Number 28

27th January 2011 - Number 28, 28 The High Street, Holt

Gill and I lunched at Number 28 in Holt High Street.   Gill had once worked there when it was the Holt Bookshop.   Since its conversion to a restaurant, Gill had once had a coffee there but I had never visited.

On entering, we were pleased with the comfort and decor.   The furnishings were simple but comfortable and it had a pleasing ambience.

The downstairs was fullish so we went upstairs and had a table for two initially at the back of the room.   However, we were soon able to move to a table for two next to the window with its good view over the busy High Street.   Service was quick and we were brought wine - Gill had a glass of Chardonnay and I ordered a Merlot.   The measures were generous.   The waiter took our meal order having brought the drinks.   We had to ask for water.

Gill ordered Leek and Gruyere Tartlet with salad and I ordered Chicken and Ham Pie with new potatoes and French beans (probably grown in Kenya).   A note on the table, no doubt warding off complaints from impatient customers, said all food was cooked to order and there might be some delay.   However, the delay was minimal and the meal was very nicely presented.    Perhaps even more important, it was extremely tasty with pleasing additions, with the tartlet also having a helping of crisps and the new potatoes being generously drizzled in butter.    The Chicken and Ham Pie was baked out-of-house but was of high quality, in fact one of the best savoury pies I had tasted!

We had enjoyed our lunch in very pleasing surroundings.   The bill came to £24, including drinks.

Rating: 17/20

Butler's

3rd February 2011 - Butlers, Apple Yard, off the High Street, Holt.

We lunched at Butler’s in Appleyard and were pleased to meet friends with their family who said the staff were very sympathetic with children.

We were placed at a table for two near the window with the sun streaming in.   It was quite busy but noisy, with musak in addition.   The restaurant is situated on the ground floor but quite spacious.    We were served quickly with drinks and orders taken for our meal at the same time.   I had a Merlot and Gill had white wine.  A good measure in each case.   We had to ask for water.

Gill ordered Tagliatelli with Wild Mushrooms in a Pesto sauce.   It proved to be quite tasty but the mushrooms were not properly cut up and not cooked as much as they might have been.   I ordered Ham with two Duck’s Eggs and slim chips all of which I enjoyed.   I don’t recall ever having fried duck’s eggs before.

The bill came to £30, including drinks, which we considered to be rather expensive as was the whole menu.

Rating 14/20

Number 10 at Larners

31st March 2011 - Number 10, Larners, Market Place, Holt.

Another venue we had never used.   Number 10 is the in-house restaurant of the well-considered department store in Holt.   It is tucked away upstairs but when you get there it is a surprisingly large area elegantly furnished with marble topped tables and modern metal chairs comfortably cushioned.   We decided on a double table overlooking the sunny garden centre area.

The waitresses were very friendly and one quickly took our order.   White Rioja was advertised on the list on the table and two good measures were quickly brought.   I had never sampled a white Rioja before and enjoyed the fruitiness of it.

The menu range was fairly small with several daily specials on the board, one of which Gill ordered.   The printed menu was a lunch type menu mainly limited to sandwiches, salads and baked potatoes.   Gill had a goat’s cheese tart with salad and I had the house pate with salad.  The pate was a smooth variety but very tasty and the toast was a generous serving.   Both meals were well presented and enjoyable, with the salad, in particular, an agreeable mixture.

Number 10 proved to be an attractive place to eat and during our stay it became quite busy.   Any venue which has the boss enjoying his lunch at the same time is worthy of mention.

The bill came to £23, including drinks, and seemed fair value for money.

Rating: 15.5/20

The Lawns

24th March 2011 - The Lawns Hotel, 8 Station Road, Holt

We had never yet used the Lawns and had received mixed views of its qualities.      Having found our way to the bar following a rather circuitous route we were presented with menus and Gill found a table for two whilst I ordered drinks.   We both decided on Chilean wines with Gill having a Chardonnay and I had a glass of Merlot.   We sat in an empty bar while the few others who were there were either in the garden or conservatory.   It was quite a warm day and we preferred the coolness of the bar area.   It had a pleasantly agreeable atmosphere helped by various nooks and crannies.

The menu had only one main vegetarian dish so Gill ordered a cheddar cheese and pickle sandwich with salad and chips and I ordered calves liver and bacon served with a thick sauce together with French beans on a bed of mashed potato.   The liver and sauce were particularly tasty and I enjoyed the meal very much.   Gill less so as the cheese was a bit bland and she had too many chips.   The meals were well presented and the service was efficient if lacking a little in cordiality.

We were pleased to have experienced the Lawns and will return despite the choice of musak.

We had enjoyed our lunch, I more than Gill, in pleasing surroundings.   The bill came to £23, including drinks, and seemed fair value for money.

Rating: 16/20

The Feathers

11th March 2011 - The Feathers, 6 Market Place, Holt.

The Feathers claims to have been established in 1650.   It was certainly once a coaching inn and is now the foremost hotel/restaurant in the town.

If one wishes to eat at lunchtime there is the choice of the restaurant or the bar.  The bar has a good selection of dishes on its menu together with daily specials, is cosy, roomy with the Gresham’s suite, less expensive and a more appealing choice at lunchtime for its relaxed atmosphere.

We found it particularly relaxed on entering, with a largish and somewhat noisy party of ladies enjoying each other’s company.   However, they quickly disappeared presumably to the restaurant leaving the bar to its normal assembly of couples and family groups dining and locals having a post-shopping drink.   It creates its own pleasing ambience without the aid of musak so common in so many environments these days.

We settled at a table for two at the far end of the busy bar on one side and the empty Gresham’s suite on the other.   I ordered at the bar a half pint of Adnam’s bitter for Gill and a pint for me.  A lovely clear ale with a nutty, tangy taste, ideal for a lunchtime drink to have with a meal.

To eat, Gill had a frittata with potatoes and rocket with melted cheese on top together with carrots, leeks and boiled potatoes.  The carrots were hard and the leeks tasted funny, but the frittata was very tasty.   I chose a very pub type meal of scampi, chips, peas and salad which I enjoyed very much as it was tasty, well cooked and nicely presented.   Both meals had generous servings.

The meal, including drinks, was good value at £23

Rating 16/20

Byford's

4th March 2011 - Byford’s, Shirehall Plain, Holt.

Set in the centre of the town in a grade 2 listed building sensitively restored from its history as the local ironmongers, Byford’s sees itself as something special.   Despite its self-congratulatory marketing there is no doubt that, as somewhere to eat, it has style and quality of fare which perhaps allows it to be fulsome in its own praises.

Its lunchtime menu has a wide choice and one can enjoy a range of dishes from simple pizzas to somewhat expensive mains.   The main dining area, which has been relatively recently refurbished, has a pleasing atmosphere of semi-old beams and an interesting view of the kitchen.  The scrubbed pine table tops gave the area an added olde-worlde theme.

On what appeared to be a quiet day we found the service very quick and professional.   Gill ordered a Chardonnay and I a Rioja and water.   The wine was served quickly but the order for the water had to be made again after the meals had been served.   For lunchtime we thought the main courses were too expensive, so Gill ordered a Pizza Margerita, which she enjoyed very much, and I had the Charcuterie Board of two sorts of salami, chorizo,
with a sun-dried tomato based mixed pickle, gherkins and focaccia bread, which was delicious.

We were among the earlier clientele and as it filled up the atmosphere improved.

The meal, including drinks, was fair value at £25

Rating 16/20

The Owl Restaurant

17th March 2011 - The Owl Restaurant, White Lion Street, Holt.

We were going elsewhere but passing the Owl during the morning I noticed on their outside menu board that they had rabbit hotpot for lunch which I could not resist. We were a bit late arriving at 12.45 and to our surprise there were no spare tables. However, the waitresses were very helpful, said that one table was nearly available, so we waited in the adjacent shop.

Very soon, within about five minutes, a table for two became vacant. The restaurant is small and can cater for about two dozen people but has a very traditional style with plastic table covers and a shelf decorated with pots and pans. The whole scene was overlooked by a caged and stuffed barn owl. The local tale of an owl being detained in the Holt pound was also displayed.

The menu had half-a-dozen main meals and a range of lighter lunches with some salivating sounding desserts. The restaurant is also licensed.

Our order was taken and the service proved to be very quick and efficient. I ordered the rabbit hotpot and Gill had a vegetable pie, both were served with mash potato, carrots and calabrese. Gill quite enjoyed hers but I was very disappointed especially in the rabbit hotpot. It had been cooked in a pint-sized pot and was quite dry, lacking the natural juices and sauces of the normal rabbit hotpot cooked in a larger pot. We had glasses of the unremarkable house white and red wines and, as usual, needed to ask for glasses of water.

Somehow the meal was a bit of a let down and yet one had the feeling that the Owl can do better. We will have to return in due course to see if that is true. At least there was no musak.


Rating 13/20

The King's Head

17th February 2011 - The King’s Head, High Street, Holt.

If you are looking for a typical old style pub with bare boards and bar billiards/pool here it is in Holt.   However, unlike most traditional pubs this King’s Head has an interesting menu and obviously prides itself on well-cooked food.   The decor is traditional and even includes the World War II poster “Your Courage, Your Enthusiasm, Your Resolution will see us through” and, perhaps incongruously in the context of the general decor, includes multi-screen Sky Sports provision.   It has various bars in which to eat including a conservatory (which was closed for refurbishment) and, judging by the various activities provided, encourages an all-age clientele.   So it proved as we enjoyed our meal in the company of a sprinkling of teenagers through to grey-haired oldies.

The friendly young bar man made us very welcome, recommended various beers to drink and gave us the printed menu and directed us to the specials on the blackboard.  We ordered a pint of Adnam’s bitter and a half of xxxx and, after considerable thought due to the comprehensiveness of the menu, Gill a veggie (sic) lasagne. with KH chips and salad (KH = Kings Head, which were the fat ones with their skins still on) and I had baked hake with bacon, carrots and peas and xxxx potatoes.

The wait was just about long enough to show the meals had been properly prepared and not frozen.    We enjoyed our meals.   Mine initially looked on the frugal side but in fact proved quite adequate.   Gill had too much so unloaded her onion, coleslaw and a chip.   Again we had to ask for water.   When will British establishments realise that water is as necessary to a meal as condiments and knives and forks. 

The meal, including drinks, was fair value at £25

Rating 16/20

Jambo's

10th February 2011 - Jambo’s Cafe, Appleyard, Off the High Street, Holt.

Continuing our tour of Holt’s eating places in an anti-clockwise direction we lunched at Jambo’s.   A cosy and unpretentious looking cafe/restaurant having a rather glitzy decor with bright green tables and chairs.   It had six tables, three in cosy alcoves and an upstairs and we chose the only alcove available.   It had musak which you could hardly hear.   The establishment proved to be quite busy with several people coming while we lunched, with two groups going upstairs and two individuals asking for a sandwich to take away.   It had a wide and varied menu with six additional specials.

The service was quick, taking our orders for drinks and our meal straight away.   I ordered a Fitou which came in the smallest wine glass I have seen and Gill just had water.  Gill had a nicely presented cheese and tomato quiche with jacket potato and salad.   I ordered beef casserole with dumpling , potato, swede/carrot, beans and cabbage which was really hot and an excellent meal.   We had to ask for water which was very necessary in my case as the casserole was so hot, but just right.

We both enjoyed our meal and thought it was excellent value for money as the bill came to £18.75, including drinks.

Rating 15/20