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. Open for breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner – but we continue to restrict numbers to provide a safe and comfortable environment for all, and so 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 Covid-19 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
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this menu
Restaurant Menu
April and May 2022
Please tell us of any allergies; dish descriptions do not include all ingredients.
See our separate gluten-free, vegan and dairy-free menus. You can also choose lighter dishes from the Lounge menu, but the minimum food spend in the restaurant is £18 per person.
Seasonal Cocktails: Rhubarb and ginger Bellini £9
Smoked Tarbooz £11.95 Earl G-n-Tea £11.95
Filtered still or sparkling water is free of charge
Sourdough bread from Webbsour (Cambridge) with Italian extra virgin olive oil
or with Netherend Farm salted butter £1.95
Marcona Almonds £3.95 Olives marinated in garlic & herbs £3.50 Sage & onion crisps £3.50
Arancini (x 4) with smoky tomato sauce £6.95 Sticky pork belly chunks with spicy soy dip £5.95
Beetroot, tahini, cayenne & oregano dip; with char-grilled pitta bread, hazelnuts and goats’ cheese £7.95
Pea and mint soup with mint crème fraîche £8
Grilled English asparagus with poached egg, hazelnut pesto and shaved Parmesan £8.50
Roast and grilled cauliflower with cauliflower couscous, salted grapes and kimchi £8.50
Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge (Isle of Lewis), cucumber & capers £11; Larger portion with green salad £17
Grilled whole king prawns (in the shell) with samphire and garlic butter £2.50 each or 6 for £13
Venison and chicken liver terrine, apple & tomato chutney, pickled shallots and toasted sourdough £8.95
Oxtail ravioli with horseradish cream and pancetta £13.95
Mushroom Wellington with king oyster mushroom, potato & sweet potato terrine and leek sauce £21
Polenta fingers with grilled chicory, heritage carrots and carrot purée £19
Fish and chips with crushed peas, tartare sauce and pickled onions and quail eggs £18.95
Fillet of gurnard with tagliatelle, samphire, peas, pancetta and a clam and cider broth £26
Fillet of salmon with piquillo pepper purée, anchovies, asparagus and new potatoes £27
Breast of chicken, roasted in duck fat, with garlic mash, charred onion, Chantenay carrots and watercress £26
Duck breast, cooked pink, with potato cake, spiced lychees and pak choi £29.50
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
Skinny or thick-cut chips £4.95 or with truffle mayonnaise £5.95
Buttered new potatoes £3 Potato cake £5.95
Caesar (side) salad £4.50 Chantenay carrots £4 Tenderstem broccoli £4
Cheese, from the UK’s British cheese specialist, Neal’s Yard Dairy
Served with biscuits, apple, celery and pear & apple chutney
Lincolnshire Poacher (Lincs) – unpasteurised, Cheddar-style, hard, cows’ milk cheese
Baron Bigod (Suffolk) – unpasteurised, soft, Brie-style, cows’ milk cheese
Stichelton (Nottinghamshire) – unpasteurised, creamy, blue, cows’ milk cheese – Stilton style
Sinodun Hill (South Oxfordshire) – soft, unpasteurised, goats’ milk cheese
Choose any 3 cheeses £10.50 (£8 for 2; £13 for 4)
Port and sweet red wine by the glass (75ml)
958 2015 BANYULS, Bila Haut. Roussillon, S. France £4.50 Sweet, rich, spicy, fortified red wine
965 DONA ANTONIO, 10 year old White Port, Ferreira £6.60 Unusual and brilliant. Like a mature Tawny
975 2013 QUINTA DO SEIXO, Vintage Port, Sandeman £6.00 Powerful, black-fruited, classic style
Sweets (with recommended sweet wine)
Rhubarb cheesecake with poached rhubarb and rhubarb sorbet £8.50 (wine 904)
Iced banana parfait, pistachio fudge and white chocolate mousse £8.50 (wine 920)
Old Bridge Jaffa cake (chocolate mousse, orange jelly and sponge) with orange sorbet £9.50 (wine 958)
Roast pineapple with pineapple salsa, vegan coconut yoghurt and popcorn £8.95 (wine 906)
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 (salted). Sorbet: rhubarb; orange
Sweet wine by the glass (75ml) – arranged from lighter to heavier
904 LATE HARVEST RIESLING, Framingham 2021 New Zealand £6.95 Zingy lime and gentle sweetness
906 MOSCATO D’ASTI, Massolino 2021 Piedmont, Italy £4.50 Floral, gently fizzy, great fun
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, El Candado, Valdespino. 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
Larger size £4.95 Drip-filter (in a mug) or Cafetière £3.95 Iced coffee (milky) £3.95
Hot Chocolate (Musetti Choc-issimo) £3.95
Tea with shortbread biscuits – all at £3.95
Homemade chocolate truffles (x2) £1.50
Cognac 75 (Le Reviseur Cognac, sugar, lemon and Prosecco) £10.95
Eastern Spice Espresso Martini (Eastern Spice spirit, stout, Crème de Cacao, espresso) £12.95
Truffle Gin (A single shot of the extraordinary truffle-infused gin from Cambridge Distillery) £7.95






Lounge and Bar Menu
April and May 2022, 12 – 9pm
As well as this menu we offer Monmouth coffee and other hot drinks throughout the day, with a short range of cakes, scones etc.
Seasonal Cocktails: Rhubarb and ginger Bellini £9
Smoked Tarbooz £11.95 Earl G-n-Tea £11.95
Please tell us of any allergies; dish descriptions do not include all ingredients
You are also welcome to order from the restaurant menu at lunch and dinner time.
Sourdough Bread from Webbsour (Cambridge) with Netherend Farm salted butter
or with Italian extra virgin olive oil £1.95
Nibbles, ideally for sharing:
Marcona Almonds £3.95 Olives marinated in garlic & herbs £3.50 Sage & onion crisps £3.50
Arancini (x 4) with smoky tomato sauce £6.95 Sticky pork belly chunks with spicy soy dip £5.95
Beetroot, tahini, cayenne & oregano dip; with char-grilled pitta bread, hazelnuts and goats’ cheese £7.95
Hummus with fried garlic and chilli, and char-grilled pitta £7.95 Onion bhaji (x 3) with mint yoghurt £5.50
BBQ chicken with chimichurri sauce, on char-grilled pitta bread £6.95
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 £2.50 each
Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge (Isle of Lewis), lemon & capers £11; Larger portion with green salad £17
Antipasti – prosciutto and salami; char-grilled artichoke; roast Romano pepper;
2 year old parmesan; herb bread; olives; Marcona almonds £14.95
Ploughman’s – Stichelton and Lincolnshire Poacher; pork pie, roast ham, venison terrine;
apple & pear chutney; sourdough bread £14.95
Grilled whole king prawns (in the shell) with samphire and garlic butter £2.50 each or 6 for £13
Fish and chips with crushed peas, tartare sauce and pickled onions and quail eggs £18.95
Thai green prawn curry with rice, pak choi and peanuts £16.95
Bao buns with spicy tuna and kimchi £14.95 – or with pork
Rajma masala curry – red kidney beans, potato and spinach; with steamed rice, mango chutney and poppadum £14.95
Pie of the day with mashed potato and spring vegetables £19
Mexican-spiced beef burger with avocado salsa, cheese, piquillo pepper and skinny chips £19
CHEESE AND SWEETS are available all day from 12pm – see the separate menu
COLD SANDWICHES on sourdough bread from Webbsour (Cambridge); with sage and onion crisps
Smoked salmon with cucumber, crème fraîche and dill £11.50
Honey-roast ham with apple and pear chutney £9.50
Roast beef with horseradish remoulade and caramelised onion £9.95
Chicken and avocado with tarragon mayonnaise £9.50
WARM SANDWICHES
Steak sandwich, on ciabatta, with caramelised onions & grain mustard, with skinny chips £14.50
Vegan sandwich, on ciabatta; char-grilled jackfruit, shredded vegetables, bbq sauce and skinny chips £10.95
As well as this menu we offer coffee and other hot drinks throughout the day, with a short range of cakes, scones etc.




“SET LUNCH” MENU
April and May 2022. Monday to Friday, 12-3pm.
£26 for 2 courses with coffee; £32 for 3 courses.
Please tell us of any allergies; dish descriptions do not include all ingredients
Pea and mint soup with mint crème fraîche
Roast cauliflower with cauliflower couscous, salted grapes and kimchi
Venison and chicken liver terrine, apple & tomato chutney, pickled shallots and toasted sourdough
Pie of the day – with mashed potato & spring vegetables
Roast chicken with garlic mash, Chantenay carrots and curly kale
Polenta fingers with grilled chicory, heritage carrots and carrot purée
Rhubarb rice pudding with candied nuts
Lincolnshire Poacher and Baron Bigod (Brie-style from Suffolk); with biscuits, celery and apple & pear chutney
Sunday Lunch
April 24th to end of May 2022, 12-3pm
Filtered still or sparkling water is free of charge
Seasonal Cocktails: Rhubarb and ginger Bellini £9
Smoked Tarbooz £11.95 Earl G-n-Tea £11.95
Sourdough bread from Webbsour (Cambridge) with Italian extra virgin olive oil
or with Netherend Farm salted butter £1.95
Marcona Almonds £3.95 Olives marinated in garlic & herbs £3.50 Sage & onion crisps £3.50
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
Pea and mint soup with mint crème fraiche
Grilled English asparagus with poached egg, hazelnut pesto and shaved Parmesan
Roast and grilled cauliflower with cauliflower couscous, salted grapes and kimchi
Smoked salmon from Uig Lodge (Isle of Lewis), cucumber & capers
Four grilled whole king prawns (in the shell) with samphire and garlic butter
Venison and chicken liver terrine, apple and tomato chutney, pickled shallots and toasted sourdough
Roast sirloin of English dry-aged beef (cooked pink) with Yorkshire pudding, broccoli, carrots,
cabbage, and roast potatoes and gravy
Roast chicken with potato cake, broccoli, carrots, cabbage, and mushroom gravy
Roast pork loin with apple sauce, crackling, roast potatoes, broccoli, carrots and cabbage
Fish and chips with crushed peas, tartare sauce and pickled onions and quail eggs
Fillet of salmon with piquillo pepper purée, anchovies, asparagus and new potatoes
Ricotta, spinach and broccoli pie with mashed potato and leek purée
Polenta fingers with grilled chicory, heritage carrots and carrot purée
Cauliflower cheese, for two to share £4.95
Two cheeses from Neal’s Yard Dairy, served with biscuits, apple, celery and quince jelly
Lincolnshire Poacher (Lincs) – unpasteurised, Cheddar-style, hard, cows’ milk cheese
Baron Bigod (Suffolk) – unpasteurised, soft, Brie-style, cows’ milk cheese
Stichelton (Nottinghamshire) – unpasteurised, creamy, blue, cows’ milk cheese – Stilton style
Sinodun Hill (South Oxfordshire) – soft, unpasteurised, goats’ milk cheese
Rhubarb cheesecake with poached rhubarb and rhubarb sorbet
Sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream
Old Bridge Jaffa cake (chocolate mousse, orange jelly and sponge) with orange sorbet
Roast pineapple with pineapple salsa, vegan coconut yoghurt and popcorn
Homemade ice-cream and sorbet: any three scoops
Ice cream: clotted cream vanilla; chocolate; salted caramel. Sorbet: rhubarb; orange
Coffee or tea with homemade biscuit £3.95 (Espresso £2.95)

Sunday Steak Night
April and May 2022
Sundays, 6-9pm
SET PRICE STEAK MENU – 2 courses £25, or 3 courses £30 (rising to £26 / £32 from June)
Please tell us of any allergies; dish descriptions do not include all ingredients
Pea and mint soup with creme fraiche
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 toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream
Or: Three scoops of homemade ice-creams/sorbets:
Ice cream: clotted cream vanilla; chocolate; caramel (lightly salted). Sorbet: rhubarb; orange.
Alternatively choose from our A La Carte Menu or Lounge & Bar Menu.
We cannot, however, allow ‘substitutions’ from the A La Carte to the Steak Menu; and there is an £18 minimum spend in the restaurant.
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. There are also cakes, sandwiches, biscuits and 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 £21 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 £20.00 – 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 Grain Culture 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 £6.50
Porridge £8
Full English breakfast: two fried free-range eggs, Chatteris banger, bacon, homemade baked beans, chestnut mushrooms, hash brown, black pudding, tomato £14
Vegetarian English breakfast: two fried 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 £12
Smoked haddock, poached egg, spinach, chive butter £11

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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 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. Like almost every restaurant, our starting price is quite high (£22) 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 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
Bellini – Prosecco and seasonal fruit purée £9.00
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, lemon juice, sugar syrup, Crème de Mure £11.95
Pimms hits the Mark – Pimms, Makers Mark, lemon juice, topped with ginger ale £10.95
Mojo – Tequila Reposado, Cointreau, lemon juice, passion fruit syrup, ginger cordial £11.95
Spice and tonic – Eastern Spice spirit, white crème de cacao, light Fever Tree tonic £10.95
Elderflower Cooler – Roundwood gin, eldefrflower liqueur, lemon, tonic £10.95
Cherry Manhattan – Makers’ Mark, Cherry Heering, Lustau Vermut, bitters £11.95
White Negroni – Roundwood gin, Lillet Blanc, Vermouth Bianco £10.95
Rhubarb & Rose Spritz – Rhubarb gin; Garden Vineyards Rosé; soda £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, egg white £10.95
SEMI-SOFT DRINKS
Dry spritzer (125ml white wine, sparkling water, lime) £4.95
Pink spritzer (125ml Rosé, lemonade, lemon) £5.95
Vermut & Tonic – Lustau Vermut with tonic; (either white with mint, or rosé with orange) £7.95
NON-ALCOHOLIC COCKTAILS
Lyre’s Spritz (‘Lyre’s spirit’, tonic) £6.95
Electric Cosmo (Three Spirit ‘Livener’, cranberry, lime) £6.50
Nightcap Sour (Three Spirit ‘Nightcap’, pineapple,lemon) £6.50
Elderflower lemonade (with ginger and mint) £6.50
Virgin Mary £6.50
Virgin Mojito (classic/raspberry) £6.50 Virgin Mule (lime, mint, ginger beer) £6.50
DRAUGHT ALES – normally from these breweries – prices from £4.75 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%) £4.95 Bitburger Pilsner (4.8%) £5.50 Camden Pale Ale (4%) £5.50
Leffe Blonde (6.6%) – half £4.75 Blackshore Stout (4.2%) (Guinness alternative, we prefer it) £5.20
Adnams Wild Wave Cider (5%) £4.95
A flight of beer, try four different quarter pints from our draught selections above £5.95
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
Saxby’s Rhubarb Cider, Northants (500ml, 3.5%) £4.75
Saxby’s Blackcurrant Cider, Northants (500ml, 3.7%) £4.75
Saxby’s Strawberry Cider, Northants (500ml, 3.8%) £4.75






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Groups & parties
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.
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 wine tastings, which can be arranged before a meal or as part of the event itself.






Christmas
Click here to see the 2021 Christmas Menus. (The 2022 menus will be published in June).





