6 minute read
DINING OUT Enjoying winter dining at Harby’s Bottle & Glass.
Enjoying Quality Winter Dining at THE BOTTLE & GLASS
Delicious dining at a quality country pub restaurant near Lincoln. The Bottle & Glass’s winter warmers and wood burners will keep diners cosy all season long!
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Words & Images: Rob Davis.
CONSENSUS. POPULAR OPINION. It counts for a lot sometime. As I’m taking the photos for this month’s Dining Out feature we’re working our way towards the puddings, and suddenly, a small crowd is gathering.
My theory is they were keeping an eye on the lovely Raspberry Tea Chocolate Tart which had just been put in front of me, with its quenelles of whipped cream, salted caramel and honeycomb.
Commenting that it looks delicious, one of the team – primed and ready with a dessert fork – remarked that if the current pudding impressed, wait until the next one.
“Peanut Butter and Chocolate Stack?” asked another of the front of house staff. There was a nod and a collective coo. It was this they were awaiting, gathered around like a kettle of hawks waiting to swoop down on unsuspecting quarry.
We’re at The Bottle & Glass in the village of Harby; the next village due west from Doddington, and only a couple of minutes off the A46.
A charter document on the wall of the pub points to its 18th century origins as a village pub. It was the local boozer of Lincoln property developer James Kirby, founder of Stirlin Developments, when he was growing up. Today, his company specialises in highspecification commercial and residential developments across the county
James took over the pub in 2021 and treated it to a complete refurbishment working with local interior designer Katy Lewis. The place is now dripping in Farrow & Ball shades, by my estimation Inchyra Blue, Mole’s Breath and Green Smoke. These have been used to good effect along with the blue plaid wallpaper in the Eleanor Bar – where you’ll also find one of three wood burners, church pews and industrial tables made from scaffolding poles. It all combines to create a cosy and goodlooking country inn that’s as welcoming to locals for their Friday pint as to customers who visit the destination pub from Lincoln, Newark and the surrounding area, keen to sample the menus of Head Chef Kearno Snell and sous chef Jamie Wilkes. >>
Peanut Butter & Chocolate Stack.
Raspberry Tea Chocolate Tart.
MEET THE CHEF
KEARNO SNELL, HEAD CHEF
History: Lincoln born and bred, worked at The Wig & Mitre and rejoined Harby’s Bottle & Glass in August 2021... Kearno says he loves its friendly feel! Festive Food Heaven: I’ll have beef for Christmas lunch, not turkey, please! Food Hell: Overcooked sprouts! n
on the MENU
Starters Caramelised Celeriac Soup: Rosemary Pesto, Toasted Hazelnuts, Burnt Pear. Spicy Buffalo Wings: Chicken Wings, Buffalo Sauce, Blue Cheese Sauce, Spring Onions. Seitan Flatbread: Seitan, Chimichurri, Pomegranate. Main Courses Turkey Wellington: Turkey in Filo Pastry, Garlic Fondant potato, Charred Sprouts, Chestnut, Pancetta, Gravy. Slow Cooked Beef Rib: Horseradish Mash, Honey Roasted Carrots, Soy Jus. Baked Gnocchi: Kimchi, Sesame Seed, Toasted Peanuts, Spring Onions. 8oz Fillet Steak with seasoned thick-cut chips, portabella mushroom, roast plum tomato, and garden peas. Desserts Peanut Butter & Chocolate Stack with Biscoff sauce and chocolate ice cream. Black Forest Chocolate Mousse: Sour Cherries, Coconut Whipped Cream, Chocolate Shavings. Hazelnut Panna Cotta: Salted Chocolate Gonash, Popping Candy, Dried Raspberries. The B&G Cheeseboard: Best of British Cheeses (Trio), Millers Crackers, Quince Jelly, Candied Pecans, Grapes.
NB: This is a sample menu, and featured dishes are subject to availability and change.
Baked Gnocchi. Braised Lamb Flatbread.
>> Along with the reinvention of its look and feel, The Bottle & Glass’s refurbishment brought with it a brand new series of menus with some brilliant dishes, packed with flavour but also beautifully presented. The pub restaurant’s evening menu offers à la carte dining and consists of six starters, nine main courses and four desserts plus a cheese option. There’s also a set lunch menu which, at £18/two courses and £23/three courses, looks like pretty good value to us given the technical and creative input that Kearno and Jamie invest in each dish. A dedicated Sunday lunch menu is, we’re told, very popular indeed with customers looking for a traditional roast with topside of beef served pink or a good roast pork dish with Lincolnshire sausage stuffing, and there’s a range of side dishes like tenderstem broccoli with toasted hazelnuts. Interestingly, aside from these traditional British dishes, The Bottle & Glass isn’t afraid to venture a little further afield for inspiration. One of our starters was a Flatbread with Braised Lamb, halloumi and chimichurri with garlic yoghurt, which isn’t something I’d usually order in a restaurant but was, in fact, really delicious. It’s a dish engineered to satisfy the ovine palate of the present Mrs Davis, who I reckon would demolish the dish and hold the chef hostage for a second helping. Another starter of note was chef’s Buffalo Wings, with a nice spicy sauce. Our main course highlights were a roasted Supreme of Chicken with sweet potato
purée and lovely vibrant buttered kale, followed by a Baked Gnocchi dish that would do any vegetarian diner proud for sure. For those with lighter appetites, the menu also has a range of sandwiches and salads too. I can confirm that our chocolate tart dessert was delicious, but the clear winner out of the two desserts we were presented with was undoubtedly the peanut butter stack. The others seemed to agree because no sooner was the camera down on the table there was a flurry of forks all keen to enjoy the dessert’s chocolate sponge, Biscoff sauce and chocolate ice cream.
Aside from regular dining, The Bottle & Glass also offers local ales and speciality coffees, plus decent wines and cocktails. It also hosts themed nights with quizzes, pies, curry or Mexican dishes, for example. This season, too, The Bottle & Glass will host a Boxing Day brunch, New Year’s Eve familyfriendly dining and New Year’s Day lunch. Otherwise, this is a brilliant country pub whose beauty isn’t just Farrow & Ball deep... there’s great dining, creative dishes and a great front of house team too. n
Spicy Buffalo Wings.
The Pitch: “An award-winning, dog-friendly country pub & restaurant near Lincoln and Newark, that promises an unforgettable drinking and dining experience...” Dining Times: Monday to Thursday 12-3pm & 5-9pm. Friday 12-9pm. Saturday: Breakfast 9-11am; food 12-9pm. Sunday food served 12-6pm.
The Bottle & Glass, Harby, Newark NG23 7EB. Call 01522 703438 or see www.thebottleandglass.pub.
