Hawtrey's

Angella

Bargain lunch and desserts 25th September 2009

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Bargain Lunch in Hawtrey's
Superb. Four rolls, and four types of butter. The rolls are a miniature baguette, cereal (I spy rye) and brown bread. The butters are unsalted with red pepper on top, salted with salt on top, pink coloured tomato butter with basil, anchovy and chives. I’m stunned.

Then I receive a pretty trio of amuse guele, a tiny tumbler of tomato juice, a gazpacho, smoked chicken, and a goat's cheese ball. On a little platter.

From the choice of three starters I picked the pumpkin soup (veloute). It does not taste as pumpkinny as the American Club in Singapore but good enough.

My main course was the duck. It fell off the bone - and flew into my mouth. I felt the tomato sauce swamped the flavour of the duck. The beans were a mixture of okay and underdone.

Desserts
The chocolate dessert which came with a chocolate sorbet. Presentation as you can see from my pictures was delightful.

Coffee with brown sugar lumps and foil-wrapped mints.

Price
The set price lunch is a bargain. I could have had a two course lunch. For a few pence over £20 I had a three course meal including coffee and mints, breads and butters and amuse guele in elegant surroundings with attentive service.

Dinner
My third visit was for dinner. Same as lunch menu but more expensive. My host offered me the gourmet dinner at twice the price but it was six courses.

Our food was delightful. Same as lunch time.

Pity they did not have candle light. Some people like to have coffee by the blazing log fire in the more romantic traditional lounge.

Angella

Olde Worlde and Interesting 9th March 2009

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The Barn Hotel is lovely. Beams and a log fire and paintings of brides.

Their food has two rosettes from the Automobile Association. Three plaques hang on the wall alongside the bar.

Unfortunately the restaurant is closed on Sunday evenings. We were able to see the beamed ceiling and gothic back chairs.

Sunday tea is very popular. You could order just tea or just coffee, their tea with scones, or the full tea of cakes on a triple decker server.

Barman John is most attentive and chats if you encourage him to tell you about the hotel.

The crockery for tea is Wedgwood. I ordered a hot chocolate which came up in an elegant mug with a gleaming silver or chrome base and tray. Sugar lumps were the large mis-shapen dice.

Scones were crispy outside and were served with little pots of Frank Cooper jam. Cakes varied from a plain sponge which did not excite me to a cake with fruits and nuts, very more-ish.

A rack of newspapers was nearby. We had our own reading matter and all the hotel's own leaflets to look at. And the barman to talk to.

John has been there ten years. He told us the foxes burrow into the nearby railway embankment where they are undisturbed most of the night when the trains don't run. Foxes are nocturnal and you sometimes see the cubs when being escorted by staff to the modern bedroom blocks behind.

The Ladies toilet is most elegant. With piped music.

Bedrooms are in the old farm and a modern block which has suites on the theme of oriental travel. The guests are often business people and rooms are being upgraded with downlighters and internet connections.

Brides can have a reception adapted to their wishes. A feature offered by the hotel is cutting the cake with a sword.

Meal Prices - High & Low
Sunday lunch for about £20 seems good value. The unusual menu was on display in the hall.

Afternoon tea is served in the lounge every day from 11 am. Scones with strawberry preserve and clotted cream and tea is £6.95. Add sandwiches and cakes and the price is £10.95..
The special lunch offer Monday to Friday is £15.95 for three courses, or £12.95 for two courses.

I wish British restaurants would give a price including alcohol, without which your meal is still an unpredictable price. In France it is a legal requirement to give the price of a meal including a glass of house wine. In Singapore lots of hotels offer a Sunday lunch either with a glass of champagne or unlimited champagne.

Mother's Day lunch is £36.95 per person in Hawtrey's, £35 in the Cromwell.

Grounds
Pleasant areas at the front and back are used in good summer weather. A water feature has fish, which are sometimes a little depleted because a gourmet heron has been flying in and helping itself to dinner at the hotel.

The hotel has a side room which is used for wakes after funerals, especially those at the nearby Breakspear Crematorium. I went to a funeral 'lunch' reception at 1 pm. Drinks were red or white wine and orange juice. Coffee from urns with brown sugar lumps.
Food buffet style was crisps, sandwiches: thick smoked salmon in white bread, chopped egg in white bread, cheese, ham, devils on horseback (teeny sausages in bacon - very tasty); small kebabs with peanut sauce to dip in - very good, sausage rolls (I try to avoid meat minced up with fat and leftovers an pastry) and vegetarian spring rolls (looked greasy and I didn't try them. I thought the food was delicious - especially as I got to the smoked salmon early on. However, somebody else complained, 'there was not a vegetable in sight - except for the spring rolls which looked fried - most unhealthy I said, 'I expect the person ordering the food had asked for any vegetables except the spring rolls.' This provoked the retort, 'Not even cress inside the egg,
No garnishes of parsley or tomato. What sort of training has their chef had in nutitiron and health?'
I started to feel guilty. What about my diet? Well, at least I had an orange juice.

Location
Easy to find. Just over the bridge you immediately see huge illuminated signs about the hotel whose entrance is next to the mini-roundabout.