A
fortnight ago (and the day after my mum’s birthday), we took my Nan out for her
birthday – and when deciding where to go, she suggested The Old Windmill,
having not been there for a while. I don’t think I’ve ever been, despite being
at a couple of the pubs nearby, but it’s at South Hanningfield, on the way to
Chelmsford – and not too far from where Nan lives.
Mum
booked a table for five, for 2:30pm and it was the perfect time to devour a
roast dinner! It’s a good job we booked, as the bar, dining room and beer
garden were all busy. We sat in the dining room and there was plenty of space
and natural lighting, as it was next to the garden. One thing I will mention is
the sign outside saying ‘Dogs Welcome’ also extended to inside the pub. There
were two dogs in the dining room, which I found quite unusual – but thankfully,
we didn’t notice they were there. Next time, I would be more inclined to sit
somewhere where there are no animals though.
On
a Sunday, The Old Windmill offers two menus: the standard a la carte option,
alongside traditional roast dinners. With a selection of meats, including a
mixed roast of beef and pork, there was plenty of choice. Of course, being
Sunday, we all decided on the roast – and as the portions were so generous, we
didn’t need feeding for the rest of the day... although it didn’t stop us
looking at and ordering dessert.
My
mum, Nan and brother all chose the braised shoulder of lamb; Ash picked the
rare topside of beef with giant Yorkshire pudding and horseradish sauce; while
I went for my favourite: roast loin of pork, with sage & onion stuffing,
apple sauce and shards of crackling. All the meals came served with roast
potatoes, red & green cabbage, leeks and lashings of gravy. I really
enjoyed my dinner, particularly the pork, which wasn’t at all fatty. The gravy
added enough seasoning to the rest of the meal, so luckily the vegetables
weren’t seasoned, but were cooked perfectly. Although I was really hungry, I
struggled to eat all three potatoes!
Like
I said, we managed to have dessert and as I was limited as to what I could
have, I chose the sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream. It was just as
good as it looks – light sponge, rich sticky toffee sauce and ice cream simply
melted. As always, I ate it far too quickly and honestly, I could have eaten it
twice over! Robert picked the American waffle with strawberries, clotted cream
ice cream and Pimm’s syrup, which looked incredible – I was SO jealous.
Everyone
else ended the meal with coffee and it wasn’t long until we then got the bill.
Despite being a pub, there was table service and it was very good. From the
moment we arrived, we were taken straight to our table and our drinks order was
soon taken – there was no waiting around at the bar. We don’t go out for Sunday
lunch often, so it made a change and I would return.
Love,
Lucy xx
No comments
Post a Comment
Enjoyed this post? Let me know. Leave a comment, or find me on social!
Love, Lucy xx