The Man Bird is using up the last couple of days he has left of his annual leave, so we took the opportunity to take Mummy Bird to the MacArthur Glen/East Midlands Designer Outlet for some last minute Christmas Shopping – there’s always something you forget isn’t there when you do the ‘main’ festive pressie shop?
Lady Luck was clearly on our side though and we breezed through the shops, even managing to grab a coffee and scrummy cake at 200 degrees coffee because we were doing so well. After getting everything we wanted at the outlet it was back to reality and off to do some routine grocery shopping; the supermarket was absolutely ram-a-lam-a-ding-donged – lord help us next week!!
Having got the business of the day, so to speak, out of the way, it was time to turn our attention to the pleasure (read, food) aspect of the day. We hadn’t thought we’d be finished in time for lunch and so we hadn’t booked ahead anywhere. We chanced our arm at The Countryman Pub - no room at the inn – and it was the same story when we rang The Caernarvon; yes, I know, everyone and their granny (literally!) was out for a pre-Christmas lunch! I’m pleased to say that it was third time lucky when we rang Santo’s Higham Farm Hotel.
Reception welcomed us as we stepped inside and we then went round the corner to the bar dining area which is used for daytime service. We got drinks sorted: a pint of Amstell (£4) for The Man, a large Pinot for Mummy (£6), and a sparkling water for me (£2), before we sat down.
I had initially fancied the Hunters Chicken Baguette from the sandwich menu, before changing my mind and choosing the Pumpkin Risotto with Candied Chestnuts and Crisp Sage (£14) from the ‘classics’ section on the main menu, which His Nibs and Mummy Bird also went on to do. Mummy had the 5oz Gammon Steak with Triple-cooked Chips, Garden Peas, Fresh Pineapple and Fried Egg (£8) and The Man went for Santo’s 6oz Beef Burger in a Salt-n-Pepper bun with Sweetcorn Relish, Pulled Pork, Smoked Cheddar, and Triple-cooked Chips (£14.50).
Before long, our server was placing our meals before us and it was nice to see steam coming from my bowl; there’s nothing worse than lukewarm Risotto. The creamy rice was gently nutty and partnered the plentiful roasted Pumpkin beautifully. Finely chopped Onion and Carrot was also mixed in with the rice and they added a hint of texture. Dark, earthy, intense tasting Chestnuts were liberally scattered on the pale risotto, interspersed with forest green, brilliantly crispy Sage leaves whose flavour was divine. Size-wise there was good portion, too. I was more than happy with my choice.
The Man’s burger was certainly fully loaded; the bun could hardly contain all the contents and, in the end, His Nibs gave up trying to hold it in his hands and resorted to cutting it in half and eating it with his cutlery! The taste of the beef patty was superb in its depth and it was pleasingly dense in texture, with a satiating ‘chew time’. Sweet, smoky pulled Pork shreds were marvellously juicy and moist in the mouth and the smoked cheddar had melted so that it was firmly in comfort food territory. Salad dodgers (like The Man!) will be more than happy to hear that there is no Tomato or Lettuce in the burger at Santo’s Higham Farm, so the coolness comes from the tasty, tangy Sweetcorn relish.
Both Mummy Bird and His Nibs’ meals came with triple-cooked Chips and, wow, these are blooming fantastic! They are chunkier than chunky, with fantastically crisp outers, a nice golden colour, and with floury, soft inners. On a serious note, these are some of the nicest chips we’ve come across. Mummy Bird pierced the rich tasting yolk of her egg with one of the large chips, smiling as the flavours hit her palate. Looking at the size of the 5oz Gammon Steak, I think it wise that she went for the smaller option (the larger 10oz Gammon is £15) because this was incredibly filling with a taste to match. Some folks shy away from Gammon, thinking that it’ll be dry and tough, but Chef at Santo’s certainly didn’t serve anything like this; instead, it was meaty and moist and nicely tender to cut into and to eat. Simple garden peas added a splash of colour on the plate as well as bringing their sweet, bright, slightly grassy flavour to the party. There was a nice wedge-shaped piece of grilled fresh Pineapple that had pretty char stripes on its surface and its natural sugars had intensified to release their sweet juiciness in the mouth and balance the meaty, lightly salty tang of the Gammon. Again, this was a really nice dish; not a particularly complicated one for qualified Chefs to do, but it still needs skill not to ruin the meat.
Whilst we’d been chomping, our server came to see that we were happy with our meals and, other than a few chips that remained, our plates were clean when she came to take them away. There was a nice warmth in the bar area at Santo’s, which was very welcome respite from the cold outside and when I visited the ladies powder room it was absolutely spotless; and I do mean immaculate.
If I had one criticism (and I’m aware this might sound perfect to some folks ears – no pun intended), it would be that there was no music in the background which made the space seem a little flat. However, when we mentioned the lack of background ambience, one of the team put on some Christmas tunes for us – not your usual cheesy ones though, some good, traditional carols, which made a really nice change believe it or not!
Whenever we’ve visited Santo’s Higham Farm Hotel for food we’ve always had a good experience, whether it’s been for a cheeky Bank Holiday offer, Afternoon Tea or plain old lunch as on this occasion. A lot of folks say it’s over-priced for what you get and, yes, it’s on the pricier end of the scale for what it offers. You know what though; it was hot, fresh, plentiful and tasty and if that’s your only reservation then I would just remind you that it isn’t the only place locally that this criticism could be levelled at.
I think this venue is worthy of Hot Wings again, on this occasion, and if I’ve piqued your curiosity then why not go and pay Santo’s a visit yourself?
