Huntingdon and Godmanchester are either side of the River Ouse, a delightful bit of old England. I was told that The Ouse is pronounced to rhyme with cows (not ooze).The location is about thirty miles north of Stevenage, where I often visit The Wine Society. (The Wine Society is in the next post.) As we drove around Godmanchester, we passed buildings in several styles, Georgian style sash windows not he front of the Old Bridge Hotel, thatch, black and white Tudor.
Huntingdon's Bridge Hotel
We looked at four restaurants, one in a creeper-clad hotel at Huntingdon, called The Bridge because it is on the bridge over the river Ouse with a garden backing onto the river. The traffic noise rather spoils the garden, but the inside is delightful. If you want a morning coffee in elegant surroundings, with a wine shop and the opportunity to stay for a rather pricey set lunch or dinner (see my earlier post), I recommend the Bridge Hotel where we stopped on a previous occasion.
On my more recent trip we looked at three restaurants in Godmanchester, recommended by somebody who lives in nearby St Neots. The Godmanchester restaurants are The White Hart, The Black Bull and The Exhibition.
The Black Bull
A choice of the restaurant or the bar area. Bright and welcoming. The menu included chicken with mash potatoes and I like chicken and potatoes, so I was tempted, but we had one more place to see.
The White Hart
The building has lots of interesting features. The fireplace. The columns behind the bar.
The bar menu choices included a green curry with rice. Then we saw the restaurant and preferred the larger menu. I chose the cheapest option, lasagne. The best part of my main course choice was the wonderful garlic bread which was on a round roll resembling a bagel without the hole, tasty, chewy and moreish.
The vegetables served with all main meals were unremarkable but a good choice of colours.
At the back you see the garden, another restaurant room for private dining. The ladies toilet has pretty flowers and lovely modern fittings. A pity somebody has broken one of the three toilet door handles.
Dessert was the high spot - summer pudding.
Coffee came with brown sugar cubes and an After Eight or similar chocolate covered mint.
Photos by Angela Lansbury. Copyright.
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, researcher, author and speaker. See my other posts, my other blogs, follow me here and on Facebook, link to me on LinkedIn, see me speaking about Restaurant Etiquette on YouTube, and check out my books on Amazon and Lulu.com
Huntingdon's Bridge Hotel
We looked at four restaurants, one in a creeper-clad hotel at Huntingdon, called The Bridge because it is on the bridge over the river Ouse with a garden backing onto the river. The traffic noise rather spoils the garden, but the inside is delightful. If you want a morning coffee in elegant surroundings, with a wine shop and the opportunity to stay for a rather pricey set lunch or dinner (see my earlier post), I recommend the Bridge Hotel where we stopped on a previous occasion.
On my more recent trip we looked at three restaurants in Godmanchester, recommended by somebody who lives in nearby St Neots. The Godmanchester restaurants are The White Hart, The Black Bull and The Exhibition.
The Black Bull
We peered into the Black Bull at just after noon. They had not yet opened and the menu was not visible outside. We could have gone on line and checked but we drove on as we had two more to see.
The Exhibition
A choice of the restaurant or the bar area. Bright and welcoming. The menu included chicken with mash potatoes and I like chicken and potatoes, so I was tempted, but we had one more place to see.
The White Hart
The building has lots of interesting features. The fireplace. The columns behind the bar.
The bar menu choices included a green curry with rice. Then we saw the restaurant and preferred the larger menu. I chose the cheapest option, lasagne. The best part of my main course choice was the wonderful garlic bread which was on a round roll resembling a bagel without the hole, tasty, chewy and moreish.
The duck was pink and I was offered some but gave it back.
Duck with green beans and sliced potatoes. The best part of this dish was the sliced potatoes in layers.
The vegetables served with all main meals were unremarkable but a good choice of colours.
Dessert was the high spot - summer pudding.
Coffee came with brown sugar cubes and an After Eight or similar chocolate covered mint.
As Dr Samuel Jonson once described a place to his biographer, 'Worth seeing but not worth going to see'. The Michelin food guide has its own variation on this idea, worth a detour but not worth a special trip.
The main course portions were huge, enough to fill us up without a starter. We had to take some home to leave room for dessert. As I was already full my companion vetoed the diet-breaking cheesecake option in favour of the summer pudding. A great choice. Not that I could compare it with any of the other items. On second thoughts, yes, it is worth going to eat the dessert.
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