Redmile
Nottingham
NG13 0GA
www.thepeacockinnredmile.co.uk
I had heard about the Peacock Inn through a work friend of mine who's family used to own a pub there when she was growing up. She said that the Peacock Inn used to be the place to go back in the early nineties if you lived in one of the local villages and liked to splash your cash. As usual i had one of my trusty discount gourmet cards, and as luck would have it the Peacock Inn was on my list. I wouldn't be splashing to much cash but i thought what better on a cold wintry evening than to have a drive out and investigate.
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The promise of a charming 18th century village inn and maybe even a wood burning fire kept me going on the rather long dark road leading to my destination. The building itself had a lot of charm, and looked extremely inviting on this cold snowy evening. On entering, the Inn was very quiet, just a few couples eating and a few locals who looked as though they were sampling some of the real ale on offer. There was a room which seemed to have more formal tables laid out, but as it was quiet we were seated next to the main bar area which was nicely decorated but would probably have felt more cosy had there been more people. As hoped, there was a fire blazing away in the middle of the room,but unfortunately it was still quite cold in there as they had a problem with the main door! |
The menu was a bit of a surprise, not the typical village pub food i would have expected, much more of an a la carte menu. I did also spot that there was a set menu available and this seemed fairly reasonably priced. I'd heard that they tried to use local produce as much as possible, which is always a positive for me and i was keen to sample some dishes that i hadn't had before. I was quite spoilt for choice by their menu, which i must say read very well. The service was friendly and attentive but perhaps a little too formal for me.
James and i both chose starters of Scallops with cauliflower puree and pancetta with a watercress salad.
The scallops were cooked beautifully, really juicy and sweet, and i was pleasantly surprised by the subtlety of the cauliflower puree as i am not a huge fan. The pancetta was perfectly crisp and the saltiness worked really nicely with the sweet fish. Now i know why this dish is always a favourite with those Masterchef contestants! Only problem was, i polished the dish off in a mater of minutes and wanted more.
I forgot to mention that we also ordered a rather delicious bowl of hand-cut chips cooked in beef dripping alongside our starters. Perhaps a little greedy you might say, but we could not resist the opportunity to try them. We were more than happy when the bowl arrived, brimming with perfectly crisp chips, which were perfectly fluffy inside. Unfortunately we got so distracted by eating them that i failed to take a picture.
On to mains. I chose whole roasted partridge with cabbage, fondant potato and pear. Whilst James opted for sea bream with mussels,saffron potatoes and a creamy leek and white wine sauce.
When my plate arrived it was fair to say i was extremely impressed with the presentation, not sure what i think to square plates though. Only problem was i was unsure how to tackle my little partridge. The meat was well cooked, and having never had partridge before i found the flavour of the meat quite subtle, and suprisingly not unlike chicken. The potato cake sitting underneath was a little firm for my tastes but well seasoned. One of the highlights was the lovely mixture of the cabbage and crisp pieces of bacon running through it, combined with the small sweet pieces of pear this was a really lovely combination. My only niggle would be, it needed more of that lovely gravy or 'reduction' as some might say,to stop the meat and potato from feeling too dry.
Not wanting to feel left out, we sampled each others meals. The sea bream was again very well cooked, with rather lovely crisp skin. The sauce was rich and packed with flavour of the wine and leeks, and i think this kind of sauce works really well with a light fish like bream. The saffron tinted potatoes had quite a subtle flavour, but seemed a little hard and undercooked.
I was feeling pretty full at this point but i didn't say no to the offer of a peek at the dessert menu. Strangely there was nothing i felt tempted by so we just got the bill. I would definitely go back to the Peaock Inn. I would probably give the set menu a try as this seemed like good value, and there was a good choice of courses available. The food here is of a very high quality, and you can tell it has been prepared with a lot of skill and care. It's even worth that rather scary journey along 3 miles of dark country roads if you're brave enough, or perhaps i'll just wait until the summer when i can explore the scenic vale of belvoir somemore!
Price for food £46.00
Total price with dining card £23.00
I forgot to mention that we also ordered a rather delicious bowl of hand-cut chips cooked in beef dripping alongside our starters. Perhaps a little greedy you might say, but we could not resist the opportunity to try them. We were more than happy when the bowl arrived, brimming with perfectly crisp chips, which were perfectly fluffy inside. Unfortunately we got so distracted by eating them that i failed to take a picture.
On to mains. I chose whole roasted partridge with cabbage, fondant potato and pear. Whilst James opted for sea bream with mussels,saffron potatoes and a creamy leek and white wine sauce.
When my plate arrived it was fair to say i was extremely impressed with the presentation, not sure what i think to square plates though. Only problem was i was unsure how to tackle my little partridge. The meat was well cooked, and having never had partridge before i found the flavour of the meat quite subtle, and suprisingly not unlike chicken. The potato cake sitting underneath was a little firm for my tastes but well seasoned. One of the highlights was the lovely mixture of the cabbage and crisp pieces of bacon running through it, combined with the small sweet pieces of pear this was a really lovely combination. My only niggle would be, it needed more of that lovely gravy or 'reduction' as some might say,to stop the meat and potato from feeling too dry.
Not wanting to feel left out, we sampled each others meals. The sea bream was again very well cooked, with rather lovely crisp skin. The sauce was rich and packed with flavour of the wine and leeks, and i think this kind of sauce works really well with a light fish like bream. The saffron tinted potatoes had quite a subtle flavour, but seemed a little hard and undercooked.
I was feeling pretty full at this point but i didn't say no to the offer of a peek at the dessert menu. Strangely there was nothing i felt tempted by so we just got the bill. I would definitely go back to the Peaock Inn. I would probably give the set menu a try as this seemed like good value, and there was a good choice of courses available. The food here is of a very high quality, and you can tell it has been prepared with a lot of skill and care. It's even worth that rather scary journey along 3 miles of dark country roads if you're brave enough, or perhaps i'll just wait until the summer when i can explore the scenic vale of belvoir somemore!
Price for food £46.00
Total price with dining card £23.00