There are many benefits to choosing to stay in the village when you eat out with family and friends: one of them being that you don’t need a designated driver, you can all enjoy a glass of wine or beer. Judith Rodgers has sampled two village hostelries with new menus and reviews them here.

The Moorings restaurant adds Italian to its menu

Four of us went out on a rainy evening to sample the new Italian options to the menu of The Moorings. It was a relief to go into the welcoming “rustic warmth with a modern Italian touch” that is The Moorings.

After sharing a bowl of truffle and parmesan fries, we got down to the serious business. My husband, David, had made a speciality of seafood linguine that week. First a homemade one, followed the next day by the biggest bowl you’ve ever seen from the Highwayman in Barry (South Wales). There was so much left that we both made a meal of leftovers on day three. Then The Moorings (al Frutti di Mare) and finally Zizzi in Derby. He is very positive that easily the best was from The Moorings. Well-done, Chef! Beautifully creamy, plenty of seafood, tasty and the portion size just right.

I thoroughly enjoyed a new taste for me with risotto nduja, mascarpone and king prawns. I now know that nduja is a paste version of spicey Italian sausage and the dish certainly was spicey – just as I like my food. I enjoyed it so much that I took back a jar of nduja to try in home-cooking.

Our friends, Roy had confit chicken leg which he enjoyed very much, commenting that it was a proper confit (where the food is slow cooked in fat) and came with plenty of tasty vegetables; while Tracy went for pan-roasted cod loin with pancetta, cherry tomatoes, samphire and lemon butter. Her verdict: delicious.

Then with the excuse that we really ought to try the sweets menu, we went for sticky toffee pudding with salted ice cream (yummy) and tiramisu (you really have to try that from an Italian menu). Needless to say, they were excellent.

Bearing in mind this was a menu for a special night out, the bill was very reasonable at under £30 each for a glass of wine and a two-course meal. We all agreed as we parted company that we had enjoyed an excellent meal and were looking forward to going back to sample the winter menu when it comes out later in the autumn……not to mention the Christmas specials in December.

Traditional and unusual pub food at the Soar Bridge Inn

The four of us went out again on another cold wet evening to try out the autumn menu at the Soar Bridge Inn. We’d better call ourselves the Barrow Banqueters! None of us has eaten there since Ben and Claire took over the pub in the summer and it seemed a really good idea to try it out.

I was expecting a typical English pub menu and there is certainly that – all the usuals and home cooked as well. But we were also very taken by the specials, so between us we tried both.

I selected the lamb tagine, rice and pitta bread – a traditional Moroccan recipe known for its depth of favour built from a wide range of spices. It came beautifully presented, a very favoursome tomatoey sauce and plenty of well-cooked lamb pieces. I loved it and managed to consume nearly the whole plateful.

David chose a half rack of lamb and six chicken wings with fries, also one of the specials. It came with coleslaw and a blue cheese sauce. He thoroughly enjoyed the whole meal and was very happy with his choice.

Tracy was looking forward to the Soar Bridge homemade steak and ale pie with real gravy(!) It came with tender stem broccoli and cheddar cheese mash. She commented on the pie’s lovely short-crust pastry base and puff pastry top. Her verdict: fabulous.

Roy was delighted to find lamb’s liver on the menu. It was accompanied by onion and bacon, mash and cabbage. Astonishingly, he ate the lot despite a starter with fries and wings as well.

Even though we had eaten heartily, we managed to try out two of the sweets. David and I shared a really delicious plate of salted caramel profiteroles. I would happily have had the lot but …. Meanwhile Tracy was tempted by the trillionaire’s tart and duly succumbed. She loved it.

So, we all ate very well and felt really pleased with this second gastronomic investigation.  We each spent less than £30 for a two-course meal and a glass of wine. Can’t be bad!

We were able to inspect the Christmas menu which has a good range of seasonal options and is ridiculously reasonably priced.

Barrow Voice really wants to support our local businesses and we hope you will too. The Soar Bridge provided us with a really good evening out for which we thank them.

Judith Rodgers