Restaurant Menu

September 2020

12-3pm and 6-9pm

Seasonal Cocktails – Damson Bellini £8.50   Vanilla & fig Martini £11.95

Plum and raspberry fizz £10.95   Please ask to see the full cocktail menu

Filtered still or sparkling water is free of charge

Sourdough bread from Allotment bakery with Capezzana olive oil from Tuscany

or with Netherend Farm salted butter £1.50

Marcona Almonds £3.95  Olives marinated in garlic & herbs £2.95  Rosemery & thyme crisps £2.95

Spiced butternut squash soup with pumpkin seeds, pancetta and parsley £6.95

Salad of roast heritage beetroot and carrots, chickpeas, candied nuts and honey mustard dressing £7.95

Burrata (from Lattelier Ignazzi in Puglia) with marinated heritage tomato salad £8.95

Lobster ravioli with tomato chutney and lobster sauce £12.95

Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge, Isle of Lewis, cucumber & capers £10; Larger portion with a green salad £16

Grilled whole king prawns with samphire and garlic butter £2.35 each or 6 for £13

Pan-fried pigeon breasts, cooked pink, with beetroot purée, baby carrots and blackberry sauce £11.95

Chargrilled cauliflower with cauliflower couscous, charred sweetcorn and tomato & carrot fondue £18.50

Mushroom Pithivier with spinach purée, sautéed wild mushrooms and new potatoes £19.50

Fish and chips with crushed peas, tartare sauce and pickled onions and quail eggs £18

Fillet of hake with chicory, tenderstem broccoli, rosti potato, carrot & vanilla purée and pancetta £22

Sea trout with clams, samphire, new potatoes and lobster bisque £26

Venison haunch with parmesan crust, roast squash, truffled potato mash and crispy kale £29.50

Confit free-range chicken leg with tarragon risotto, runner beans & mushroom purée £19.50

Char-grilled Aberdeenshire steak with chunky chips, Caesar salad and peppercorn sauce

8oz Flat-Iron £22;  8oz Rump £25;  10oz Black Angus sirloin £33

All are carved in the kitchen unless requested otherwise

Add:  Fried double yolk egg £2.95   Fried onion rings £3.95

Skinny or thick-cut chips £4.95 or with truffle mayonnaise £5.95  New potatoes £3.95

Heritage tomato salad £4.95  Baby gem salad with honey & mustard dressing £4.50

Runner beans & shallots £3.95  Tenderstem broccoli £3.95  Wild mushrooms £4.95

In the restaurant there is a minimum spend per person equivalent to one main course

Please tell us of any allergies; dish descriptions do not include all ingredients

See our separate gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free menus

Cheese, from the UK’s British cheese specialist, Neal’s Yard Dairy

Served with biscuits, apple, celery and green bean & apple chutney

Lincolnshire Poacher (Alford, Lincs) – unpasteurised, hard, Cheddar-style, cows’ milk cheese

Tunworth (Hampshire) – pasteurised, soft, Brie-style cows’ milk cheese

Stichelton (Nottinghamshire) – unpasteurised, creamy, blue, cows’ milk cheese – Stilton style

Ragstone (Herefordshire) – soft, pasteurised goats’ milk cheese

Choose any 3 cheeses £9.50 (£8 for 2; £12.50 for 4)

Port and sweet red wine by the glass (75ml)

956   OLIVARES 2016 Jumilla, Spain £6 Sweet red wine; Port-ish but easier on the head

966   LATE BOTTLED VINTAGE PORT, Quinta de la Rosa 2014 £5.85 Powerful & intense

967   THE BISHOP OF NORWICH, Liberator. Calitzdorp, South Africa £4.80 Port-style but softer

971   20yr OLD TAWNY PORT, Sandeman £7.20 Twenty years in wood; soft & gentle

A beer to partner cheese: TRIPLE KNOT, Adnams – Belgian style (10%, 330ml) £8.95

Sweets (with recommended sweet wine)

Pear poached in cardamom and saffron, with coconut ice cream (vegan) £7.95 (wine 904)

Iced honey parfait with pickled plums and oat crumble £7.95 (wine 953)

Chocolate nemesis with salted caramel ice cream and brandy basket £8.50 (wine 956 – see above)

Warm Blackberry frangipane with organic Jersey cream £8.50 Allow minimum 15 minutes (wine 920)

Affogato (single scoop of vanilla ice-cream with espresso coffee or luscious PX Sherry) £4.95/£5.95

Homemade ice-cream and sorbet: £2.50 one scoop; £1.50 per extra scoop

Ice cream: clotted cream vanilla; damson; spiced chocolate; salted caramel. Sorbet: blackcurrant

Sweet wine by the glass  (75ml) – arranged from lighter to heavier

904   NOBLE RIESLING, Framingham 2018 New Zealand £6.50 Lemony fresh, delicate

920   SAUTERNES, Château Laville 2013 Bordeaux £6.95  Honeyed, concentrated & complex

953   COLHEITA MADEIRA, Justino’s 1999  £6.60 Nutty, savoury, spicy

954   RUTHERGLEN MUSCAT, ‘Rosewood’, Chambers. Australia £5.95  Fortified to 17.5%; rich & luscious

950   PEDRO XIMENEZ, San Emilio, Lustau. Sherry £5.95  Liquid raisins; extraordinarily intense

Coffee (from Monmouth Coffee Company) – with biscotti  (Soy or Oat milk 50p supplement per drink)

Espresso, Macchiato, Piccolo £2.95  Regular, Cappuccino, Latte, Flat white, Double espresso £3.95

Drip-filter (in a mug) or Cafetière £3.95

Iced coffee (milky); or Nitro Cold Brew (black, oat milk latte or oat milk mocha) £3.95

Hot Chocolate (Musetti Chocissimo) £3.95  Pump Street Drinking Chocolate (75% Cocoa, from Jamaica) £4.50

Tea with lemon biscuits – all at £3.95

Black teas – English Breakfast; Earl Grey; Darjeeling; Virunga Chai. De-caff. Green tea

Infusions – Peppermint; Lemongrass & Ginger; Chamomile; Red berry.

Homemade chocolate truffle  95p    

Rum & Coffee Martini (Rum, Stout, Crème De Cacao, a shot of Espresso) £10.95

Cognac 75 (Le Reviseur Cognac, sugar, lemon and Prosecco) £9.95

Truffle Gin (A single shot of the extraordinary truffle-infused gin from Cambridge Distillery) £6.75

Lounge and Bar Menu

September 2020

12 – 9pm

Seasonal Cocktails – Damson Bellini £8.50   Vanilla & fig Martini £11.95

Plum & raspberry fizz £10.95   Please ask to see the full cocktail menu

Please tell us of any allergies; dish descriptions do not include all ingredients

Sourdough Bread from Allotment bakery with Netherend Farm salted butter

or with Capezzana extra virgin olive oil, from Tuscany £1.50

Salted Marcona Almonds £3.95  Olives with garlic & herbs £2.95   Rosemary & thyme crisps £2.95

Pork crackers with sweetcorn and chilli dip £4.95

Beetroot dip with yoghurt, za’tar, goats’ cheese and hazelnut; with char-grilled pitta bread £5.95

Hummus with red pepper, fried chick peas and char-grilled pitta bread £7.95

Onion bhaji (x 3) with mint yoghurt £4.95

Butterflied and grilled sardines (x2) with tzatziki £6.95

Grilled chorizo with garlic mayonnaise £4.95

Kale salad, with avocado, pumpkin, mooli, seeds, nuts & mustard dressing (vegan) £7.95/£11.50

Add grilled halloumi cheese £2.95 or hot peeled king prawns £2.35 each

Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge, Isle of Lewis, lemon & capers £10; Larger portion with green salad £16

Antipasti – prosciutto and salami; char-grilled courgette and aubergine; roast Romano pepper;

2 yr old parmesan; rosemary focaccia; olives; Marcona almonds £13.95

Ploughman’s – Lincolnshire Poacher and Tunworth (brie-style); pork pie, sugar roast ham and

chicken liver pate with bean & apple chutney and sourdough bread £13.95

Dressed crab with mayonnaise, cucumber and sourdough toast £16.95

Grilled whole king prawns with samphire and garlic butter £2.35 each or 6 for £13

Fish and chips with crushed peas, tartare sauce and pickled onions and quail eggs £18

Chana masala (chickpeas, squash, spinach & coconut) with mango chutney, rice and poppadum £14.95

Chicken chap, with grilled pitta bread, cucumber raita, watercress and shallot salad £14.95

Beef burger on focaccia with smoked chilli relish, cheddar cheese, onion rings and skinny chips £17.95

Lobster burger on focaccia with avocado and chilli salsa and skinny chips £19.95

Neal’s Yard cheese selection – £9.50 for 3 cheeses (£8 for 2, £12.50 for 4)

COLD SANDWICHES on sourdough bread from Allotment Bakery; with rosemary crisps

Smoked salmon with cucumber, crème fraîche and dill £10.95

Honey-roast ham with runner bean and apple chutney £8.95

Roast beef with kohlrabi remoulade and caramelised onion £9.95

Chicken and avocado with tarragon mayonnaise £9.50

WARM SANDWICHES on homemade focaccia bread

Steak sandwich with caramelised onions & grain mustard, with skinny chips £13.95

Vegan sandwich: char-grilled courgette, roast pepper, harissa and tapenade with rocket £9.95

Sunday Lunch

September 2020

Seasonal Cocktails – Damson Bellini £8.50   Vanilla & fig Martini £11.95

Plum & raspberry fizz £10.95   Please ask to see the full cocktail menu

Filtered still or sparkling water is free of charge

Sourdough Bread from Allotment bakery with Capezzana olive oil from Tuscany

or with Netherend Farm salted butter £1.50

Salted Marcona Almonds £3.95  Olives marinated in garlic and herbs £2.95

2 courses £29.50 or 3 courses £36  (£20/£25 for children under 12 years old)

Please tell us of any allergies; dish descriptions do not include all ingredients.

Butternut squash soup with pumpkin seeds, pancetta and parsley

Salad of roast beetroot and heritage carrots, chickpeas, candied nuts and honey mustard dressing

Burrata (from Lattelier Ignazzi in Puglia) with marinated heritage tomato salad

Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge, Isle of Lewis, served simply with lemon & capers

Four grilled whole king prawns with samphire and garlic butter

Chicken liver pâté with apple & bean chutney and toasted brioche

Roast Sirloin of English dry-aged beef (cooked pink) with Yorkshire pudding, horseradish, savoy

cabbage, roast potatoes and root vegetables.  Or have fillet at £5 supplement

(both served carved, in traditional Sunday lunch style)

Roast chicken with roast potatoes, squash, green beans and chicken gravy

Roast pork loin with roast potatoes and root vegetables, savoy cabbage, apple sauce and crackling

Mushroom Pithivier with spinach purée, sautéed wild mushrooms, new potatoes and roast vegetables

Fish and chips with crushed peas, tartare sauce, pickled onions and quails’ eggs

Fillet of hake with chicory, tenderstem broccoli, rosti potato, carrot & vanilla purée and pancetta

Cauliflower cheese, for two to share £4.50

Two cheeses from Neal’s Yard Dairy, served with biscuits, apple, celery and green bean & apple chutney

Lincolnshire Poacher (Alford, Lincs) – unpasteurised, hard, Cheddar-style, cows’ milk cheese

Tunworth (Hampshire) – pasteurised, soft, Brie-style cows’ milk cheese

Stichelton (Nottinghamshire) – unpasteurised, creamy, blue, cows’ milk cheese – Stilton style

Ragstone (Herefordshire) – soft, pasteurised goats’ milk cheese

Pear poached in cardamom and saffron, with coconut ice cream (vegan)

Iced honey parfait with pickled plums and oat crumble

Chocolate nemesis with salted caramel ice cream and candied almonds

Warm blackberry frangipane with organic Jersey cream and blackberry compote (allow 15 minutes)

Homemade ice-creams and sorbets, any 3 scoops.

Ice cream: clotted vanilla; damson; spiced chocolate; salted caramel. Sorbet: blackberry

Coffee or tea with homemade biscuit £3.95 (Espresso £2.95)

Sunday Steak Night

September 2020
Sundays, 6-9pm

Seasonal Cocktails – Damson Bellini £8.50 Vanilla & fig Martini £11.95
Plum & raspberry fizz £10.95 Please ask to see the full cocktail menu
Filtered still or sparkling water is free of charge

Please tell us of any allergies; dish descriptions do not include all ingredients

NIBBLES

Sourdough Bread from Allotment bakery with Capezzana olive oil from Tuscany
or with Netherend Farm salted butter £1.50
Marcona Almonds £3.95 Olives marinated in garlic & herbs £2.95 Rosemery & thyme crisps £2.95
Pork crackers with sweetcorn and chilli dip £4.95 Onion bhaji (x 3) with mint yoghurt £4.95
Beetroot dip with yoghurt, za’tar, goats’ cheese and hazelnut; with char-grilled pitta bread £5.95
Butterflied and grilled sardines (x2) with tzatziki £6.95 Grilled chorizo with garlic mayonnaise £4.95

SET PRICE STEAK MENU – 2 courses £24 or 3 courses £29
Choice of the the first 3 starters below
8oz Flat Iron (medium-rare only); 8oz Rump; 8oz Ribeye; or 10 oz Black Angus Sirloin (£8 supplement)
all served carved, with triple-cooked chips, Caesar salad and peppercorn sauce
Choice of the first 3 options on our separate sweet menu

A LA CARTE OPTIONS

STARTERS
Butternut squash soup with pumpkin seeds, pancetta and parsley £6.95
Salad of roast beetroot and heritage carrots, chickpeas, candied nuts and honey mustard dressing £7.95
Chicken liver pâté with apple & bean chutney and toasted brioche £7.50
Burrata (from Lattelier Ignazzi in Puglia) with marinated heritage tomato salad £8.95
Grilled whole king prawns with samphire and garlic butter £2.35 each or 6 for £13

MAINS
Chargrilled cauliflower with cauliflower couscous, charred sweetcorn and tomato & carrot fondue £18.50
Fish and chips with crushed peas, tartare sauce, pickled onions and quails’ eggs £18
Fillet of hake with chicory, tenderstem broccoli, rosti potato, carrot & vanilla purée and pancetta £22
Confit free-range chicken leg with tarragon risotto, runner beans & mushroom velouté £19.50

SIDES
Skinny or thick-cut chips £4.95 or with truffle mayonnaise £5.95 New potatoes £3.95
Heritage tomato salad £4.95 Baby gem salad with honey & mustard dressing £4.50
Runner beans & shallots £3.95 Tenderstem broccoli £3.95 Wild mushrooms £4.95

SWEETS and CHEESE

See the main Restaurant Menu

Afternoon tea

Our ‘normal’ tea service at the Old Bridge is relaxed and informal. It is served on comfortable seats in the lounge and bar. Our renowned homemade scones (served with Jersey cream and strawberry jam) come out of the oven around 2.30pm. Or there are  cakes, sandwiches, biscuits or homemade crumpets.

Our “Full Afternoon Tea” can be pre-booked at 3.30 or 4pm.

Your group will be in either the Dining Room or the Restaurant, depending on availability that day. You will normally be seated at a dining table. We cannot reserve tables in the bar or lounge.

If you were keen to have a room privately to yourselves then the Dining Room can sometimes be booked for the afternoon, with a hire charge of £150.

In all cases we do need your table back by 5.30pm, ready for our evening service.

Our full tea menu is priced at £19 per person. It is served on vertical tea stands, except for larger groups when it is served on long white plates from which your guests can help themselves.

Tea or Coffee

English breakfast; Earl Grey; Darjeeling First Flush;
Venetian Rose; Green tea;
Peppermint; Lemongrass & Ginger; Chamomile;
Vanilla chai; Fresh mint; Wild berry.
Monmouth Coffees: Americano; Espresso; Macchiato; Piccolo; Cappuccino; Latte; Flat White; or Cafetière.

Finger Sandwiches

Smoked salmon & cream cheese; Spicy chicken;
Egg mayonnaise; Beef, watercress & horseradish.

Fruit scone with rich Jersey cream and strawberry jam.

Mini cakes

Chocolate and almond; Fruit meringue; Caramel éclair.

And if you are celebrating…

A glass of Prosecco ‘Ca’ di Alte’ £7
A glass of the local Saffron Grange Brut or Rosé Sparkling Wine £9.50
Charles Heidsieck, Brut Réserve, Champagne £12

Please note for bookings up to 5 we require card details. For groups of 6+ full payment is required upon booking.

We can provide a similar menu for gluten-free guests, or most other food intolerances, but we do need to have exact details at least 48 hours in advance.

Breakfast

All included for residents on b&b rates – if you book directly with the hotel it is always included!

Full breakfast £19.00 – ‘Starter and main’ with toast, juice and coffee or tea

A La Carte options –

Cafetière coffee (from Monmouth Coffee Company), or choice of teas £3.95

Apple or orange juice £1.50 per glass

Toast (sourdough bread from Allotment Bakery) with butter and jam or marmalade £2.95

Croissant with butter or jam £3.95

Cornflake, Weetabix, Bran Flakes or Muesli with milk £2.95

Greek yoghurt with fruit/fruit compote and homemade granola £5.95

Porridge £8

Full English breakfast: free-range eggs, Chatteris banger, bacon, homemade baked beans, chestnut mushrooms, hash brown, black pudding, tomato £13

Vegetarian English breakfast: free-range eggs, homemade baked beans, spinach, chestnut mushrooms and hash brown £12

Old Bridge Eggs Benedict – homemade crumpet with sugar-roast ham, poached egg and hollandaise £8.95/11.95

Scrambled egg, smoked salmon, crème fraiche, chives £11

Smoked haddock, poached egg, spinach, chive butter £11

Wine

Click on the PDF link to see the full, current restaurant wine list.

The owner of the Old Bridge, John Hoskins, was the first person in the restaurant industry to become a Master of Wine. It’s therefore not surprising that wine is 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 24 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. Like almost every restaurant, our starting price is quite high (£19.95) as food, wine and room sales all have to pay for our staff and our building. However, our mark-up is actually one of the lowest in the country. We add between £10 and £20 on to a normal reatail 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. We hope you will have an exciting wine experience when you are with us.

The Bar

Groups & parties

Obviously we have to restrict numbers in line with government guidelines while ‘social distancing’ is still imposed on us all. The details below are for pre- (and, we hope, post-) covid times, so please bear that in mind.

The Dining Room is a private room for parties of 16 to 60. The first half of the room is normally a private lounge for aperitifs or coffee. 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 (short-hand for small but cosy) room for up to 8.

The main Restaurant can also be let to groups of over 60.

For all these rooms we can offer set menu suggestions, or you can choose your own menu using dishes from our normal menu. Wine tastings are a speciality of ours: John Hoskins or one of the key team members can provide a ‘tutored’ tasting before the meal. Alternatively we can simply give your guests a brief explanation of the chosen dinner wines once you are all seated.

Click here for sample menus. But please do ring, we can be flexible to your needs.

Please go to the Wine Shop pages for information about Private tastings.

Christmas

Click on the PDF link to see this year’s Christmas Menus.

Obviously, numbers and some events will  have to be modified to suit the Covid-19 regulations in place at the time. Please do book with confidence, and we will discuss with you changes nearer the time.