

    Cook for a further ten minutes on a medium heat to cook the beans and reduce the quantity of liquid by about half.

    In a non-stick frying pan heat the olive oil and add the cubed butter. Once foaming add the prawns and pan fry for about two or three minutes on each side. Set aside to rest once cooked.

    Plate up the broad bean and tomato salsa onto a warmed plate and arrange the prawns on top.

  • The Devonshire at Langwith, Derbyshire

    The Devonshire in Upper Langwith on the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire border is a well appointed pub with a fine restaurant.

    We had made a trip out to the Welbeck Abbey Farm Shop and over coffee did a quick Google and found this gem of an eatery a short drive away. On arrival there were few cars in the carpark but as we had swung by just at opening time that was to be expected. However, during the course of our visit the car park filled up and the diners arrived.

    Entering from the carpark you are immediately struck by the quality of the establishment. Fine glazed wooden (oak?) double doors greet you and lead you into the bar area with a range of tables if you just want to sit down and have a drink. Swing left from the bar and you enter the restaurant up a small flight of steps. The decor is grand and light music plays through the speakers.

    The chairs in the restaurant are harlequin in style, very well upholstered in a range of differing cloths. Nice. In the centre, under the skylight which drenches the room with natural light, is a large stone urn with a floral display. This is a nice environment to spend a long lunch any day of the week!

    The Summer Menu has a wide range of starters and mains to choose from. For the starters perhaps a whipped feta peperonata with capers, fresh micro herbs, olive tapenade dressing and toasted garlic ciabatta; or maybe deep fried breaded belly pork bites with black pudding crumbles, crushed crackling and wholegrain mustard dressed leaves; or a homemade salmon, cod and dill fishcake with creamed spinach and leeks, topped with molten vintage cheddar.

    For the mains you could choose from a ragu of English lamb, a peppered pork loin with parsley crushed new potatoes or real ale battered fish of the day with the usual hand-cut twice cooked chips, and so much more. The menus are well worth a visit on their website with so much mouth-watering fayre on offer.

    Being lunchtime we opted for something lighter off the Lunchtime Favourites menu. Mrs Wanderer went for the pulled chicken and spicy chorizo stuffed flatbread with fresh green and red chillies, garlic mayo and molten mozzarella at £11.95. I chose the shaved beef, pork and turkey deli sandwich with Welbeck caraway bread, wholegrain mustard and dill pickles at £12.95.

    When the food arrived (not too quick, not too slow) my eyes widened at the size of my deli sandwich. Mrs Wanderer was impressed with her meal too and the side order of hand-cut chips was perhaps unnecessary but a joy none-the-less. Both meals were served with a lovely dressed salad.

    It was nice that for once, when something purports to be hot (in this case the chillies) there was no disappointment. So many times dishes are let down by lack of heat but this time the mark was well and truly hit.

    My shaved beef was succulent and the quantity of turkey and pork in the deli sandwich was spot on. The bread, freshly baked at the farm shop we had earlier visited, was gorgeous. In these straightened times so many eateries are cutting down on portion size to keep prices low but not the Devonshire. The portions are hearty!

    So, will we visit again? You bet we will. It is well worth a return visit if only to try the other dishes on the menu!

    Highly recommended.

  • The Pipe & Glass Inn, South Dalton, East Yorkshire

    The Pipe & Glass Inn is a former 17th century coaching inn standing on the site of the original gatehouse of the Dalton Estate in East Yorkshire. It took less than 4 years for the current owners to achieve a Michelin star which is reflected to this day in the quality of the food on offer.

    We booked an overnight stay in one of the garden rooms, the Mint room, which is just a short walk through the gardens and herborium with it’s delightful range of home-grown herbs which are used in the kitchen.

    This was the second time that we had stayed at the inn, and in the same room. It is a wonderfully appointed room with large king size bed (if not larger), a small seating area with a table and two chairs, a large contemporary mirror over the desk/dressing table. The large cavernous bathroom has an inset roll-top bath, twin sinks and a walk-in shower. The whole room is disabled friendly from the car park to the door.

    It was a special anniversary celebration for us so we ordered the optional charcuterie platter and a bottle of chilled Taittinger champagne on arrival. What a delight and well worth skipping lunch for knowing what was ahead of us. A delightful afternoon was spent sipping the bubbles and looking out over our very own private garden.

    Our table was booked for 7pm and we wended our way the short walk from our room to the pub’s main entrance. We were greeted with a warm smile and shown to our table. The restaurant room was candlelit with a few other diners already tucking in.

    The menu is a delight and offers a choice of seasonable food (see the menu below). We both went for the same choices of starter and mains; Filey Bay whisky cured salmon, pickled samphire, radish, crowdie, oyster and lemon balm fritter to start, and Barbecued rump of Yorkshire Dales lamb and crispy lamb belly, summer vegetable and Yorkshire fine fettle tartlet, nettle and mint puree, beer and barley jus to follow.

    The food cannot be faulted in any way, the salmon in the starter had so much flavour and, although I’m not a great fan of oysters, the fritter was amazing. The lamb main was succulent and cooked to perfection. We accompanied the mains with a side of buttered new potatoes and a dish of broccoli with hazelnut pesto.

    The Afters board offered us a wide choice of desserts and I, foolishly, went for the Five reasons to love chocolate. Maybe this was a bit of a mistake given the richness of the thing but wholly enjoyable none-the-less. Mrs Wanderer chose the Elderflower and buttermilk panna cotta, macerated strawberries and honeycomb and enjoyed it immensely.

    Breakfast in the morning is a pre-booked affair with guests choosing what they want the night before. Anything and everything is on offer from a full English, to kippers, to fruit and porridge. On our previous stay chef had decided that the mushrooms and tomatoes in the breakfast should be sprinkled with thyme. We were not fans of this and, on this occasion when I booked the stay I specified that the herbs be left off. Fair play to them this was adhered to and the breakfast was superb, cooked to order after we took our seats, and piping hot. Excellent.

    All-in-all this was yet again an excellent stay and one that we are sure to repeat. Well worth a visit just for lunch also.

  • The Honey & Fig Brasserie, Carolgate, Retford, Nottinghamshire

    Too Much Staff Chatter

    We’ve been to the Honey & Fig brasserie in Retford a number of times and never experienced a problem. Today things were slightly different.

    It was a bright summer’s day so we expected the brasserie to be rammed packed. There were a couple of people sitting outside in the sun but only 4 others inside. Bonus we thought, we can get a table.

    We were quickly given a choice of tables, offered the menus from which we ordered two coffees, a single-shot Americano and a Flat White.

    We sat waiting for a short while and then became aware of a lot of chatter coming from the counter area. When we looked over we could see all the staff ( a gaggle of young women) having a laugh, a joke and a chat. The young woman working as the barista was leaning on the counter chatting to another member of staff on the other side completely oblivious to us and our order.

    She saw us looking at her and, with a sheepish look on her face, quickly turned to the coffee machine to make our coffees. I’m afraid I have one of those faces, the way it hangs I think, that gives a strong impression of displeasure, and I think that’s what may have come across today.

    The management should ensure that the staff are clear that orders come first and time for chatter is for the slack times and not necessarily on the shop floor. Not a very satisfactory experience for us I’m afraid.

    We noticed that another coffeeshop had opened up directly opposite the Honey & Fig so will probably try that one next time instead. This may also account for the lack of customers when we arrived which didn’t change during our visit.

    https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/ShowUserReviews-g661690-d15789187-r894316584-Honey_and_Fig-Retford_Nottinghamshire_England.html#

  • Tom Yum Vegetable Frittata

    Tom Yum paste is a lovely blend of Thai herbs and other ingredients, including lemongrass, galangal, lime and lime leaves and is the perfect base for this quick and easy vegetable frittata. An ideal light lunch for two, or one if you’re especially hungry!

    Ingredients:

    Half a celery stick sliced down the middle and coarsely chopped

    1 spring onion coarsely chopped

    Half a green pepper, diced

    1 medium sized tomato coarsely chopped into chunks

    Salt and pepper for seasoning

    2 tablespoons olive oil

    2 large eggs

    1 teaspoon Tom Yum paste

    1 teaspoon of garlic granules

    Recipe:

    In a heavy bottomed non-stick frying pan, with an oven and grill-proof handle, heat the olive oil and add the chopped vegetables and garlic granules. Add a few twists of salt for taste. Gently fry on a medium heat for a few minutes until the veg softens.

    In a jug slake down the Tom Yum paste with a little hot water. When the vegetables have softened add the Tom Yum water and reduce by three-quarters over a medium heat.

    By now the celery, peppers and tomatoes will have cooked down nicely but will not be too soft.

    In another jug crack the two eggs, add salt and pepper to taste, and whisk together. Pour the egg mix evenly over the vegetables and cook for a few minutes on the hob until the edges of the frittata pull away from the pan with a spatula. In the meantime heat the grill on full power and once up to speed put the frying pan underneath. Grill until golden brown on top.

    Serve up and enjoy!

    Hope you love it as much as I do.

  • The Jug & Glass Inn, Nether Langwith, Nottinghamshire

    The Jug & Glass Inn is a beautiful stone-built 17th century pub in the picturesque village of Nether Langwith near Mansfield. It sits proudly overlooking the River Poulter, which wends its way through the village, with a beer garden at the front with views over the river and village green with its small war memorial. It certainly has kerb-appeal, especially on a sunny day!

    Inside it is relatively modern and is manned by a trio of young women. We were welcomed with a cheery smile and quickly shown to our table, a two seater next to the toilets.

    The menu is very comprehensive with a specials board, starters, sharing platters, main meals, burgers, salads, sandwiches, baguettes, fish and seafood dishes, steak dishes and so on. You name it, they do it.

    This is an ‘order at the bar’ pub and choosing our meals I returned to the bar. There is a modern touchscreen ordering system which sends the orders straight through to the kitchen so my choice of Spicy Chicken Baguette with chips and an accompanying side salad was quickly winging its way through to the chef. Mrs Wanderer opted for the Mushroom and Melted Cheese Baguette, again with chips and a salad.

    On arrival the meals looked so promising. However, the spicy chicken had zero spice which was a real disappointment. At best it was chargrilled chicken, at worst over-chargrilled chicken with a slightly bitter taste to it. The chips were brown and soggy instead of golden and crispy as they should be. One chip was so concerned for its existence that it threw itself off the plate onto the floor as the waitress delivered the meal! I ate the chicken but left the majority of the chips as they were unappetising.

    The salad bowl consisted of cherry tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce and raw red onion. There was no dressing and I now think in hindsight that the question of ‘would you like any other sauces?’ would have covered that but it didn’t occur to me to ask at the time.

    It is difficult to say to the staff that a meal isn’t up to scratch, especially when they specifically ask the question ‘how are things?’ but I did so and asked for my comments to be fed back to the chef. There is little point in moaning about a meal if you don’t point out the deficiencies at the time. However, the disappointment on their faces was evident.

    Bear in mind that this is just a snapshot of the menu and there could very well be other excellent meals on offer. The disappointment of this meal would certainly not stop me from returning to the Jug & Glass and try something else on the menu.

    I would hope it was just an off day on the chip and spice front. Even so some game-upping is required.

    One final point, the raw red onion has been making its presence felt for the remainder of the day. It is the gift that keeps on giving!

  • The Marquis of Granby, Wellingore, Lincolnshire

    I fervently maintain that the quality of an establishment’s food can be determined by the number of cars in the carpark; the more the cars the better the food as people are keen to visit. The Marquis of Granby in Wellingore has no carpark so nothing to go on but we ploughed on nevertheless.

    We were welcomed with a cheery smile by the pleasant landlady with a shock of purple/blue spiky hair. We were shown to our table in the restaurant area, in fact we were offered any table as there was no-one else there. This is a reflection perhaps of the times we live in when a country pub is empty at lunchtime on a sunny Friday afternoon in early Summer.

    The restaurant was clean and tidy with smart, wooden tables and comfortable chairs with houndstooth check upholstery. S Club 7 was playing through the speaker above the bar quickly followed by Madonna but this disappeared into the background with all the hubbub at the bar (what hubbub, the place was empty!)

    The menu was very comprehensive with the usual choice of ciabattas, sandwiches and jacket potatoes. There was a specials board but I opted for the Spinach Cannelloni in a creamy tomato sauce. Unusually this came with a choice of mashed potato or chips together with peas and carrots. So, apart from the veg it was heavy on the carbs. I chose the mashed potato. The dish would though benefit from a small salad of mixed leaves with perhaps a vinaigrette or French dressing instead of the mash, chips and veg.

    Mrs Wanderer, by her own admission, was not adventurous and went for the Prawns with Marie-Rose sauce jacket.

    The food arrived about 15 minutes later so was presumably cooked to order. Mrs Wanderer’s jacket came with a surprising amount of prawns, a homemade coleslaw with cheese and a light salad which I think consisted of a shed-load of lettuce, some tomato, cucumber, peppers and onion.

    It was difficult to see how many cannelloni there were in the sauce but I’m guessing there were three. To be fair the pasta and the sauce were very tasty but the meal was let down by the dry, unseasoned (for my palette) mashed potato. The carrot batons were quite thick but, with the exception of the sauce, the meal was dry.

    On the plus side though both dishes were piping hot and the quantity left neither of us feeling hungry at the end.

    Wellingore appears to be a quaint little village offset to the side of the A607 Grantham road but it is obviously a troubled place. The pub feels it necessary to have a poster in the gent’s toilet stating that the use or distribution of drugs is forbidden on the premises and anyone found to be doing so will be kicked out and barred! I’m not sure I would want to wander the streets after dark.

    All-in-all this is a traditional country pub and it serves traditional, simple, no frills meals. Not to everyone’s taste perhaps.

    At a push, if we were in the area, we would return but I wouldn’t make it a destination.