The Blue Bridge, Writtle: Review

Writtle is a beautiful village; it has a village green with a duck pond, a teeny weeny pub and some gorgeous Georgian houses. Previously, I had only eaten at Grahams On The Green where I had eaten a perfectly satisfactory meal.

I had never heard of The Blue Bridge until my partner mentioned that it had been one of the choices for a family meal, but it had been vetoed once people saw the prices on the menu.

Anyway, my partner has gone a bit mad recently, and treated me to yet another meal out! (See last review.) He fancied The Blue Bridge to see if it was better than The Blue Strawberry, Hatfield Peverel.

As we arrived, I was worried that there was noone there- I could see that the dining room at the front of the restaurant was empty. I shouldn't have worried. The restaurant is a mishmash of different rooms, and there were plenty of diners in the other rooms.

The staff were pleasant enough, but were very much frostier than at the Strawb'. I attributed this to the fact that it was a 'restaurant' to the Strawberry's lowly 'bistrot' status. I was somewhat concerned when we were shown to a room at the back of the restaurant, especially when noone else was in there! Is this where they stick the oiks, or those who don't know how to use asparagus tongs? I was reassured when other couples soon followed.

The menu was impressive, yet expensive. Their set menu was £18.95 for 2 courses, £23.95 for 3 courses. There were 5 choices for starters and main course, but only 3 for dessert. The a la carte menu was quite steep, with most starters being around the £8.50 mark, mains costing £16-£23!

I opted for the set menu- I always look to the cheaper options, even if someone else is paying! I chose chicken satay, followed by herb-crusted pollock. My partner is a fussy fellow, not liking most fish, seafood, mayonnaise, fruit, mushrooms- he ended up going a la carte.

He chose a simple salad to start with- rocket and parmesan with a balsamic dressing. He said that it was very good- but can one go wrong with such a combination? I was eager to see what top-notch chicken satay looked like; I have had so many disappointing satay incidents with dry meat and gloopy peanut-butter sauce. The dish was absolutely delicious. I find chicken breast lacking in moisture and flavour, but this dish made me reconsider my thoughts on it. The meat was tender, well seasoned and marinaded in something with a very complex flavour- I suspect dark molasses were involved. The peanut sauce was delicious, and used sparingly, so it was not cloying. It was served on a salad of beansprouts, herbs, chilli and spring onion.

When our main courses arrived, I could see the difference between a restaurant and a bistrot. Restaurants serve their food on odd shaped plates, and when the food arrives one feels guilty to have to destroy the artwork when eating it! The pollock was moist and was coated in a cheesy, herby crust. It was served with some amazing piped mashed potato and creamed leeks. It was sheer comfort food- I dread to think how much cream was in that food!

Given that we'd been seated in the Naughty Room, I felt no shame when sticking my fork in my partner's food. He'd opted for the belly pork (yes, he has it everywhere!) with a wild boar sausage and braised cabbage. He also had a side order of green beans in garlic butter. He was very pleased to see that the pork came with extra crackling! Sadly, I was not allowed any! The pork was sweet and delicious, as were the beans. The sausage was nice, but lack any 'wow' factor. My partner was somewhat disappointed by the cabbage. He likes cabbage as nature intended, ie. raw, and failing that he likes cabbage that tastes of cabbage. Sadly, this cabbage had had the 'Christmas cabbage' treatment, having been spiced, sweetened and cooked until it no longer tasted of cabbage.

Given that I was driving, I was on tap water, so felt like I'd earned a dessert. I went for the simple chocolate brownie and vanilla ice cream. The vanilla ice cream was very good- heavy on vanilla, light on sugar. The brownie was crunchy on the outside, gooey in the middle. Nom nom nom.

The bill came to £66, including service, with only one person drinking. It'd be very easy to rack up a £100 bill if a couple both dined of the a la carte menu and were boozing. However, if this is a little steep, there's always the option to go for lunch, where a two course meal costs £13.95. OAPs get it two pounds cheaper, which is a nice touch.