Restaurant Menu

From 1st July 2021

There is a minimum food spend in the restaurant of £18 per person.

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

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

Champagne and wines by the glass – see overleaf

Seasonal Cocktails – Melonaiquiri £10.95   “Wouldn’t it be nice?”  £10.95

Gooseberry Bellini £8.50   Ask to see the full cocktail menu

Filtered still or sparkling water is free of charge

Sourdough bread from Allotment bakery with Italian extra virgin olive oil

or with Netherend Farm salted butter £1.95

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

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

Hummus with sumac, pomegranate and pistachio; with char-grilled pitta bread £7.95

Onion bhaji (x 3) with mint yoghurt £4.95  Sticky pork belly chunks with spicy soy dip £5.50

Beetroot soup with lime, ginger and coriander £7.50

Courgette fritter with courgette and mixed leaf salad, candied nuts and garlic-molasses dressing £8.95

Burrata (from Lattelier Ignazzi in Puglia) with heritage tomatoes, tomato jam and melba toast £8.95

Oxtail ravioli with spinach and celeriac-horseradish slaw £11.95

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

Grilled whole king prawns (in the shell) with samphire and garlic butter £2.35 each or 6 for £13

Air-dried English beef with pickled vegetables, pink peppercorns and blackcurrants £8.95

Polenta fingers with artichokes, courgettes, squash, crispy spinach and salsa verde £18.50

Spiced, roast cauliflower with grilled paneer, spinach and tomato & cashew nut sauce £19

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

Fillet of hake with turmeric potatoes, clams, summer vegetables and curried cream sauce £23

Sea trout with anchovy, almond & olives, samphire, grilled new potatoes and red pepper dressing £26

Breast of barbary duck, cooked pink, with potato cake, pak choi, carrot purée and cherry compote £32

Char-grilled Norfolk steaks with chunky chips, Caesar salad and peppercorn sauce

8oz Rump £25;  10oz Rib-eye £29; 10oz Sirloin £33

All are carved in the kitchen unless requested otherwise

Add:  Fried double yolk egg £2.95   Fried onion rings £3.95  Roast bone marrow £5.00

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

Buttered new potatoes £3   Potato gratin with lime and coconut £4.50

Caesar (side) salad £4.50  Tenderstem broccoli £4  Spinach £4

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

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

Kirkham’s Lancashire – unpasteurised, buttery-crumbly cows’ milk cheese

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

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

Sinodun Hill (Oxfordshire) – 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)

955   MAURY 1928 Solera, Roussillon £6.50 Sweet, spicy red wine; Port-ish but easier on the head

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)

Roast and fresh peach with raspberries, raspberry sorbet, granola bar and Chantilly cream £8.50 (wine 909)

Fresh strawberries with strawberry and mint salsa and Chantilly cream £7 (wine 909)

Sticky banana pudding, toffee sauce, caramelised banana and Chantilly cream £7.95 (wine 954)

Custard tart with gooseberries and gooseberry & ginger sorbet £9.00 (wine 920)

Vegan panna cotta with pineapple and chilli salsa and pineapple sorbet £7.95 (wine 904)

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; chocolate; caramel (lightly salted). Sorbet: raspberry; ginger-gooseberry

Frozen kulfi lollipops £2.00 each:  cardamom; pistachio; mango

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

904   NOBLE RIESLING, Framingham 2019 New Zealand £6.50 Lemony fresh, delicate

909   CORDON CUT, Mt Horrocks 2020 Clare Valley, Australia £7.95 Another beautiful, citrus Riesling

920   SAUTERNES, Château Laville 2016 Bordeaux £6.95  Honeyed, concentrated & complex

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  (Soya 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) £3.95

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

Tea with shortbread 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    

Eastern Spice Espresso Martini (Eastern Spice spirit, stout, Crème de Cacao, espresso) £11.95

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

From 1st July 2021

12 – 9pm

Champagne and wines by the glass – see overleaf

Seasonal Cocktails – Melonaiquiri £10.95   Wouldn’t it be nice?  £10.95

Gooseberry Bellini £8.50   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 Italian extra virgin olive oil £1.95

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

Beetroot and yoghurt dip with goats’ cheese and hazelnuts; with char-grilled pitta bread £5.95

Onion bhaji (x 3) with mint yoghurt £4.95

Sticky pork belly chunks with spicy soy dip £5.50

Roast bone marrow with sourdough toast and bacon jam £8.00

Grilled chorizo with aioli £4.95

Kale salad, with avocado, pumpkin, mooli, seeds, nuts & mustard dressing £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; roast Romano pepper;

2 year old parmesan; herb bread; olives; Marcona almonds £13.95

Ploughman’s – Stichelton and Kirkham’s Lancashire cheese; pork pie, sugar roast ham and

chicken terrine; apple & pear chutney; sourdough bread £13.95

Grilled whole king prawns (in the shell) 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

Mussels in a gently spiced cream sauce, with a herb bun £14

Summer vegetable jalfrezi with steamed rice, mango chutney and poppadum £14.95

Crispy lamb with corn tortillas, avocado, sour cream and spicy slaw £12

Beef burger on herb bun with crispy bacon, caramelised onion, blue cheese and skinny chips £17.95

Lobster burger – half lobster on herb bun with mustard mayo, crispy bacon and tomato salsa £26

CHEESE AND SWEETS are available all day from 12pm – see the separate menu

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 apple and pear chutney £8.95

Roast beef with celeriac remoulade and caramelised onion £9.95

Chicken and avocado with tarragon mayonnaise £9.50

WARM SANDWICHES

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

Vegan pitta sandwich with courgettes, roast peppers, falafel and hummus £9.95

Sunday Lunch

July 2021

Seasonal Cocktails – Melonaiquiri £10.95   Wouldn’t it be nice £10.95

Gooseberry Bellini £8.50   Ask to see the full cocktail menu

Filtered still or sparkling water is free of charge

Sourdough Bread from Allotment bakery with Italian extra virgin olive oil

or with Netherend Farm salted butter £1.95

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

2 courses £29.50 or 3 courses £36  (£15/£20 for children under 12 years old)

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

Beetroot soup with lime, ginger and coriander

Courgette rosti with courgette and mixed leaf salad, candied nuts and garlic-molasses dressing

Burrata (from Lattelier Ignazzi in Puglia) with heritage tomatoes, tomato jam and melba toast

Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge (Isle of Lewis), cucumber & capers

Four grilled whole king prawns (in the shell) with samphire and garlic butter

Air-dried English beef with pickled vegetables, pink peppercorns and redcurrants

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

broccoli, roast potatoes and gravy

Roast chicken with confit potatoes, butternut squash, kale and chicken gravy

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

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

Fillet of hake with turmeric potatoes, clams, summer vegetables and curried cream

Polenta fingers with artichokes, courgettes, squash, crispy spinach and salsa verde

Spiced, roast cauliflower with grilled paneer, spinach and tomato & cashew nut sauce

Cauliflower cheese, for two to share £4.95

Two cheeses from Neal’s Yard Dairy, served with biscuits, apple, celery and quince jelly

Kirkham’s Lancashire – unpasteurised, buttery-crumbly cows’ milk cheese

Rollright (Gloucestershire) – pasteurised, soft cows’ milk cheese

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

Sinodun Hill (Oxfordshire) – soft, pasteurised goats’ milk cheese

Strawberry pavlova

Sticky banana pudding with toffee sauce and Chantilly cream

Custard tart with gooseberries and gooseberry & ginger sorbet

Vegan panna cotta with pineapple and chilli salsa and pineapple sorbet

Homemade ice-cream and sorbet: any three scoops

Ice cream: clotted cream vanilla; chocolate; caramel (lightly salted). Sorbet: raspberry; ginger-gooseberry

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

Sunday Steak Night

July 2021
Sundays, 6-9pm

SET PRICE STEAK MENU – 2 courses £24, or 3 courses £29

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

Beetroot soup with lime, ginger and coriander

Or: Three grilled whole king prawns (in the shell) with samphire and garlic butter

Norfolk steaks: 8oz Rump; 8oz Ribeye; 7oz fillet tail; or 10oz Sirloin (£3 supplement)

all served carved, with triple-cooked chips, Caesar salad and peppercorn sauce

Sticky banana pudding with toffee sauce and Chantilly cream

Or: Three scoops of homemade ice-creams/sorbets:

ice cream: clotted cream vanilla; chocolate; caramel (lightly salted). Sorbet: raspberry; ginger & gooseberry

Alternatively choose from our A La Carte Menu.

We cannot, however, allow ‘subsitutions’ from the A La Carte to the Steak 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. It is on a ‘first come first served basis’ – we cannot reserve tables in the bar or lounge.

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;
Virunga Chai; Green tea;
Peppermint; Lemongrass & Ginger; Chamomile; Red berry.
Monmouth Coffees: Americano; Espresso; Cappuccino; Latte; Flat White; or Cafetière.

Finger Sandwiches

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

Fruit scone with rich Jersey cream and strawberry jam.

Mini cakes

Chocolate, almond & boozy cherry; Fruit meringue; Caramel éclair.

(In December the menu alters to give a slightly more ‘festive’ feel).

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 – Your choice of cold or hot dishes, 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

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

Greek yoghurt with fruit and/or 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 Events pages for information about Private tastings.

Christmas

Click here to see the 2021 Christmas Menus.