8 minute read
DINING OUT Edwardian daytime dining, just down the road from Stamford at Springfields.
Dining Out with Springfields at THE PARLOUR
Enjoy Edwardian style and bistro dining just a short drive from Stamford at one of the area’s best outlet shopping villages. This month we pay a visit to The Parlour Restaurant, ideal for lunch with friends, afternoon tea or some pre-shopping brunch....
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Words & Images: Rob Davis.
The English are a funny bunch. In midwinter, we crave spring, in spring we look forward to summer. In summer... we’re heard to complain that it’s too hot. Finally, later on in the summer, we clear off to seek out warmer climates abroad... or at least a stuffy car queuing up at Dover. Climatically, we’re never satisfied, from a snowflake or two prompting the kind of widespread panic you’d expect amid a full-scale blizzard, to the declaration of a national emergency when the temperature reaches the mid-30s, as it did recently. I will concede that 40.3°c – the recordbreaking temperature reported last month at Coningsby – was far too hot, but otherwise, I’m of the opinion that there’s no such thing as the wrong temperature; just the wrong clothes and the wrong food & drink. The rise and rise of The Parlour at Springfields since it opened in March has proved timely, given the warm weather this year. Its offerings include a brunch selection, lunches, cakes and a range of cakes and afternoon teas. And it’s not just the menus that suit the late summer/early autumn weather, either. The place has a distinctly Edwardian aesthetic, with crisp white tablecloths and white caned seats rendered less stark by the judicious use of a duck-egg accent colour and a swish white player piano in the corner. It’s a cool place, in terms of its temperature, and its aesthetic.
It also overlooks the Festival Gardens of Springfields, with the sound of ornamental fountains just audible over the piano’s performance of Gershwin’s Summertime and the clicking of our camera, as we captured a range of dishes from the current menu. It’s an extensive menu, with no fewer than 13 brunch options including anything from a Full English for yours truly, to a distinctly healthy Fruit Plate which was very bright and lovely – appealing to the present Mrs Davis – to more unusual brunch options like Truffle Eggs and Crêpes Suzette. A bottomless brunch option also includes the usual array of morning tipples e.g.: Bellinis, Aperol Spritz and Mimosas. >>
Fruit plate from the brunch menu, £10.95.
Traditional Kedgeree from the lunch menu, £10.95. MEET THE CHEF
LEE HARRISON, HEAD CHEF
Provenance: Lee spent a decade in London’s financial district, catering for the FT, various investment banks etc. Food Philosophy: Keep the quality high! Food Heaven: I must admit, I’ve a sweet tooth. Our cakes are really good here! Food Hell: Oysters!
on the MENU
Breakfast English breakfast, local, award winning Lincolnshire sausages, bacon, hashed potato, eggs of your choice, roast tomato, baked field mushroom, homemade baked beans and black pudding, served with sourdough toast, £12.95. Crepes Suzette au beurre d’orange, £9.95. Fruit plate, apple, banana, kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, watermelon, grapes, served with passion fruit yoghurt, honey and fresh mint, £10.95. Truffle eggs, scrambled with feta and topped with truffle oil, served with smoked bacon, avocado, lemon and sourdough toast, £11.95. Main Courses Roast salmon fillet, with crispy skin, goat’s cheese and truffle risotto, tenderstem broccoli and hazelnuts, topped with a herb oil, £16.95. Chilli and lemon tagliatelle with lemon and roasted red chillies infused olive oil, lemon zest, £11.95. Cold cuts plate, £11.95. Fish ‘n’ chips, £14.95. Beef burger, £13.95. Afternoon Tea Full afternoon tea with fine patisserie, £22.95/person. Four piece cake bite-size mezzé, £4.45.
NB: This is a sample menu, and featured dishes are subject to availability and change. “Before or after your meal, you are also at the heart of Springfields; the area’s best outlet shopping village. Set within 45-acres, and comprising around 50 premium-brand stores...”
>> As brunch provision goes, The Parlour is the most impressive place I’ve seen for a long while. It’s a stylish vibrant environment, with an imaginative menu and plenty of provision whether you want Lincolnshire Sausages as part of a traditional cooked breakfast or something a little healthier – the continental option or fruit – if the weather’s too warm for something cooked. Brunch is served until 11.30am, after which point you’ve a choice of 17 main course options. Again, a pretty extensive menu, but with a soup option, three salads, and a couple of brunch options carried over to all day service. It’s a sufficiently sensible and well-judged menu to provide decent choice whilst still allowing any chef worth their wooden spoon to cook dishes freshly and serve them promptly. There’s a Great British fish ‘n’ chip dish, ‘gourmet’ beef burger, and a really nice cold cuts plate. Other options, though, include French-brasserie inspired dishes like roast salmon fillet with truffle risotto, and a baked lemon poussin dish with lemon and thyme butter with new potatoes. The menu is probably the closest both in composition and quality to a traditional French brasserie dining experience, but with modern English options too. A little later in the day? There’s a cake and afternoon tea menu which always comprises the three cake staples – chocolate, Victoria sponge, coffee & walnut – as well as a rose & lemon slice and Bakewell Tart options. Along with 200 scones – available individually or as part of a tiered cream tea – cakes are baked freshly in house every morning.
Grilled goat’s cheese and fig salad from the lunch menu £11.95.
Commendably, local ingredients are used with Hargreaves of Pinchbeck (est., 1880) providing butchery, Clements of Pinchbeck providing fruit and veg, and fish sourced from Grimsby-dock via The Parlour’s new local merchant.
A great setting, good menu and excellent quality dishes, prepared and presented with skill all add up to a really recommendable dining experience... but then... there’s the really persuasive argument for dining at The Parlour.
Before or after your meal, you are of course at the heart of the area’s best outlet shopping village. Set over 45-acres, comprising around 50 premium-brand stores and with a 58,000sq ft garden centre at its heat, Springfields is an enjoyable place to spend the day. The centre cost £30m to develop and was established in 2004, officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal. Today, the place attracts about 2.5m visitors each year, with a combination of shops, show gardens and special events throughout the year. We reckon it’s unrivalled in the area as a destination for an ad hoc Saturday visit. Whilst the sunshine – and the fact we visited on an unhurried Friday afternoon – made our visit even more pleasant, much of the concourses provide at least some shelter from the odd spot of rain, so Springfields is also a place you can visit all-year round. The Parlour is a unique proposition, offering really good brunch and brasserie provision. It’s great in isolation, but as it’s also set within the outlet shopping village, we think it’s even more recommendable!” n
DINING OUT AT... The Parlour at Springfields
The Pitch: Brunch and lunchtime food with influences of French brasserie dining and British Edwardian aesthetic. Opening Times: Seven days a week, breakfast 9am - 11.30am. Lunch 12 noon until 3.30pm. Coffee and cake 9am - close (5pm Sun; 6pm Mon-Wed/Fri/Sat; 8pm Thurs).
The Parlour Restaurant, Springfields Outlet Shopping & Leisure, Spalding PE12 6EU. Call 01775 760909, or see www.bluediamond.gg/ restaurant/parlour-springfields.
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A New Chef and New Dishes at Rutland Water Golf Course
A new chef and a new look for the menu at Rutland Water Golf Course... look out for festive party nights this season, and for our forthcoming Christmas menus too!
Bon Appetit! Rutland Water Golf Course welcomed a new Head Chef right at the beginning of the Summer. Mark Gough formerly of The Finch’s Arms Hambleton joined the team to restart the popular Sunday lunch service which runs 12-5pm booking necessary and introduced an early evening menu with some of his signature dishes, a firm favourite being the Fillet of Chilli Beef with baby chorizo and Feta. Mark brings with him a wealth of food knowledge and experience. Sample menus can be found on the website. www.rutlandwatergolfcourse.co.uk. With customers ranging from the everyday golfer to passes by stopping in for lunch and residents the menu is varied and has something on there for everyone. Through the summer months the courtyard area and front garden has plenty of space as well as the bar and newly refurbished upstairs dining room with balcony overlooking the course. The winter months see Christmas Lunch served throughout December with the return of The Party nights, which friends and work colleagues can bring their party to the golf course, hosted in the marquee lined barn with dinner and dancing. For further information contact gemma@rutlandwater golfcourse.co.uk. n
Rutland Water Golf Course, Lodge Farm, Oakham, Rutland LE15 8HB 01572 737525 gemma@rutlandwatergolfcourse.co.uk www.rutlandwatergolfcourse.co.uk/food
Delicious Food, Great Coffee, Fabulous Setting
Tuck into a hearty soup, healthy salad, freshly made sandwiches, tasty breakfast or mouth-watering cakes, all served with a warm welcome. Or pre-book a traditional Afternoon Tea as a special treat. You can choose to dine on the delightful sunny terrace or in the cosy interior with open access to our showroom, where you can browse at your leisure.
Open Monday – Saturday, 9.00 am – 4.00 pm
The Hayloft, Copthill Farm, Uffington, Stamford PE9 4TD Call 01780 753351
