A Five Star Six Course Delight

After grumbling on my last blog about a mediocre meal, it's time to go to the opposite end of the scale today after a visit last night to the lovely Queen in Brandeston. We've been to this pub a few times and have enjoyed the food very much so when we saw their monthly tasting menu advertised at just £50 per head for six courses including wine with each course, we thought we must give it a try. Not wanting to waste the wine, we took a taxi from Framlingham.

I know that people who take photos of their food in restaurants and pubs are a bit of a pain but the presentation of these dishes was so beautifully done I felt it worth sharing and, as we were tucked away in a quiet corner of the pub, I felt okay doing it. So. What did we get for our £50?

We started with a tomato medley with a delicious melt in the mouth tomato "cloud" accompanied by a herby stock.

Our next course was a trio of rabbit with a garnish of reindeer moss and a parsnip crisp.

Skate with cucumber came next.

And then some fabulous tender duck with tiny roast potatoes and tender stem broccoli.

The cheese was, again, beautifully presented with an amazing burnt apple accompaniment.

And finally we were treated to a superb dish of sweetcorn donut, with donut peach and two wonderful ice creams.

As you can see, none of these dishes would have looked out of place in the final of the professional Masterchef. We expect the chef to be picking up plenty of awards in his career.

With each of these lovely dishes matched with an equally lovely wine, £50 per head was incredibly good value for money (we paid almost £40 the other night for very ordinary fare and  a couple of glasses of wine).

It's no good having fabulous food if the service is poor but all of the young staff were excellent (including Rachel, a very talented artist,  who also works at The Dancing Goat). Each course was delivered to the table with a full description of what the chef had prepared for us and each wine was also described. 

The pub uses local produce and home grown herbs and vegetables and has one of these tasting sessions every month. Book for September now to avoid being disappointed.

In other news, following the free promotion of my first novel last week, I got a new review. Short but sweet.