Being Mothering Sunday, we had lunch out today, once we had found a place to actually eat. Our first choice, The Alma was fully booked and while well-known places such as Pizza Express and Prezzo would have been nice, we wanted somewhere a little different, a little special.
Good reports had come back from The Saracen’s Head Hotel, and so we booked a table for five (Bart was conspicuous by his absence). It was only after the event that Nik told us that the hotel’s restaurant had been the subject of an episode of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares when it was in its previous incarnation, D-Place.
Mother’s Day at The Saracen’s Head Hotel: Ean, Nik, Rich, Vikki and mum
The foul-mouthed chef had clearly worked wonders and turned the place around, though. (But not before trade had reportedly gone down 50% and the place made bankrupt within two weeks of Ramsay’s departure.) With the exception of underdone but surprisingly tasty vegetables, the meal was very good. My roasted pepper soup was full of flavour and the addition of toasted white bread to accompany it made a nice change from a bread roll.
The beef served for the main course was beautifully tender, the roast potatoes cooked until just the right side of crispy and the Yorkshire Pudding was an equal of those cooked at home. Even the wine was good, and at £11.95 per head for two courses plus wine, it was excellent value, too. The only thing that could be criticised was the service, which could, at times, be a little slow. That wasn’t all bad, though, as it gave us time to digest one course before moving on to the next.
Not feeling blue: one of the new Rhode Island Ranger chickens meets Ean
The rest of the weekend was, as usual, equally as enjoyable. Family fun on Saturday night was had by playing cards after a three-courser consisting of tomato flan and a mezze starter, fish pie and spicy rice, and treacle tart to finish off. Yes, there were small computer matters to attend to, but they were dealt with swiftly and easily, leaving us more time to socialise, catch up, and for our visitors to meet the new additions to the back garden chicken coop.
An eggy breakfast on Sunday rolled into a stroll around the shops before the Mother’s Day lunch at Saracen’s and while we didn’t have coffee or dessert in the restaurant, it was much nicer to have a pre-journey portion of tea and cake before mum, Ean and Vikki whizzed the 88 miles north up the A12 to home. And for a change, mum did nothing. A Mother’s Day which was true to its word.
Tags: Dining Out, Essex, Journal
And what a lovely weekend it was too! I am very lucky to have such a special family to look after me, once again thanks for everything! Love Mum xx