Eating & Drinking
The restaurant is a beautiful, light and airy space, smart but relaxed, looking out onto our patio garden. We offer a menu with a clearly British bias, updated monthly and with a strong emphasis on seasonality. Our style is simple but full of flavour.
We are open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner – for the restaurant we do advise you to book a table.
The lounge, bar and patio garden offer tea and coffee, drinks and snacks all day; these areas are for ‘walk-ins’ only, but we do take bookings for 3 tables on the patio at 12.15pm and 3 more at 6.15pm.
Please see our booking policies here.
Breakfast
7am (8am weekends) – 10am
Restaurant Menu
12-3pm and 6-9pm
Lounge and Bar Menu
12-9pm
Full Afternoon Tea
3.30-4pm
Menus
version of
this menu
Private Dining & Party Events
The Oak Panelled Dining Room is a private room for parties of 16 to 60. The first half of the room is normally a private lounge for welcome drinks or post-meal aperitifs, and it then opens up in to a large dining area. It’s a lovely setting for business entertaining, family celebrations or smaller weddings.
The Mallard Room, on the far side of the main Restaurant, is an intimate room for up to 8.
The main Restaurant can also be let to groups of over 60.
Click here for sample menus. We can be flexible to your needs, so please do contact us for further information.







Restaurant Menu
December 2023, 12-3pm and 6-9pm
Champagne and wines by the glass – see overleaf
Seasonal Cocktails: Spiced Orange Bellini £8.95 S’mores Martini £10.95 The Nutcracker £10.95
Please tell us of any allergies; descriptions do not include all ingredients
Game dishes may contain shot
Please ask to see our separate gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free menus
Sourdough bread from Webbsour, Cambridge with Italian extra virgin olive oil or Netherend Farm salted butter £2.95
Nibbles: Olives marinated in garlic & herbs £3.95 Sticky pork belly chunks & spicy soy dip £6.50
Garlic & pepper polenta fries with queso dip £6.95 Pigs in blankets with onion gravy £6.95
Roast root vegetable and Gruyère croquettes, tomato & pepper ezme dip £6.50
Honey, sage and pumpkin hummus with chargrilled pita £7.95
Curried parsnip and coconut soup with parsnip crisp and sourdough bread £8.95
Fresh and roasted figs with goats’ cheese mousse, beetroot purée and honeycomb £10.95
Brussel sprouts with soy and maple syrup, toasted pecans and dried cranberries £8.95
Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge, Isle of Lewis with cucumber & capers £12; Large portion with green salad £18
Grilled whole king prawns with samphire and garlic butter Shell on or off £2.95 each or 6 for £15.95
Chicken, ham hock and apricot terrine with Dijon mustard aioli, Parma ham and char-grilled sourdough £9.95
Breast and leg of partridge with Jerusalem artichoke purée, poached pear and bacon jam £12.95
Mushroom and chestnut wellington with celeriac purée, sweet potato fondant and King oyster mushrooms £24
Cauliflower steak with salt baked beetroot, Israeli couscous and cranberry and pickled vegetable tapenade £22
Chalk-stream trout with cauliflower purée, grilled artichoke and cranberry, almond & pomegranate salsa £29.50
Fillet of Stone Bass with lemon crushed new potatoes, samphire, mussels and white wine cream £33
Turkey Wellington with fondant potato, roast carrots & parsnips, Brussels sprouts, pig in blanket, cranberry sauce and gravy £31
Breast of duck with a braised duck leg croquette, confit potato, beetroot purée, tenderstem broccoli and redcurrant jus £35
Char-grilled Norfolk steak with chunky chips, Caesar salad and peppercorn sauce
8 oz Rump £26; 10 oz Rib-eye £29.50; 10 oz Sirloin £34
All are carved in the kitchen unless requested otherwise
Add: Fried double yolk egg £2.95 Fried onion rings £4.95
Skinny or thick-cut chips £4.95 with truffle mayonnaise £5.95
Confit potatoes £5.95 Caesar salad £4.95 Chantenay carrots £4.95 Tenderstem broccoli £4.95
Cheese from the UK’s British cheese specialist, Neal’s Yard Dairy
Served with biscuits, apple, celery and quince jelly
Isle of Mull Cheddar, Scotland – unpasteurised, hard, strong, cows’ milk cheese
Baron Bigod, Suffolk – pasteurised, soft, Brie-style, cows’ milk cheese
Stichelton (Nottinghamshire) – unpasteurised, creamy, blue, cows’ milk cheese – Stilton style
Dorstone, Herefordshire – pasteurised, soft, goats’ milk cheese
Choose any 3 cheeses £10.50 (£8 for 2; £13 for 4)
Sweets with recommended sweet wine
Crème brûlée with blackberry sorbet £9.95 (wine 917)
Chocolate cremeux with boozy cherries and cherry ripple ice cream £9.95 (wine 953)
Steamed ginger pudding with caramelised walnuts and clotted cream ice cream £9.95 (wine 916)
Passionfruit cheesecake with passionfruit sorbet £9.95 (wine 903)
Saffron poached pear with stem ginger sorbet £8.95 (wine 903)
Affogato Single scoop of vanilla ice-cream with espresso coffee or luscious PX Sherry £5.95/£6.95
Homemade ice-cream and sorbet: £2.50 one scoop; £1.50 per extra scoop
Ice-cream: clotted cream vanilla; chocolate; caramel; cherry ripple
Sorbet: stem ginger; passionfruit sorbet; blackberry






Lounge and Bar Menu
December 2023, 12 – 9pm
Wines by the glass – see overleaf, or ask to see the full wine list
Seasonal Cocktails: Spiced Orange Bellini £8.95 S’mores Martini £10.95 The Nutcracker £10.95
Please tell us of any allergies; dish descriptions do not include all ingredients
Our Restaurant Menu is available daily 12-3pm, or 6-9pm
Sourdough bread from Webbsour, Cambridge with Italian extra virgin olive oil
or with Netherend Farm salted butter £2.95
Nibbles:
Marcona Almonds £3.95 Olives marinated in garlic & herbs £3.95 Sage & onion crisps £3.95
Roast root vegetable and Gruyère croquettes, tomato & pepper ezme dip £6.50
Sticky pork belly chunks & spicy soy dip £6.50 Garlic & pepper polenta fries with queso dip £6.95
Honey, sage & pumpkin hummus with chargrilled pitta £7.95 Pigs in blankets with onion gravy £6.95
Beetroot, tahini, cayenne & oregano dip; with char-grilled pitta bread, hazelnuts, and goats’ cheese £7.95
Curried parsnip and coconut soup with parsnip crisp and sourdough bread £8.95
Kale salad, with avocado, pumpkin, mooli, seeds, nuts & mustard dressing £8.95/£11.95
Add grilled halloumi cheese £2.95 or hot peeled king prawns £2.95 each
Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge, Isle of Lewis with cucumber & capers £12; Large portion with green salad £18
Whole baked camembert with pigs in blankets, onion chutney and grilled focaccia £15.95
Ploughman’s – Isle of Mull Cheddar & Stichelton; pork pie; honey-roast ham; chicken, ham hock and apricot terrine; apple & pear chutney; sourdough bread £14.95
Grilled whole king prawns with samphire and garlic butter Shell on or off £2.95 each or 6 for £15.95
Fish and chips with crushed peas and tartare sauce £18.95
Grilled octopus with chorizo & orange salad – potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, olives, capers £18.50
Moules marinière with either skinny chips or focaccia £18.95
Kashmiri coconut masala with chickpeas, potato and spinach; rice, mango chutney and poppadom £15.95
Pie of the day with mashed potato, tenderstem broccoli and curly kale £19
Beef burger with bacon and brie, caramelised onion & skinny chips £18.95
SANDWICHES on sourdough bread from Webbsour, Cambridge; with sage and onion crisps
Smoked salmon with cucumber, crème fraîche and dill £11.95
Honey-roast ham with peach & ginger chutney £9.95
Roast beef with horseradish remoulade and caramelised onion £9.95
WARM SANDWICHES on ciabatta bread
Tofu and aubergine on focaccia with baby gem, carrot, kale pesto and skinny chips £11
Steak sandwich with caramelised onions, grain mustard and skinny chips £14.95
Turkey and stuffing sandwich with cranberry sauce and skinny chips £11.95




Festive Menu
December 2023
Available Monday to Saturday from 27th November to 23rd December
3 courses £45
Please tell us of any allergies; descriptions do not include all ingredients
Curried parsnip and coconut soup with parsnip crisps
Chicken, ham hock and apricot terrine, Dijon mustard aioli and crispy parma ham
Creamy smoked mackerel pâté with toast and pickled cucumber
Traditional roast turkey with chestnut stuffing, chipolata, roast carrots & parsnips, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberry & orange sauce and gravy
Chalk-stream trout with cauliflower purée, artichoke, cranberry and almond & pomegranate salsa
Cauliflower steak with salt baked beetroot, couscous and cranberry & pickled vegetable tapenade
Christmas pudding with brandy butter and sauce
Crème brûlée with blackberry sorbet
Chocolate ‘crémeux’ with boozy cherries and cherry ripple ice cream
Two British cheeses with biscuits and quince jelly
Tea or coffee with homemade biscuits
Sunday Lunch Menu
December 2023, 12-3.30pm
Champagne and wines by the glass – see overleaf
Seasonal Cocktails: Spiced Orange Bellini £8.95 S’mores Martini £10.95 The Nutcracker £10.95
Please tell us of any allergies; descriptions do not include all ingredients
Game dishes may contain shot
Sourdough bread from Webbsour, Cambridge, with Italian extra virgin olive oil
or with Netherend Farm salted butter £2.95
Marcona Almonds £3.95 Olives marinated in garlic & herbs £3.95 Sage & onion crisps £3.95
2 courses £29.50 or 3 courses £36 (£15/£20 for children under 12 years old)
Curried parsnip and coconut soup with parsnip crisp and sourdough bread
Fresh and roasted figs with goats’ cheese mousse, beetroot purée and honeycomb
Brussel sprouts with soy and maple syrup, toasted pecans and dried cranberries
Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge, Isle of Lewis, with cucumber & capers
Smoked mackerel pâté with cucumber, lemon and toast
Chicken, ham hock and apricot terrine with Dijon mustard aioli, Parma ham and char-grilled sourdough
Roast sirloin of English dry-aged beef with Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, savoy cabbage, root vegetables and gravy
Traditional roast turkey with chestnut stuffing, chipolata, roast carrots & parsnips, roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, cranberry & orange sauce and gravy
Roast pork loin with apple sauce, crackling, roast potatoes, savoy cabbage and root vegetables
Mushroom and chestnut wellington with celeriac purée, sweet potato fondant and King oyster mushrooms
Chalk-stream trout with cauliflower purée, grilled artichoke and cranberry, almond & pomegranate salsa
Fish and chips with crushed peas and tartare sauce
Cauliflower steak with salt baked beetroot, Israeli couscous and cranberry and pickled vegetable tapenade
Cauliflower cheese, for two to share £4.95
Two cheeses from Neal’s Yard Dairy, served with biscuits, apple, celery and apple & pear chutney
Isle of Mull Cheddar, Scotland – unpasteurised, hard, strong, cows’ milk cheese
Baron Bigod, Suffolk – pasteurised, soft, Brie-style, cows’ milk cheese
Stichelton, Nottinghamshire – unpasteurised, creamy, blue, cows’ milk cheese – Stilton style
Dorstone, Herefordshire – pasteurised, soft, goats’ milk cheese
Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream
Saffron poached pear with stem ginger sorbet
Chocolate cremeux with boozy cherries and cherry ripple ice cream
Homemade ice-cream and sorbet: any three scoops
Ice-cream: clotted cream vanilla; chocolate; caramel; cherry ripple
Sorbet: stem ginger; plum; blackberry

Sunday Steak Night
November 2023
6-9pm
2 courses £29, or 3 courses £35
Please tell us of any allergies; descriptions do not include all ingredients
Roasted cauliflower soup served with sourdough bread
Smoked mackerel pâté with cucumber, lemon and toast
Three grilled whole king prawns, with samphire and garlic butter Shell on or off (£3 supplement)
Norfolk steaks: 8oz Rump; 8oz Ribeye; 7oz fillet tail; or 10oz Sirloin (£4 supplement)
All served carved, with triple-cooked chips, Caesar salad and peppercorn sauce
Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream
Homemade ice creams or sorbets;
Ice-cream: clotted cream vanilla; chocolate; caramel; peanut butter
Sorbet: stem ginger; plum; blackberry
We do not allow ‘substitutions’ to this menu
Afternoon Tea
Our “Full Afternoon Tea” must be pre-booked – We take bookings at 3.30pm or 4pm, Monday – Saturday. Your booking will be held in either the Dining Room or the Restaurant, depending on availability that day, and is served on vertical stands.
To hire a room for a private afternoon tea, the Dining Room can be booked for the afternoon, from 12pm-5pm, with a hire charge of £295 and a minimum of 12 guests for full tea. Usually for larger groups we serve afternoon tea on buffet plates for your guests to help themselves.
Afternoon tea with allergies & dietary requirements…
We can provide a similar menu for gluten-free guests, and can adapt the menu for most other food intolerances or allergies. We do need at least 48 hours’ notice for any change to the menu.
Please note for bookings of 6 or more people, there is a 1-week cancellation period. For bookings of smaller numbers, the cancellation period is 48 hours as normal.
Our “Cream Tea” service at the Old Bridge is relaxed and informal, served in the Lounge and Bar. Our renowned homemade scones (served with Jersey cream and strawberry jam) come out of the oven around 2.30pm, and can be ordered individually along with our hot beverages. We also offer cakes, sandwiches, biscuits and homemade crumpets in this area all day. We don’t reserve tables in the Lounge & Bar, and these are available on a ‘first come first served basis’.
Festive Afternoon Tea – £21 per person
Available from 27th November – 23rd December
Tea or Coffee
English breakfast; Earl Grey; Darjeeling First Flush; Green tea; Peppermint; Lemongrass & Ginger; Chamomile; Virunga chai; Fresh mint; Red berry and flowers
Monmouth Coffees: Americano; Espresso; Macchiato; Piccolo; Cappuccino; Latte; Flat White; or Cafetière
Finger Sandwiches
Egg Mayonnaise; Turkey & cranberry; Brie and red onion jam; Beef, watercress & horseradish
Fruit scone with rich Jersey cream and strawberry jam
Mini cakes
Chocolate with coffee cream; Mincemeat tart; Blackberry pavlova
125ml glass of Prosecco ‘Ca’ di Alte’ £7.95
125ml glass of Rathfinny Estate Rosé £11.50
125ml glass of Charles Heidsieck, Brut Réserve, Champagne £13


Breakfast
Included for residents on B&B rates
Full breakfast £20.00 – Your choice of a cold and hot dish, with toast, juice and coffee or tea
Cafetière coffee £3.95 Tea £4.25
Apple or orange juice £2.95
Toast (sourdough bread from Webbsour Bakery) with butter and jam or marmalade £4.95
Croissant with jam £3.95
Cornflakes, Weetabix, Bran Flakes or Muesli with milk £3.95
Neal’s Yard Greek-style yoghurt with berry compote, poached pear and homemade granola £7.50 – add a banana £1
Porridge £8 (do allow 15 minutes)
Full English breakfast: fried egg, sausage, bacon, baked beans, field mushroom, hash brown, black pudding, tomato £14
Vegetarian English breakfast: fried eggs, homemade baked beans, spinach, field mushroom and hash brown £12
Both served with sourdough toast
Old Bridge Eggs Benedict – homemade crumpet with sugar-roast ham, poached egg and hollandaise £9.95 / £12.95
Scrambled egg, smoked salmon, crème fraiche, chives £13
Smoked haddock, poached egg, spinach, chive butter £12

version of
this menu
Wine
Click on the PDF link to see the full, current restaurant wine list.
The previous owner of the Old Bridge, John Hoskins, was the first person in the restaurant industry to become a Master of Wine, and wine became, and continues to be, a very important part of life at The Old Bridge.
See the separate pages about the Wine Shop and the opportunity to taste (and buy wine) whilst visiting the hotel.
The bar offers 15 ‘house’ wines by the glass. This is supplemented by 20 more wines we have open on our ‘Enomatic’ machine in the wine shop.
The main restaurant wine list looks rather daunting in its size, but we do have plenty of choice at the all-important £20-£30 bracket, as well as many fine wine options for those looking for something really special. Our aim is simply to find the very best examples of any particular style.
Price is a key part of our appeal. As with every restaurant, our starting price is quite high (£24), however, our mark-up is actually one of the lowest in the country. We add between £12 and £20 on to a normal retail price, never more, even for the most expensive bottles.
The majority, but not all, of the wines in the shop are on the restaurant wine list. So you are welcome to come into the shop and buy anything to drink in the hotel. The ‘corkage’ charge is £15. If you want to bring in wine from outside the hotel then the corkage charge is £20 per bottle.
We have been lucky enough to win all the major wine list awards in the country over the country – from the AA, the Egon Ronay Guide (when it existed) and the Harpers Wine Trade magazine. In 2021 we were awarded the accolade of BEST VALUE WINE LIST for the whole of EUROPE, by the the prestigious ‘World of Fine Wine’ Magazine. We hope you will have an exciting wine experience when you are with us.



The Bar
In many ways we are a traditional English inn. So the bar might be seen as the heart of the hotel.
We serve three real ales on draught, with Adnams as our long-standing house bitter. We have been ‘CAMRA’ recommended for over 10 years and we might be 10p a pint more expensive than the pubs in town, but rarely more than that.
We have 15 wines by the glass served from behind the bar – supplemented by 24 more monthly-changing open bottles on our ‘Enomatic’ system (see ‘Wine‘).
Our cocktail list changes every quarter. Some genuine classics with a few seasonal specials.
You can of course also drink in the lounge, the patio or the garden. The bar, in fact the whole hotel, is a meeting place; somewhere for a break from normal life. Alan Bennett could have a good time wondering what on earth all the chat might be about.
Current bar offerings include the following (see wine list for wines-by-the-glass)
Classic Champagne cocktail – with Cognac, sugar, bitters, orange twist £14.95 or, made with Prosecco £10.95
Spiced Apple Bellini £8.95
S’mores martini – Vodka, Marshmallow Moonshine, Black Cocoa, Dash of Cream £10.95
The Nutcracker – Vodka, Frangelico, Amaretto, Vanilla Liqueur, White Mozart, Sprinkle of Nutmeg £10.95
Kir Royal – Sparkling wine + Cassis, Framboise or Mure £10.95 or made with Champagne £14.95
Martini – with Sacred London Dry gin £13.95 or Black Cow vodka £13.95
Cucumber Bramble – Cucumber gin, Crème de Mure, lemon juice, sugar syrup £11.95
Storm’s A-Brewing – Makers Mark bourbon, citrus liqueur, lemon, sugar, grenadine £10.95
Mojo – Tequila Reposado, Cointreau, lemon juice, passion fruit syrup, ginger cordial £11.95
Warm Maple Nights – Aged dark rum, lime, homemade maple liqueur and syrup £11.95
Smoked Tarbooz – Vodka, watermelon, lime and cinnamon liqueur £11.95
White Negroni – Roundwood gin, Lillet Blanc, Vermouth Bianco £10.95
Cranberry Punch – White rum, cranberry, apple, Prosecco £10.95
Blackcurrant Daiquiri – White rum, crème de cassis, lime, sugar £10.95
Limoncello Collins – Roundwood gin, Limoncello, lemon juice, soda £10.95
Paloma Sour – Tequila, grapefruit juice, agave syrup, bitters £10.95
SEMI-SOFT DRINKS
Dry spritzer (125ml white wine, sparkling water, lime) £5.95
Pink spritzer (125ml Rosé, lemonade, lemon) £6.25
NON-ALCOHOLIC COCKTAILS
Coastal Spritz (Pentire Coastal ‘spirit’, tonic) £6.95
Light & Stormy (Three Spirit, ginger ale) £6.95
Sage & cucumber fizz (made with Pentire ‘Adrift’ – non-alcoholic spirit from Cornwall) £6.95
Nightcap Sour (Three Spirit ‘Nightcap’, pineapple, lemon) £6.95
Elderflower lemonade (with ginger and mint) £6.95
Virgin Mary £6.95
Virgin Mojito (classic/raspberry) £6.50
Virgin Mule (lime, mint, ginger beer) £6.95
DRAUGHT ALES – normally 2 ales, from these breweries – prices from £4.95 a pint
NENE VALLEY BREWERY from Oundle; a rotating choice. All gluten-free
ADNAMS OF SOUTHWOLD, long-time leaders in East Anglia. Southwold Bitter or Ghost Ship.
LACONS BREWERY – a fine Norfolk producer. We rotate their four core beers and seasonal ales.
DRAUGHT BEERS and CIDER
Beck’s Vier Lager (4%) £5.25 Bitburger Pilsner (4.8%) £6.25 Camden Pale Ale (4%) £6.25
Leffe Blonde (6.6%) – half £4.75 Blackshore Stout (4.2%) (Guinness alternative, we prefer it) £5.50
Adnams Wild Wave Cider (5%) £5.25
A flight of beer, try four different quarter pints from our draught selections above £6.25
BOTTLED BEERS and CIDERS
Normally a special or two in stock, plus the standards:
Peroni Nastro Azzuro (330ml, 5.1%) £4.50 Corona Extra (330ml, 4.5%) £4.50
Bitburger Drive (330ml, 0%) £3.75 Ghost Ship ‘Alcohol Free’, Adnams (500ml, Under 0.5%) £4.50
Crane’s Blueberry and Apple Cider, Cambs (500ml, 4%) £4.95
Crane’s Cranberry and Lime Cider, Cambs (500ml, 4%) £4.95











